Chapter Summaries

Tang Sanzang had Sun Wukong let people throughout the Crow-Cock Kingdom choose between the true king and the demon Taoist. The people overwhelmingly chose the demon Taoist, leaving the true king rejected once again.

• Tang Sanzang told the people before the Golden Throne Hall to stand for the true king or squat for the demon Taoist, and nearly all of them squatted.
• Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujin, and Little White Dragon were shocked by the crowd's choice, while the true king nearly fainted.
• Tang Sanzang told Sun Wukong to extend the choice to people across the kingdom, and Sun Wukong created countless clones to carry his words to villages, markets, and fields.
• Sun Wukong's clones sent images of people making their choices to screens before the Golden Throne Hall, where the crowd watched.
• The majority across the kingdom also chose to squat, and Tang Sanzang asked whether they had all been bewitched.

Tang Sanzang exposed the real king of Crow-Cock Kingdom as the mastermind behind the kingdom’s suffering, revealing that he had conspired with the demonic Daoist to transform himself into a dragon. The court and the people realized that both kings had deceived them, leaving the real king’s scheme laid bare.

• The real king begged Tang Sanzang to defeat the demonic Daoist and restore his throne, while the crown prince, officials, and commoners urged Tang Sanzang to help him.
• Tang Sanzang questioned whether the real king had invited the demonic Daoist himself and accused him of deliberately entering the well.
• Tang Sanzang revealed that the real king had struck a deal to use the well’s extreme yin water and the people’s resentment to transform into an evil dragon.
• Tang Sanzang explained that the two kings had staged the conflict and that the commoners had sensed the real king’s hypocrisy.
• The real king collapsed, and the court officials realized that both kings had deceived them.

Tang Sanzang revealed that the real and false kings had used the people’s resentment to pursue their ambitions, and the Well Dragon King provided proof. The ministers and people of Crow-Cock Kingdom turned against the two kings.

• The real and false kings demanded evidence and accused Tang Sanzang of making baseless claims.
• Tang Sanzang said the evidence would come from the Well Dragon King, whom Little White Dragon had taught to cultivate.
• The Well Dragon King emerged from the imperial garden, stronger after cultivating with Little White Dragon’s method.
• The Well Dragon King accused the kings of filling the Octagonal Glazed Well with the resentment of commoners who suffered through three years of drought.
• The ministers and people realized the kings had conspired together and angrily denounced them.

The real king and false king reveal that they planned the Crow-Cock Kingdom’s drought and used its people to power the Dragon-Locking Abyss-Ascension Formation. As the evil dragon rises and the kingdom falls into chaos, Tang Sanzang’s Preaching Squad launches a coordinated attack.

• The real king and false king admit that they caused the drought and intended to sacrifice the Crow-Cock Kingdom to ascend from the abyss.
• The two kings activate the formation at the Octagonal Glazed Well, unleashing a dragon roar and black energy that engulfs the kingdom.
• Tang Sanzang orders Sun Wukong to become the Executioner, and Sun Wukong smashes a hole through the black clouds with his Golden-Hooped Staff.
• Tang Sanzang sends Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujin to deal with the creatures emerging from the abyss while Little White Dragon searches for the evil dragon’s core.
• Tang Sanzang sends his three scripture scrolls after the real king, the false king, and the Daoist.

The Preaching Squad realized that the evil dragon embodied Crow-Cock Kingdom’s accumulated sins and could not simply be destroyed. They joined forces to reshape it into a crow-cock, and its vast form began to shrink.

• Little White Dragon darkened into a black dragon and forced the evil dragon’s raised head down.
• The evil dragon’s power grew as its heartbeat resumed, spreading despair across Crow-Cock Kingdom.
• Tang Sanzang concluded that the evil dragon was part of the kingdom and could not be destroyed.
• Sun Wukong proposed sentencing the evil dragon to become a crow-cock, and the Preaching Squad agreed.
• Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujin, and Little White Dragon combined their powers to transform the evil dragon into a mortal form.

Tang Sanzang and the Preaching Squad transformed the Crow-Cock Kingdom’s evil dragon into a black chicken, ending the kingdom’s immediate calamity. Tang Sanzang appointed it the kingdom’s guardian bird and warned the crown prince that its dragon’s sins could awaken again if the rulers neglected their people.

