Chapter Summaries

Liang Qu’s flood-control dream collapsed, leaving him exhausted in the Black Sea before a mysterious figure watched over him. As he continued the Six Demons Trial, he mistook Wu Zhiqi for an illusion, but the ape’s brutal attacks proved painfully real, and Liang Qu fell asleep again.

• Liang Qu’s dream of leading the Youchong Tribe through years of flood control ended, and he awoke exhausted beneath the Black Sea as a mysterious figure watched him.
• At Hanging Temple, Di Xian interpreted Liang Qu’s sprawled posture as progress in the trial, while Long E Ying received a Joy of the Mind Ape peach.
• Liang Qu reflected on the Six Demons and Five Harms and wondered whether the White Ape he had seen was Wu Zhiqi.
• Wu Zhiqi seized Liang Qu and repeatedly smashed him into the ground, demanding to know whether the Ze Cauldron was useful.
• Liang Qu answered that the Ze Cauldron was useful, then lost consciousness; Wu Zhiqi stared at him in astonishment.

Liang Qu endured Wu Zhiqi’s brutal questioning inside the Ze Cauldron, trading taunts and asking about its nature and the gods beyond it. After Liang Qu recounted the Havoc in Heaven and identified Sun Wukong as a Victorious Fighting Buddha, Wu Zhiqi challenged that distinction, while Di Xian suddenly paused at Hanging Temple.

• Wu Zhiqi repeatedly beat Liang Qu and demanded to know what he had done after stealing his power; Liang Qu joked that he had made french fries at the dock.
• Liang Qu mocked Wu Zhiqi’s achievements and compared his three sons to village laborers, provoking another beating before Wu Zhiqi praised his guts and linked him to the Ze Cauldron.
• Wu Zhiqi told Liang Qu that he was in the Ze Cauldron, then explained that only he was inside it and that it was Tortoise Mountain; Liang Qu questioned him about Da Yu, the River Lord, Yinglong, the Black Emperor, and Tian Wu.
• Liang Qu explained Bi Ma Wen and the story of Sun Wukong’s havoc in Heaven, making Wu Zhiqi laugh so forcefully that algae broke loose from the chains and walls.
• Wu Zhiqi asked what Buddha Sun Wukong had become; after Liang Qu answered Victorious Fighting Buddha and described the Buddhist figure, Wu Zhiqi asked who said it was not Sun Wukong, and Di Xian stopped turning his prayer beads at Hanging Temple.

Liang Qu endured repeated bodily wounds while confronting Wu Zhiqi in the Original Life Buddha trial, then began creating a Ninth Buddha for Non-Abiding Nirvana. As the temples rallied wish power and chanted, Mahavairocana took form, though the new Buddha’s success remained uncertain.

• Liang Qu’s back repeatedly split open and healed as the witnesses failed to explain his injuries.
• Liang Qu confronted Wu Zhiqi amid the destruction of the palace and cursed the endless tests imposed by the Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
• The Thousand-Hand Golden Buddha began moving, and the Elephant King declared that a new Buddha was being conceived.
• Di Xian explained that Liang Qu was creating a Ninth Buddha in the Ten Directions worlds, beyond the existing arhats, bodhisattvas, and Buddhas.
• Damo appeared as a remnant and ordered Di Xian to burn one of his relics for Liang Qu.
• The Buddha hands formed Mahavairocana, and Hanging Temple and Subduing Dragon Temple gathered monks to chant and support its formation.

Liang Qu emerged from Non-Abiding Nirvana as a golden ape and danced atop the Golden Buddha, transforming its light into a ninth golden wheel. He identified the ape Buddha as Victorious Fighting, leaving Abbot Dixian and the watching devotees astonished.

• Liang Qu vanished from the painting scroll at Mind Monkey Lake as the other five scions awoke, and he emerged from the Bodhi Tree as a blue great ape.
• Mahavairocana revealed a golden ape in his palm; the ape urinated on the Buddha’s finger, then climbed onto its head.
• Liang Qu’s true astral qi danced with a transformed Dragon Pillar, and the Ze Cauldron recorded Water King Ape’s fusion with Water Monkey Great Sage at 200‰.
• The other scions exited Non-Abiding Nirvana and saw Liang Qu standing atop the Buddha’s head.
• Liang Qu swung the Dragon Pillar and formed a ninth golden wheel from the light above the Buddha.
• Liang Qu pressed his palms together and named the ape Buddha Victorious Fighting.

