Chapter Summaries

Dong Yong and Dong Yuan arrived at the inn seeking help after Heaven abducted Dong Yong’s wife, the Ziwei Palace Lord. Ji Ziyue told them that Su Yang had already attacked Heaven and that the Ziwei Palace Lord would likely return in a few days, leaving Dong Yong stunned and hopeful.

• Dong Yong and Dong Yuan found the inn lit and knocked, wondering who had returned.
• Black Emperor opened the door, and Dong Yuan mistook him for a demon and attacked him with a hoe before Black Emperor sent him flying inside.
• Dong Yong recognized Black Emperor, begged him to save his wife, and Willow Deity recognized Dong Yong and invited him and his son in.
• Dong Yong explained that people from Heaven had abducted his wife after Su Yang left, prompting Ji Ziyue to identify her as the Ziwei Palace Lord.
• Ji Ziyue told Dong Yong that Su Yang had led an attack on Heaven and that his wife would likely return in a few days, and Dong Yong asked if she was certain.

Black Emperor accepted Dong Yuan as his disciple after discovering his Innate Physique, while Sun Wukong went with Taibai Jinxing to the Heavenly Court to take an official post. Su Yang also arrived at the Lingxiao Treasure Hall to discuss Ji Ziyue with the Jade Emperor, who declared he intended to bring his daughter back.

• Dong Yong ordered Dong Yuan to apologize to Black Emperor, who then offered to take him as his direct disciple.
• Dong Yuan accepted Black Emperor as his master, and Black Emperor began correcting his cultivation.
• Taibai Jinxing invited Sun Wukong to the Heavenly Court, and Sun Wukong left Flower-Fruit Mountain with him.
• A Heavenly Soldier told Taibai Jinxing that Su Yang had entered the Heavenly Court, prompting Taibai Jinxing to worry that he might meet Sun Wukong.
• Su Yang met with the Jade Emperor in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, where the Jade Emperor said he planned to bring Ji Ziyue back to Heaven.

Su Yang confronted the Jade Emperor over Ziwei Palace Lord’s forced return to the Heavenly Court and demanded that she be allowed to reunite with her family. Their standoff was interrupted by Taibai Jinxing bringing Sun Wukong into Lingxiao Treasure Hall, where the Jade Emperor offered him a place in the Heavenly Court.

• Su Yang challenged the Jade Emperor for breaking his promise to protect Ziwei Palace Lord and warned that he would act if she could not return to the Earthly Immortal Realm.
• A noisy visitor arrived outside Lingxiao Treasure Hall, and the Jade Emperor recognized that Taibai Jinxing was returning with the Spiritual Stone Monkey.
• Su Yang insisted that the visitor be admitted, and Taibai Jinxing led Sun Wukong into the hall.
• Sun Wukong wandered around the hall and asked which of the two seated men was the true Heavenly Venerate.
• The Jade Emperor declared himself the Co-Lord of the Three Realms and invited Sun Wukong to join the Heavenly Court and govern with him.

The Jade Emperor appointed the Spiritual Stone Monkey Imperial Horse Stable's Groom, but Su Yang exposed the post as rankless and humiliating. The monkey confronted Taibai Jinxing, who stayed silent, leaving the court tense as the monkey absorbed the betrayal.

• Taibai Jinxing recommended the Imperial Horse Stable's Groom position, and the Jade Emperor appointed the Spiritual Stone Monkey to it.
• Su Yang challenged the appointment and warned that the Heavenly Court had calculated against the monkey.
• The Jade Emperor offered to release the Ziwei Palace Lord if Su Yang stopped interfering in Heavenly Court affairs.
• Su Yang explained that the Groom had no rank and could be ordered around and humiliated by other immortals.
• The Spiritual Stone Monkey asked Taibai Jinxing whether Su Yang was telling the truth, but Taibai Jinxing remained silent.

