Chapter Summaries

Sun Wukong entered the City of the Wrongfully Dead and faced Black Mountain Old Demon, who tried to absorb his soul and crush him with the city’s power. Sun Wukong blocked the attack with his expanding cudgel and recalled his past defeat beneath Five Finger Mountain.

• Sun Wukong crossed the Bridge of Helplessness and defeated the ghost soldiers and demon troops blocking his path with ease.
• Black Mountain Old Demon emerged from seclusion and approached Sun Wukong in a palanquin amid a procession of musicians and female ghosts.
• Sun Wukong mocked Black Mountain Old Demon’s rule, and Black Mountain Old Demon threatened to devour his flesh and torment his soul for a thousand years.
• Black Mountain Old Demon used his Soul-Absorbing Technique, but it only made the corner of Sun Wukong’s clothes flutter.
• Black Mountain Old Demon attacked with a giant ghostly hand empowered by the City of the Wrongfully Dead, and Sun Wukong enlarged the As-You-Will Golden-Bound Cudgel to meet it.
• Sun Wukong recalled how Tathagata had once captured him beneath a palm and suppressed him under Five Finger Mountain for five hundred years.

Sun Wukong destroyed Black Mountain Old Demon and took control of the City of the Wrongfully Dead, realizing that rebuilding the underworld could complete the Special Mission. He went on to reclaim the underworld’s scattered authorities and planned to establish City Gods to protect the mortal world.

• Sun Wukong exposed Black Mountain Old Demon's clone, killed it, and flew to the immobile Black Mountain that housed his true body.
• Black Mountain Old Demon threatened to unleash ghosts on the mortal world and offered to explain how to communicate with the ghostly path, but Sun Wukong killed him and reduced Black Mountain to powder.
• Sun Wukong inherited authority over the City of the Wrongfully Dead and realized he could complete the Special Mission by reconstructing the underworld.
• Sun Wukong planned to restore the underworld and establish a City God system to protect people from ghosts and monsters.
• Sun Wukong reclaimed the scattered authorities of the underworld, killing the beings who resisted him.

Sun Wukong devoured the Demonic Path, manifested the Ghost Path, and uncovered Rahula’s hidden role in the Liaozhai World’s history. The Chat Group system then confirmed that he had completed the mission to investigate why immortals and Buddhas had not appeared.

• Sun Wukong established a basic Netherworld and used its authority and destiny to manifest the Ghost Path in the Liaozhai World.
• As the Ghost Path began to separate, the Demonic Path attacked, but Sun Wukong swallowed and devoured it, ending the mortal world’s strange disasters.
• Sun Wukong discovered and consumed Rahula’s hidden aura, learning that Rahula and Hongjun had destroyed the East and West in their final battle, killing Hongjun and leaving Rahula near death.
• Sun Wukong learned that the destruction had prevented the rise of immortals and Buddhas and left the Liaozhai World too weakened to produce a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
• The Chat Group system announced that Sun Wukong had completed the Special Mission to investigate why immortals and Buddhas had not appeared.

Sun Wukong finished arranging the underworld’s duties in the Liaozhai World before returning to the Primordial World with Marshal Tian Peng and Ao Lie. After the system awarded them for their mission and Sun Wukong’s Special Mission, cultivators visited him to learn what had happened in exchange for benefits.

• Sun Wukong ordered the underworld’s officials to maintain order and exterminate ghost cultivators who harmed humanity after he left.
• The system returned Sun Wukong, Marshal Tian Peng, and Ao Lie to the Primordial World and awarded them 20,000, 50,000, and 35,000 Exchange Points respectively.
• The system gave Sun Wukong an additional 150,000 Exchange Points for completing the Special Mission, prompting the Chat Group to wonder how he had done it alone.
• Ksitigarbha questioned Sun Wukong and Marshal Tian Peng about their experiences in the Liaozhai World, and Sun Wukong recounted what had happened.
• Master of the Heavens, Laozi, Yuanshi Tianzun, Nuwa, and Houtu visited Sun Wukong to ask about the Special Mission and offered him benefits for the information.
• Master of the Heavens transferred 20,000 Exchange Points to Sun Wukong before asking for details.

With Sun Wukong and Golden Cicada no longer following the Buddhist sect’s plan, the Western Buddhist leaders struggled to choose replacements for the Journey to the West. Guanyin Bodhisattva volunteered to be the pilgrim, while the chapter ended as the Eastern Heavenly Court’s preparations began.

• Sun Wukong gave Master of the Heavens a detailed account of his mission in the Liaozhai World but gave Yuanshi Tianzun only a brief explanation.
• Jieyin and Zhunti chose the Six-eared Macaque and a Black Bear Spirit as replacements for Sun Wukong and Marshal Tian Peng, but the Buddhist sect still had no pilgrim to replace Golden Cicada.
• Dipankara Buddha selected a candidate, while Maitreya Buddha opposed the choice to undermine Dipankara and improve his own chance of taking power.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva offered to serve as the pilgrim, and both Dipankara Buddha and Maitreya Buddha accepted her proposal for their own reasons.
• The Eastern Heavenly Court had already chosen its candidate for the Eastern Journey.