• Little White Dragon, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujin, Tang Sanzang, and Sun Wukong reshaped the evil dragon into an enormous black chicken.
• The black chicken landed before the Golden Throne Hall, and Little White Dragon confirmed that the dragon’s karmic sins remained within it in another form.
• Tang Sanzang told the crown prince that the kingdom’s calamity was over and named the black chicken its divine guardian bird.
• Tang Sanzang warned the crown prince that the black chicken could become an evil dragon again if the rulers repeated their past mistakes.

Sun Wukong reluctantly gave every member of the Preaching Squad a Top-tier rating, and the system approved it as a perfect clear. Zhou Qingqing resolved to punish him in the next trial for doubting her, while Amitabha Buddha watched the transformed black chicken with displeasure.

• Sun Wukong reviewed the squad's contributions to the Crow-Cock Kingdom ordeal but could not decide who deserved a lower rating.
• Remembering the punishment they received when he rated everyone Top-tier before, Sun Wukong nevertheless chose Top-tier for the entire Preaching Squad.
• The system declared that the squad had perfectly cleared the ordeal, and Tang Sanzang and the others agreed that everyone deserved the rating.
• Zhou Qingqing thought Sun Wukong had doubted her and threatened to give him an All trash rating in the next trial if he fell short.
• Amitabha Buddha found the black chicken irritating and wondered why the Preaching Squad had shown no weakness after transforming the evil dragon.

Zhou Qingqing anticipated a new trial based on Red Boy, while Amitabha Buddha devised a substitute using Acala’s wrathful child form. Her speculation then linked Acala to Supreme Pure Laozi through a chain of transformations, leaving Laozi saddled with even more absurd gossip.

• Zhou Qingqing eagerly anticipated the Battle Against Red Boy, and the Three Pure Ones Heavenly Venerates realized she was excited to witness fresh gossip.
• Amitabha Buddha decided to replace the nonexistent Red Boy with a childlike cultivator and transformed into Acala’s wrathful child form.
• Zhou Qingqing praised Acala as a fitting opponent for the Preaching Squad because his karmic fire could counter Red Boy’s Samadhi True Fire.
• Supreme Pure Laozi relaxed after concluding Acala had no meaningful connection to him.
• Zhou Qingqing speculated that the Elder Lord had transformed into Mahavairocana and then into Acala, and Supreme Pure Laozi realized she had attached new gossip to him.

The Preaching Squad found a child tied upside down in Withered Pine Ravine and realized his essence was connected to the Supreme Ultimate and Taishang. The child stopped pretending to cry and grinned at them, leaving his intentions unclear.

• Tang Sanzang and the Preaching Squad entered Mount Hao, where they sensed an ancient presence amid the oppressive heat.
• Sun Wukong spotted a child hanging from an ancient pine, and the child begged the group to save him from bandits.
• Zhu Bajie moved to free the child, but Sun Wukong warned that his healthy appearance made his story suspicious.
• Tang Sanzang’s Eternal Heaven Scripture found no sinister energy in the child, while Sun Wukong saw a Taiji Diagram within him.
• Zhu Bajie sensed a connection to Mount Shouyang, Sha Wujin detected Supreme Purity’s immortal qi, and Little White Dragon saw the word “Taishang.”
• The Preaching Squad concluded that Supreme Pure Laozi had arranged the encounter, and the child abruptly stopped crying and grinned at them.

A child trapped in Withered Pine Ravine claimed to be Taishang's son, making the Preaching Squad fear the consequences of harming him. After Sun Wukong freed him, the child pretended to be a helpless orphan and admitted he was trying to win their sympathy.

• The child stopped crying and announced that he was Taishang's son.
• Jade Pure Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Upper Pure Master Tongtian feared the gossip would make Supreme Pure Laozi a laughingstock.
• Tang Sanzang urged the Preaching Squad to take the child's claim seriously because their earlier clues linked him to Supreme Pure Laozi.
• Sun Wukong tore through the red rope and freed the child, who thanked Tang Sanzang.
• The child claimed bandits had kidnapped him and asked the Preaching Squad to take him along.
• Sun Wukong called out the child's change in attitude, and the child admitted he was pretending to be pitiful to win their sympathy.