The Spiritual Stone Monkey attacked Taibai Jinxing after learning the truth about his Horse-Feeding Officer title, then escaped to the mortal world while the Jade Emperor let him go. Su Yang faced down the Jade Emperor and secured Ziwei’s release, preparing to reunite her with Dong Yong and their child.

• The Spiritual Stone Monkey struck at Taibai Jinxing, who pretended to yield after the Jade Emperor signaled him to let the monkey leave.
• The Spiritual Stone Monkey forced Taibai Jinxing back, escaped through the South Heaven Gate, and descended to the mortal world.
• The Jade Emperor resented Su Yang for exposing the truth that had hastened the monkey’s rebellion, but Su Yang warned him against starting a fight in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
• The Jade Emperor released Ziwei and told her to follow Su Yang to the mortal world to reunite with Dong Yong and Dong Yuan.
• Su Yang reminded Ziwei of his promise and invited her to leave with him, lifting her up when she knelt to thank him.

Su Yang left Heaven with Ziwei, while the Spiritual Stone Monkey returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain furious over being made Bimawen. Six Demon Kings arrived to meet him, and he invited them into Water Curtain Cave for wine.

• Su Yang departed Lingxiao Treasure Hall with Ruthless Great Emperor, Corpse Immortal Emperor, and Ziwei, who thanked the Jade Emperor before leaving Heaven.
• The Spiritual Stone Monkey returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain and told the monkeys that the Jade Emperor had appointed him Bimawen, a post he considered humiliating.
• The monkeys grew angry on their Great King's behalf, until a little monkey announced that six Demon Kings had arrived.
• The Spiritual Stone Monkey welcomed Bull Demon King, Flood Demon King, Peng Demon King, Shituo King, Macaque King, and King Yurong, who had come to meet him.
• The Spiritual Stone Monkey invited the six Demon Kings into Water Curtain Cave to drink, and Bull Demon King eagerly accepted.

Su Yang returned to his inn in Qingshan City after more than thirty years and resumed telling stories to the faithful listeners who had waited for him. As he thanked them and invited them to stay at the inn, the Seven Great Demon Kings’ brotherhood ceremony remained the next step in the hidden plan.

• A blurred figure watched the Handsome Monkey King befriend the six Demon Kings and noted that the early departure from Heaven had not yet disrupted the greater plan.
• Black Emperor accepted chicken legs from a listener, announced that Su Yang had returned, and let the crowd know to keep quiet.
• Su Yang welcomed the listeners into the inn and began a storytelling session, where he recognized the elderly regulars who had kept coming for more than thirty years.
• Su Yang thanked the listeners for their loyalty and invited them to stay at the inn for a few days after the session.

Su Yang reunited with the aging listeners in Qingshan City and explained that while thirty-seven years had passed for them, only a little over a month had passed for him in Heaven. He began recounting his journey with Duan De to find a hidden treasure, while the Two Sages of the West plotted to recruit Duan De; the story left off as Su Yang described their arrival at the Heavenly River.

• Su Yang resolved to use Willow Deity's power to restore the vitality of the inn's listeners and told them he had not left the Primordial World during his absence.
• Su Yang explained that thirty-seven years had passed in the Earthly Immortal Realm while only a little over a month had passed for him in Heaven, where he met the Jade Emperor and Fairy Maidens.
• Su Yang began recounting how Duan De gathered their group to search the Heavenly Realm for a strange treasure three days after his previous storytelling session.
• Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti discussed Duan De's treasure-finding ability and plotted to draw him into the Western Teachings without provoking Su Yang.
• Su Yang said that he and his companions had climbed to Great Luo Heaven and were headed for the Heavenly River rather than entering the Heavenly Court.

Su Yang recounted how he seized the Chaos Bell amid a devastating battle between the Three Realms’ mightiest beings, then summoned the treasure before his listeners. The chapter ended with him continuing his tale about Desolate Heavenly Emperor fighting four Saints.