Liang Qu declared the Ninth Buddha of Non-Abiding Nirvana to be Victorious Fighting, and the Old Monk confirmed the name before the believers. As the crowd worshipped, Yuan and the others left the Thousand Buddha Hands, with Yuan revealing that he had seized a Buddha but chosen not to keep it.

• Di Xian and the elder monks recognized the Golden Buddha as Victorious Fighting, and Liang Qu insisted that it held that name and place.
• The Old Monk descended, affirmed that the Ninth Buddha was Victorious Fighting, and the believers across the mountains began worshipping it.
• Xu Zishuai worried that Liang Qu might become a monk while Awei, Little Mirage Dragon, Scarface, and Ta Ta Kai joined the celebration.
• Feng Ying and Huai Kong discussed how difficult it was to invite a Buddha, while Yuan joked that Huai Kong was bragging about his Buddha-nature.
• Yuan led the group away from the Thousand Buddha Hands and revealed that he had seized a Buddha but did not want it because Louguan Platform's rituals conflicted.

Huai Kong emerged from the Six Demons Trial as the ninth Buddha, while Liang Qu revealed that his Victorious Fighting Buddha could summon Mahavairocana’s hand to suppress all dharmas. Dragon Elephant Martial Saint then arrived and began to nurture Liang Qu’s newly named immortal-art killing move, Slaying the Flood Dragon.

• Huai Kong bowed to the abbot after emerging from the Six Demons Trial, and Di Xian identified his Original Life Buddha as Medicine Buddha.
• Liang Qu told the monks that Victorious Fighting Buddha granted indestructible strength and could summon one of Mahavairocana’s hands.
• Liang Qu explained that Five Fingers Mountain suppressed all dharmas but could affect only one person, object, or matter at a time, while Victorious Fighting Buddha retained part of its empowerment.
• Dragon Elephant Martial Saint appeared, and Liang Qu realized the imperial court and Hanging Temple had supported his attempt to grasp an Original Life Buddha.
• Dragon Elephant Martial Saint named Liang Qu’s immortal-art killing move Slaying the Flood Dragon and abruptly raised his hand to help him nurture its seed.

Zhang Longxiang struck Liang Qu with a devastating punch that nearly killed him, but the ordeal awakened a golden flame within Liang Qu. After Huai Kong began healing him, Liang Qu asked Zhang Longxiang about the technique and the fire.

• Zhang Longxiang attacked Liang Qu, whose vision shifted to a blood-soaked battlefield before the punch struck him.
• The Old Monk tried to block Zhang Longxiang, but Liang Qu's body was shattered and blasted into Reclining Elephant Lake.
• As Liang Qu sank into darkness, his exhaustion and anger stirred a golden flame within him.
• Liang Qu emerged from the boiling lake alive, and Huai Kong began healing his mangled body.
• Liang Qu asked Zhang Longxiang what the attack was called, and Zhang Longxiang answered, "Fist," then identified the fire as "Intent."

After Liang Qu’s display, the elders explained how his intent had emerged under extreme pressure and why weaker cultivators could not safely imitate him. Liang Qu then demonstrated Slaying the Flood Dragon with a towering pillar of boiling water, but collapsed before he could swing it, flooding Subduing Dragon Temple.

• The elders told the assembled disciples that Liang Qu had boiled Reclining Elephant Lake through heartfire and intent, forged under the Three Fires of the Six Demons Trial, his grievous injuries, and Ming King's mental pressure.
• Feng Ying asked whether pills could let him attempt the same breakthrough, but the Cave Heaven Court Elder and the Daoist of Louguan Platform warned that his Hunting Tiger cultivation and weaker vitality would make it fatal.
• Yuan asked how Dragon Elephant had comprehended intent, and the elders explained that it had gathered in his heart when he flattened both banks of the Sand River.
• A view over Mind Monkey Lake revealed that Liang Qu had drained most of Reclining Elephant Lake and raised its remaining water into a towering pillar, which he set alight with heartfire.
• Liang Qu shouted that he would show Slaying the Flood Dragon, but collapsed before he could swing the pillar, and the boiling water crashed down across Subduing Dragon Temple.
• Long Binglin and Long E Ying tried to control and cool the flood, but scalding water poured over the temple, sending the little elephants running in panic.