Tang Sanzang and the Preaching Squad agreed to take the child who called himself Taishang's son along, but he soon claimed he was too tired to walk. When the disciples competed to carry him, Tang Sanzang ordered all four to share the task.

• The child happily joined Tang Sanzang and the Preaching Squad, insisting he was willing to endure the journey’s hardships.
• The child pretended his legs were weak and asked Tang Sanzang to carry him, prompting Sun Wukong to accuse him of faking.
• Zhu Bajie, Sun Wukong, Sha Wujin, and Little White Dragon each argued that they should carry the child.
• The child was bewildered by the disciples’ eagerness, while the Jade Pure Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Upper Pure Master Tongtian suspected they wanted an advantage in the rankings.
• Tang Sanzang stopped the argument and decreed that all four disciples would carry the child together.

The Preaching Squad carried the child claiming to be Taishang's son in a sedan chair, with Zhu Bajie reluctantly placed in the middle. The child sensed their agitation and offered to calm them with a Supreme Purity Tranquil Heart Seal, then began chanting as they watched to see whether he could truly use Daoist magic.

• Sun Wukong insisted that all five members of the Preaching Squad carry the child together.
• Sun Wukong conjured a small sedan chair, and the group carried the child through Withered Pine Ravine with Zhu Bajie in the middle.
• The child observed the group's agitation and decided to give them another helping hand.
• The child offered to cast a Supreme Purity Tranquil Heart Seal, and the Preaching Squad stopped to watch.
• The child sat cross-legged and began chanting about Supreme Purity immortal energy and stilling the heart.

The Preaching Squad accepted the child’s authentic Supreme Purity Tranquil Heart Seal and grew convinced he was harmless, while Qingqing’s thoughts revealed that their trust was playing into a plan. After hours of walking, the squad realized Withered Pine Ravine had trapped them in an endless maze, though they hesitated to accuse the child.

• The child’s seal calmed Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujin, and Little White Dragon, and Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong confirmed it was authentic.
• The squad’s members concluded that the child was a thoughtful benefactor, while Qingqing thought their belief that he was Supreme Purity Laozi’s illegitimate son would make them reluctant to fight.
• Supreme Pure Laozi realized Qingqing could use her system to warn the squad but chose not to intervene, leaving him to consider saving himself.
• After at least four hours of travel, Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang, Little White Dragon, and Sha Wujin recognized that Withered Pine Ravine had become an endless maze.
• The squad suspected a trap but refrained from blaming the child, remembering their mistake in the Crow-Cock Kingdom.

Sun Wukong uncovered how the Supreme Purity Tranquil Heart Seal intensified the Preaching Squad’s perception of the pressure at Withered Pine Ravine, then took the sedan chair onto his own shoulders. He tried to throw Red Boy out, but the seal had also suppressed his killing intent, leaving the trial unresolved.

• Sun Wukong explained that the Tranquil Heart Seal magnified the squad’s perception of the pressure, making the sedan chair feel unbearably heavy.
• Sun Wukong took the sedan chair from the others and carried the full crushing pressure alone, while Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujin, and Little White Dragon collapsed in relief.
• Sun Wukong decided to bring Red Boy down from the sedan chair, believing the child was behind the supernatural pressure.
• Sun Wukong hurled the sedan chair toward a boulder, but it stopped upon impact, and he told the squad telepathically that the seal had also dispelled his killing intent.

Sun Wukong discovered that the sedan chair’s strange weight and their failed attempts to escape were tied to a hidden illusion in Withered Pine Ravine. The group remained trapped in a moving circle, with the child serving as their point of reference.

• Sun Wukong failed to throw the child off the sedan chair and jolted him by running, prompting the child to beg him to go easy on the bumps.
• Sun Wukong realized that he could not escape the group’s field of vision and that even his Somersault Cloud could not get away.
• Sun Wukong ordered Zhu Bajie, Tang Sanzang, Sha Wujin, and Little White Dragon to carry the sedan chair together so he could investigate its strange weight.
• Sun Wukong made the group stop and concluded that they had been walking in circles without actually moving, as Withered Pine Ravine used movement to conceal stillness.
• Sun Wukong identified the child as the group’s point of reference within the illusion.

Sun Wukong used Shenni’s power of reversal to free the Preaching Squad from the seals and formation trapping them in Withered Pine Ravine. After exposing the child’s claim to be Taishang’s son as a bluff, he left the child sprawled on the ground.