• Su Yang described the Chaos Bell appearing in the ruins of Eastern Emperor Taiyi’s Demon Emperor’s Palace and sparking a battle among the Three Realms’ greatest experts.
• Daoist Lu Ya, Kunpeng Daoist, and Ancestor Minghe attacked Su Yang as he reached for the bell, but Ruthless Empress and Corpse Immortal Emperor cleared his path.
• Su Yang grasped the Eastern Emperor Bell and later summoned it before the listeners, stunning experts watching outside the inn.
• The outside experts wondered how Su Yang could summon the treasure without refining its forty-eight restrictions, unaware that he had stored it in System Space after refining only its first restriction.
• Su Yang continued his story, recounting how Desolate Heavenly Emperor fought four Saints and summoned thirty-seven incarnations with the Great Law of Self-Transformation.

Su Yang resumed his tale of the Seven Great Demon Kings gathering in Water Curtain Cave and swearing brotherhood while under the influence of a mysterious force. They took the titles of the Seven Great Sages, unknowingly planting a dangerous cause and effect.

• Su Yang concluded his account of the battle over the Eastern Emperor Bell and began recounting events at Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• The Seven Great Demon Kings spent thirty days drinking in Water Curtain Cave, their minds bewitched by a power from beyond Heaven.
• Bull Demon King urged the others to unite as sworn brothers and call themselves the Seven Great Sages of the Demon Clan.
• Bull Demon King, Flood Demon King, Peng Demon King, Shituo King, Macaque King, and King Yurong claimed their titles and ranks.
• Bull Demon King proposed Great Sage Equal to Heaven for the Handsome Monkey King, who accepted the title and declared he would stand shoulder to shoulder with Heaven.
• The seven demons swore their oaths, while an Invisible Force entered their bloodlines and set a perilous cause and effect in motion.

After the seven demon kings swore brotherhood, they woke to the danger their titles had invited and fled Flower-Fruit Mountain. Handsome Monkey King claimed the title Great Sage Equal to Heaven, conquered the seventy-two caves, and drew the Heavenly Court’s attention, where Jade Emperor approved Taibai Jinxing’s plan to summon him and appoint him guardian of the Peach Garden.

• Bull Demon King woke first, realized he had called himself the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven, and retreated to Thunder Accumulation Mountain to hide.
• Flood Demon King, Peng Demon King, Shituo King, Macaque King, and King Yurong woke, recalled their boastful titles, and hurriedly fled Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Half a month later, Handsome Monkey King woke, named himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and led his monkeys to conquer all seventy-two caves after three days of fighting.
• Handsome Monkey King’s fame spread across the Three Realms, while the faith of countless demons helped his cultivation rise to the fifth layer of the True Immortal realm.
• Taibai Jinxing told Jade Emperor that the monkey had proclaimed himself Great Sage Equal to Heaven and proposed summoning him to the Heavenly Court as guardian of the Peach Garden.
• Jade Emperor approved Taibai Jinxing’s plan and postponed suppressing the monkey until after the Peach Banquet.

The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother secretly planned for the Spiritual Stone Monkey to disrupt the Peach Banquet, while Taibai Jinxing traveled to Flower-Fruit Mountain with a new offer. The chapter leaves Taibai surrounded by the monkeys as he apologizes and prepares to explain the more important matter.

• The Heavenly Court agreed to appoint the Spiritual Stone Monkey as orchard guard, while the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother secretly planned for him to cause trouble at the Peach Banquet.
• The Spiritual Stone Monkey ruled Flower-Fruit Mountain as the Handsome Monkey King and celebrated with his monkeys after the Buddhist scheme helped him defeat the seventy-two cave masters.
• Taibai Jinxing arrived at Flower-Fruit Mountain, and the monkeys recognized him as the official who had tricked their king into tending horses.
• The Spiritual Stone Monkey ordered his monkeys to seize Taibai, who willingly let them capture him and take him to the mountain summit.
• The Spiritual Stone Monkey confronted Taibai over the humiliating horse-keeper post, and Taibai apologized before saying he had come with a more important matter.