While Huai Kong healed Liang Qu after the battle at Subduing Dragon Temple, he explained how Buddhist rituals drew power from believers’ wishes. He concluded that Liang Qu was unusual: he invited and grasped his own Buddha, raising the waves and steering the boat alone.

• Ta Ta Kai dragged the defeated Scarface up the floating steps as onlookers praised its battle with Earl Xingyi’s pet.
• Huai Kong used Medicine Buddha to mend Liang Qu’s bones while Liang Qu slept and his Heartfire gradually consumed the lingering Martial Saint’s Will.
• Huai Kong explained that a Buddha ritual’s power came from believers’ wish power and depended on the Buddha-inviter and the nature of those wishes.
• Xu Zishuai realized that Liang Qu had both invited a Buddha and grasped that same Buddha.
• Huai Kong said Liang Qu seemed to raise the waves and ride the boat alone.

After waking from his prolonged sleep, Liang Qu discovered that his heartfire had greatly increased his ability to act and expanded his sea of clouds. The Old Monk explained how floating wishes could have formed Victorious Fighting Buddha, but the cause that stirred the wishes remained unknown.

• The Great Beaver carried exhausted Ta Ta Kai and Scarface beneath Liang Qu's Arhat Bed, where Huai Kong healed them with Medicine Buddha's green light.
• The Old Monk explained that Victorious Fighting Buddha arose from floating wishes of resistance and that its clash with Mahavairocana represented resistance against suppression.
• Huai Kong wondered how Liang Qu had stirred enough wish power to invoke the Buddha, but the Old Monk admitted he did not know what had triggered it.
• Liang Qu woke at Hanging Temple and found a golden heartfire within his sea of clouds, which let his spirit coordinate his actions beyond its usual limits.
• Liang Qu realized his sea of clouds had grown to fifty times the size of Dragon Court Immortal Island.

After waking from his injuries, Liang Qu discovered that heartfire had greatly expanded his Qi Sea and let him manipulate fire, ice, and wind through mental intent. He reunited with Long E Ying, learned he had slept nearly two days, and the chapter ended as Xu Zishuai spotted two figures standing in the wind beneath a purple sky.

• Liang Qu realized heartfire could act as a second foundation stake, stabilizing a far larger Qi Sea, and recalled how Zhang Longxiang had used four stakes.
• Liang Qu tested heartfire by melting snow, freezing water, and scattering snowflakes with wind.
• Liang Qu reunited with Long E Ying, who told him Master Huai Kong had treated him while he slept and that his sermon was scheduled for the next morning.
• Liang Qu learned that Abbot Dixian had assigned Huai Kong to replace him as repeat lecturer and decided to revisit the arrangements after the lecture.
• Liang Qu found Long Yao and Long Li sharing the bed, then accepted Long E Ying's offer to prepare him food while he explored heartfire and wondered whether Wu Zhiqi was real.
• Xu Zishuai spotted two figures standing atop a rock beneath a purple sky.

Liang Qu used the power he had gained from the Six Demons Trial to unleash a devastating punch that cleared the sea of clouds, then reflected on its nature as he recovered. When Huai Kong and the others asked what he had comprehended, Liang Qu answered with a joke about getting french fries at the docks.

• Liang Qu examined his growing fusion with the Water Monkey Great Sage and decided he would use whatever power the trial had given him.
• Liang Qu imitated Zhang Longxiang’s strike, unleashing a Serious Punch that split the sea of clouds and filled the sky with sunlight.
• Zhang Longxiang and the Old Monk recognized Liang Qu’s strength, while Liang Qu realized the punch was an outpouring of will rather than a martial technique.
• Ta Ta Kai tried to imitate Liang Qu’s punch but produced only a gust of wind, then sat down to ponder it.
• Huai Kong, Yuan, Feng Ying, and other young leaders visited Liang Qu to ask what he had comprehended in the Six Demons Trial.
• Liang Qu joked that his insight was about getting french fries at the docks, leaving Huai Kong asking what french fries were.