• Sun Wukong explained that the group’s predicament resembled a bug trapped in a painting, while Tang Sanzang seemed to understand his point.
• Sun Wukong summoned the Golden-Hooped Staff and used Shenni’s power to reverse the Supreme Purity Tranquil Heart Seal, restoring the group’s emotions.
• Sun Wukong reversed the Immovable as a Mountain formation, shattering the spatial barrier around Withered Pine Ravine.
• Sun Wukong kicked apart the child’s sedan chair, knocking him to the ground, and dismissed his claim to be Taishang’s son.
• Supreme Pure Laozi and the other Heavenly Venerates recognized Sun Wukong’s quick thinking, while Amitabha Buddha lamented that his plan had failed.

The child revealed that he truly wielded both Daoist and Buddhist power, then trapped the Preaching Squad in a realm that suppressed Daoist abilities and spiritual treasures. Tang Sanzang recognized that Buddhist arts were their best option, while the child challenged them to find another way to defeat him.

• The child abandoned his Taishang-son act and summoned manifestations of the Supreme Purity Dao Ancestor and Acala.
• Sun Wukong attacked with his Golden-Hooped Staff, but the manifestations sealed Mount Hao and suppressed his powers.
• The child explained that his Immovable Isolation Dharma Realm disabled Daoist abilities and his Spirit-Sealing Brahma Seal weakened spiritual treasures.
• Zhu Bajie tested the barrier with his Nine-Toothed Rake, failed to damage it, and fell onto his backside.
• Tang Sanzang assessed the child’s methods and concluded that Buddhist arts offered the best chance of overcoming him.

The child used Buddhist divine arts to torment the Preaching Squad, countering each member with a technique tailored to their nature. He then turned his punishments on Sun Wukong, while Zhou Qingqing remained unconcerned.

• The child summoned the Mighty Heavenly Dragon and forced Little White Dragon to his knees beneath its draconic pressure.
• The child struck Sha Wujin’s soul with the Vajra Demon-Subduing Pestle Method, grinding at his killing intent.
• The child used the Great Compassion Execution Curse to magnify Zhu Bajie’s regrets and leave him sobbing.
• The child immobilized Tang Sanzang with the Dustless Nirvana Burial Method and enveloped him in grayish-white breath.
• The child named several Buddhist punishments for Sun Wukong, while Zhou Qingqing watched without concern.

The Wrathful Child Immovable Wisdom King tortured the Preaching Squad in Withered Pine Ravine and demanded they take refuge in Buddhism, but Sun Wukong rallied them to rely on their systems and physical strength. The group prepared to resist with their own bodies and Dao, setting up a joint demonstration of “Physical Salvation.”

• The child bound Sun Wukong with the Vajra Noose and forced a Molten Copper Iron Pellet down his throat while the rest of the Preaching Squad suffered different Buddhist punishments.
• The child offered to free the Preaching Squad if they abandoned their pride and sincerely took refuge in Buddhism, then intensified the punishments when they refused to answer.
• Sun Wukong taunted the child and privately told Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujin, and Little White Dragon to use their systems to strengthen their bodies and fight by mortal means.
• Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujin, and Little White Dragon each described how they would build their physical strength, while Sun Wukong resolved to use his own Dao against Buddhist teachings.
• The Heavenly Venerates in the Three Pure Ones Hall watched and anticipated that the Preaching Squad’s Physical Salvation would soon strike back at the child.

Tang Sanzang and the Preaching Squad developed physical methods to resist the Buddhist punishments and achieve Physical Salvation. Their preparations left the Wrathful Child Immovable Wisdom King suspecting they were cheating and considering killing them.

• Tang Sanzang used the Lucky Grand Wheel to comprehend fist techniques from the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin clans, blending their insights into a physical force.
• Zhu Bajie secretly did push-ups to strengthen his arms while appearing to struggle.
• Sha Wujin extracted strength and focused it in his feet, while Little White Dragon planned to use a divine tail sweep.
• Sun Wukong channeled the Buddhist punishments through his body and into his sealed Golden-Hooped Staff to strengthen his Dao of the Staff.
• The Wrathful Child Immovable Wisdom King doubted that the Preaching Squad intended to convert and considered striking to kill.