The Spiritual Stone Monkey accepted the Heavenly Court’s invitation and was formally named the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, with authority over the Peach Garden. As the Jade Emperor’s plan proceeded, the monkey was led through Heaven while the court prepared for the Peach Banquet and the journey to the West.

• Taibai Jinxing persuaded the Spiritual Stone Monkey to ascend to Heaven by promising him the title Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and the monkey departed Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• At the Heavenly Court, King Lingguan questioned Taibai Jinxing about bringing the monkey back, while the gathered immortals watched him enter the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
• The Jade Emperor formally conferred the title Great Sage Equal to Heaven on the Spiritual Stone Monkey and ordered Taibai Jinxing to show him around Heaven and take him to the Peach Garden.
• The Jade Emperor assigned the Spiritual Stone Monkey to oversee the Peach Garden, and Taibai Jinxing led him away from the hall.
• The Jade Emperor watched them leave and resolved to advance the journey to the West, expecting the monkey to disrupt Heaven and complete the cycle of cause and effect.

The Jade Emperor enlisted King Lingguan to block the Spiritual Stone Monkey from reaching the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, as part of a plan that would end with Great Sun Tathagata suppressing the monkey. In Qingshan City, Su Yang welcomed Nuwa, Houtu, Sect Master Tongtian, and the San Xiao, who had joined the opposition to Heaven's will.

• The Jade Emperor showed King Lingguan the truth behind his plan and ordered him to stop the Spiritual Stone Monkey outside Tongming Hall.
• The Jade Emperor promised King Lingguan a Nine-Turn Golden Elixir and a six-thousand-year Peach, but King Lingguan declared that he served without seeking rewards.
• The Jade Emperor planned for the monkey to cause trouble at the Peach Banquet, be captured and roasted in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, then be stopped by King Lingguan before Great Sun Tathagata intervened.
• Su Yang ended his storytelling for the day when unusual guests arrived at the inn in Qingshan City.
• Su Yang greeted Nuwa, Sect Master Tongtian, Houtu, Yunxiao, Bixiao, and Qiongxiao, then joked with Houtu about the mortals whose lifespans had been extended.

Nuwa joined Su Yang and the others in defying Heaven, while Tongtian brought the Three Sanxiao Maidens to the inn and revealed the Western Sages’ plan to use the Spiritual Stone Monkey and the scripture pilgrimage to drain the Central Plains’ fortune. Su Yang recognized that the Journey to the West was beginning and proposed that he and Houtu go to Great Luo Heaven for the Peach Banquet.

• Nuwa lent Su Yang a token infused with her power, but evaded his question about why she had joined their cause.
• Tongtian brought the Three Sanxiao Maidens to stay at Su Yang’s inn to protect them from the Western Sages’ schemes.
• Tongtian revealed that King Lingguan had uncovered the Western forces’ plan to use the Spiritual Stone Monkey, the Celestial Court, and the pilgrimage to spread Buddhism and drain the Central Plains’ fortune.
• Su Yang realized that the monkey’s coming havoc in the Celestial Palace marked the start of the Journey to the West, with Fahai the Second replacing Tang Sanzang as the scripture seeker.
• Su Yang suggested that he and Houtu set out for Great Luo Heaven, and Houtu said they needed no invitation to attend the Peach Banquet.

Taibai Jinxing showed the Spiritual Stone Monkey around the Heavenly Court and brought him to the Peach Garden, where he learned about the peaches’ extraordinary powers. After the land god warned him not to take the finest fruit, the Monkey knocked him out and ate every peach from a nine-thousand-year tree.

• Taibai Jinxing showed the Spiritual Stone Monkey Tushita Palace and other halls of the Heavenly Court before leaving him at the Peach Garden.
• The garden’s land gods welcomed the Monkey and led him inside to explain the peach trees and their fruits.
• The land god warned the Monkey that he could not take the finest peaches for himself.
• The Monkey knocked the land god unconscious, climbed a nine-thousand-year peach tree, and ate all its fruit.