Liang Qu found potatoes with Yang Xu’s help, made French fries, and used a comic about flying to the dock for fries to explain how an ordinary desire could answer a question about life’s purpose. As the group prepared to attend the Dharma assembly, Yuan Fang attained Sudden Enlightenment.

• Liang Qu described the potatoes he remembered, and Yang Xu recognized them and brought a sack from the Subduing Dragon Temple.
• Yang Xu explained how potatoes had reached the Western Army and why their planting and storage had delayed their wider use.
• Huai Kong, Yuan Fang, and Ta Ta Kai prepared French fries, which Liang Qu and the others eagerly ate.
• Liang Qu explained how a dock and French fries could represent ordinary livelihoods and scarce luxuries, then drew a comic about the birds’ destination and purpose in life.
• Little Mirage Dragon tried to carry fries to Long E Ying and then the Old Monk, but the Old Monk returned the plate to the table.
• Yuan Fang attained Sudden Enlightenment, and Liang Qu led the group to the Dharma assembly.

Liang Qu’s four-panel charcoal sketch moved the people who saw it, and he attended Hanging Temple’s scripture lecture assembly on Bodhi Island as the revered figure who had summoned a Buddha. He learned that Datong’s people called him the Ninth Buddha, then watched the assembly’s lecturer, Ge Daoren, prepare to begin.

• Ji Zuibo praised Liang Qu’s words about Earl Xingyi as a gatha and remarked on the influence Liang Qu now held as a Perfected Elephant Grandmaster.
• Ta Ta Kai finished making French fries, and Liang Qu’s group ate breakfast before heading to the scripture lecture assembly.
• Liang Qu and his companions crossed to Bodhi Island, where monks respectfully saluted him because he had summoned a hand of Mahavairocana.
• Bian Youning, Prefect of Datong, greeted Liang Qu and told him that people in Datong called him the Ninth Buddha.
• Ge Daoren arrived to serve as lecturer, thanked Brother Yuan for his sudden enlightenment, and began reviewing the scriptures as Huai Kong and other monks prepared to record the assembly.

At the Hanging Temple’s Dharma assembly, the Old Monk thanked Liang Qu for helping make movable-type printing widespread before beginning his lecture on the Vajra Sutra. After a lighthearted break, Ge Daoren opened the assembly’s challenge by asking whether the Old Monk had come as an Arhat through vow or karma.

• The Old Monk thanked Liang Qu for helping spread literacy and movable-type printing, noting that tens of thousands of copies of the Vajra Sutra had been printed in Datong Prefecture.
• The Old Monk began explaining the Vajra Sutra, while Liang Qu and the other listeners learned the assembly would focus on scripture rather than martial techniques.
• During the break, Bian Youning explained the oil-cake anecdote about Deshan, and Xu Zishuai joked that he was snacking with his present mind.
• The Old Monk invited questions, and Ge Daoren asked whether the Old Monk had attained his Arhat status through vow or karma.

At the Dharma assembly, the Old Monk explained how chance encounters could become destiny through a firm resolve, and criticized corrupt monks and Daoists. After the assembly paused for lunch, Liang Qu asked Huai Kong whether he wanted to go out and make his mark.

• Liang Qu explained the difference between coming by vow and coming by karma as the Old Monk answered Ge Daoren’s questions about his path to enlightenment.
• The Old Monk described how a chance meeting with Liang Qu could become a destined mission, and the listeners discussed how determination could connect people across great distances.
• Ge Daoren questioned whether precepts could lead to Buddhahood and challenged the Old Monk about corrupt religious figures, prompting the Old Monk to denounce them.
• The Dharma assembly paused for lunch, and Liang Qu warned Long E Ying not to become a nun while advising everyone to learn Buddhist teachings critically.
• Liang Qu invited Huai Kong to sit with them, then asked whether he wanted to go out and make his mark.