The Spiritual Stone Monkey devoured the Peach Garden’s ripe Peaches, subdued the fairies who confronted him, and plundered the Peach Banquet before wandering into Tushita Palace. There he began taking pills for Flower-Fruit Mountain and spotted a radiant gourd on an altar.

• The Spiritual Stone Monkey ate every ripe Peach in the garden, then fell asleep among the trees.
• The Hundred Flowers Fairy and six fairies discovered the empty garden and attacked him, but he froze them, took their pouches and talismans, and fled.
• He sneaked into the Jade Pool banquet grounds, knocked out the guards, and devoured the prepared food while filling a sack with wine and spirit fruits.
• The Spiritual Stone Monkey wandered into Tushita Palace, entered its Alchemy Room, and took bottles of pills for the children of Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• A golden radiance flashed, and the Spiritual Stone Monkey noticed an extraordinary gourd resting on an altar.

The Spiritual Stone Monkey swallowed all nine of Grand Supreme Elder’s Nine-Turn Golden Elixirs, while the Jade Emperor and other powers gathered for the Peach Banquet. The banquet’s balance shifted when Su Yang and his followers arrived alongside Tongtian, Nuwa, and Houtu, leaving the Jade Emperor uncertain of their intentions.

• The Spiritual Stone Monkey opened the gourd and swallowed all nine Nine-Turn Golden Elixirs, including the pills that had scattered outside.
• The Jade Emperor, Queen Mother, and Grand Supreme Elder went to the Lingxiao Treasure Hall for the Peach Banquet.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva watched the preparations and waited for the Spiritual Stone Monkey to descend to the lower realm.
• Su Yang arrived with the Ruthless Great Emperor and his followers, while Ziwei and Dong Yong remained at the inn and Dong Yuan stayed in seclusion.
• Tongtian and Nuwa descended together, and Houtu emerged from the Netherworld before joining the banquet.
• The Jade Emperor welcomed the three, and Tongtian challenged him by asking whether his arrival was inappropriate.

At the Heavenly Court’s Peach Banquet, Empress Houtu faced Guanyin Bodhisattva over Buddhism’s schemes against the Underworld but took her seat without confrontation. Su Yang arrived and was treated as an equal by Sect Master Tongtian, Nuwa, and Houtu, leaving the assembled immortals awed by his influence.

• Sect Master Tongtian took the Honored Position, followed by Empress Nuwa and Empress Houtu.
• Empress Houtu fixed Guanyin Bodhisattva with a chilling glare because Buddhism had attacked the Underworld while Houtu was away.
• Empress Houtu took her seat beside Empress Nuwa without confronting Guanyin Bodhisattva.
• The Jade Emperor respectfully welcomed Su Yang and arranged a seat beside his own.
• Empress Nuwa and Empress Houtu suggested that Su Yang reveal whether Desolate Heavenly Emperor and Heavenly Emperor Ye had accompanied him, but Su Yang declined.
• Sect Master Tongtian sat beside Su Yang, and Nuwa and Houtu seated themselves on his other sides, astonishing the gathered immortals.

The Jade Emperor’s Peach Banquet was thrown into crisis when the Great Sage Equal to Heaven devoured and stole everything from the Peach Garden, then plundered Supreme Lord Lao’s pills. With Su Yang and three Saints watching, Supreme Lord Lao asked the Jade Emperor to judge the monkey.

• The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother of the West grew uneasy as the Lord of Heaven-Shaking, Empress Nuwa, Empress Houtu, and Su Yang gathered in the Hall of Golden Mists.
• The Hundred Flowers Fairy reported that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had eaten every ripe peach in the Peach Garden.
• A celestial general reported that the monkey had also taken the remaining fruit and all the immortal wine, leaving the garden in ruins.
• The Jade Emperor rose in anger and demanded confirmation of the damage.
• Supreme Lord Lao revealed that the monkey had stolen and eaten three thousand golden pills and nine Nine-Turn Resurrection Golden Pills from Tusita Palace, then asked the Jade Emperor to pass judgment.