Liang Qu tried to persuade Huai Kong to travel with him, using geography to explain how worldly circumstances shaped people’s beliefs and appearances. After his recovery from the Six Demons Trial, Liang Qu prepared to train in a dream, but Pai Xiao Xing’s letter arrived, prompting him to send Binglin to Pingyang.

• Liang Qu invited Huai Kong to cultivate in the world with him, and Huai Kong asked for a few days to consider the offer.
• Yuan Yi gave Liang Qu a string of Peace Talismans from Louguan Platform, and the disciples chose talismans for themselves.
• Liang Qu explained to Huai Kong how geography and material conditions shaped people’s cultures and beliefs, then asked him again to join the journey.
• Liang Qu confirmed that his injuries and the remnants of Martial Saint will had nearly healed after three days of treatment and rest.
• Liang Qu asked Little Mirage Dragon to create a dry, open dream with two True Image sparring partners, but Pai Xiao Xing’s letter interrupted him.
• Liang Qu ordered Binglin to deliver Pai Xiao Xing’s letter to Pingyang.

As Pingyang prepared for a possible attack on Lan Province, Liang Qu attended the scripture-lecturing assembly and searched Hanging Temple for Buddhist treasures containing Marsh Essence. He found a store of giant clam shells and coral that raised his Marsh Essence to 493,000, then left with Huai Kong, who agreed to join him when he departed for Great Snow Mountain.

• Su Guishan learned from Long Binglin that the White Ape had warned of a possible attack on Lan Province, so the River Conservancy Office summoned Xu Yuelong and Wei Lin to prepare for support from Southern Zhili.
• Fat Catfish considered how to persuade the Great Huai Army to alter the canyon and make Long Qi appear more often.
• After recovering from his injuries, Liang Qu told Zhang Longxiang he was still trying to combine Heartfire with Slaying the Flood Dragon before their return courtesy on the eighteenth.
• Liang Qu asked Huai Kong about giant clams and coral, then followed him to a storage room containing whole shells and Red Coral.
• Liang Qu absorbed the Marsh Essence from the stored treasures, bringing his total to 493,000, and asked Huai Kong about the prayer beads kept in the treasure vault.
• Huai Kong said Liang Qu could call for him at the Mountain Gate when he set out for Great Snow Mountain.

Liang Qu befriended Huai Kong at the Hanging Temple and planned to spend the rest day exploring the mountains with E Ying. After strengthening his Water King Ape in meditation, he went to sleep, while a hedgehog warned a cave’s Great King that Ming King’s disciple had arrived.

• Liang Qu praised Huai Kong’s wisdom and invited him to preach on Bodhi Island, then shared a meal with him at the crowded cafeteria.
• Liang Qu asked Huai Kong about visiting the mountains, and Huai Kong explained that fumigating agarwood incense would keep the spirit monsters from harming them.
• Liang Qu invested Marsh Essence in refining the Water King Ape, strengthening his qi sea as the ape’s transformation progressed.
• Liang Qu noted his increased need for sleep, cuddled up with E Ying, and decided to explore the mountains the next day.
• A hedgehog rushed into a cave behind Subduing Dragon Temple and warned its Great King that Ming King’s disciple had arrived.

Scarface borrowed the Subduing Demon Golden Bell and Demon Subduing Pestle from Golden Haired Tiger to fight Ta Ta Kai. After Scarface defeated Ta Ta Kai and the River Otters, Liang Qu caught Golden Haired Tiger and discovered that the mountain was full of Spirit Monsters.

• Scarface asked Golden Haired Tiger for the Subduing Demon Golden Bell and Demon Subduing Pestle, and Golden Haired Tiger eventually lent them to him.
• Liang Qu, Ta Ta Kai, Long E Ying, Long Yao, and Long Li went down the mountain to dig bamboo shoots.
• Scarface ambushed Ta Ta Kai with the golden bell and bone club, knocked him unconscious, and drove off the River Otters who came to help.
• Liang Qu spotted Golden Haired Tiger hiding in the bamboo and caught him with Vortex Water.
• The Spirit Monsters rushed out to rescue Golden Haired Tiger, and Liang Qu seized a hedgehog as the chapter ended.