Daoist Duobao asked Sun Wukong and his companions to join the Journey to the West, claiming they could use Mahayana Buddhism to split or destroy Western Buddhism. Sun Wukong’s anger eased when he heard the plan, and he turned to Golden Cicada for an explanation of Buddhism’s doctrines.

• The Jade Emperor chose Emperor Donghua as the Eastern Dao Child and appointed Nezha as a protector after Yang Jian refused to participate.
• Daoist Duobao visited Sun Wukong at Water Curtain Cave and asked him, Marshal Tian Peng, Golden Cicada, and General Juanlian to join the Journey to the West.
• Sun Wukong and Marshal Tian Peng prepared to attack Daoist Duobao when he asked them to undertake the journey.
• Daoist Duobao explained that he wanted them to destroy Western Buddhism by spreading his system of Mahayana Buddhism and exploiting Lesser Vehicle Buddhism’s flaws.
• Sun Wukong asked Golden Cicada to explain the Western Buddhist School’s doctrines.

Sun Wukong weighed Daoist Duobao’s proposal to spread Mahayana Buddhism during the Journey to the West, which could fracture the Western Buddhist Sect and help the Interception Sect seize its providence. The revival of the ancient shaman and demon races, and the possibility that Di Jun would return, pushed Sun Wukong toward joining the plan.

• Golden Cicada explained that the Western Buddhist Sect faced internal strife over the vacant position of Buddha Ancestor.
• Daoist Duobao argued that spreading Mahayana Buddhism could split the Western Buddhist Sect and explained that it had to be revealed by someone born in response to the tribulation.
• Daoist Duobao warned Sun Wukong that the revived ancient shaman and demon races threatened his ambition to unify the Primordial Chaos Demon Realm.
• Sun Wukong worried that Jieyin and Zhunti might attack him and his companions, but Daoist Duobao promised the Interception Sect’s protection during the Journey to the West Tribulation.
• Daoist Duobao revealed that the Interception Sect wanted to absorb the Western Buddhist Sect’s disciples and claim its accumulated providence.

Sun Wukong and his companions agreed to help Daoist Duobao and the Interception Sect seize the Western Buddhist Sect’s providence by spreading Mahayana Buddhism. Golden Cicada agreed to reincarnate as the Journey to the West leader, and Daoist Duobao began arranging the next step.

• Daoist Duobao explained that the Interception Sect sought to return the Western Buddhist Sect’s conversion of its disciples during the Investiture of the Gods Calamity by targeting its providence.
• Marshal Tian Peng proposed killing Jieyin and Zhunti, while Golden Cicada condemned the Western Buddhist Sect’s conversion methods and General Juanlian agreed with the plan.
• Sun Wukong and the others agreed to cooperate with Daoist Duobao and spread Mahayana Buddhism to the Western Buddhist Sect.
• Daoist Duobao said Golden Cicana had to reincarnate to lead the Journey to the West, and explained that his memories would return after the tribulation.
• Golden Cicada agreed to reincarnate, and Sun Wukong accepted his decision.

Daoist Duobao escorted Golden Cicada to the Six Paths of Reincarnation, where he confronted Dipankara Buddha and Maitreya Buddha. Guanyin Bodhisattva entered reincarnation too, while Dipankara and Maitreya each planned to exploit the coming disruption of the Journey to the West to seize the Buddha Ancestor’s position.

• Maitreya Buddha mocked Daoist Duobao for leaving the Buddhist Sect, but Daoist Duobao ignored him and criticized the Western Buddhist Sect for sending Guanyin Bodhisattva to reincarnate.
• Daoist Duobao exposed Dipankara Buddha’s origins in the Chan Sect and wounded him with forceful words, leaving him vomiting blood.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva asked Dipankara Buddha and Maitreya Buddha to watch Daoist Duobao and inform Jieyin and Zhunti if needed, then entered reincarnation.
• Maitreya Buddha hoped the disrupted Journey to the West plan would weaken Dipankara Buddha and let him become Buddha Ancestor.
• Dipankara Buddha planned to use the plan’s collapse to make Maitreya Buddha bear the losses and destroy his rival, and neither Buddha intended to alert the Western Saints.

Yuan Shouchang discovered that the Golden Carp he received from a fisherman was the Jing River Dragon King's youngest daughter, caught as part of a scheme. He sheltered her with other Jing River aquatic creatures and learned she could not use her sealed magic power, leaving her in his care as a conspiracy unfolded.

• Yuan Shouchang accepted the fisherman's Golden Carp and sensed dragon-kind aura, but concealed his discovery from the fisherman.
• Yuan Shouchang brought the Golden Carp home and placed her in a vat with more than a dozen other Golden Carp.
• The Golden Carp recognized the Jing River aquatic creatures in the vat, while Yuan Shouchang calculated that she was the Jing River Dragon King's youngest daughter.
• Yuan Shouchang lent the dragon girl enough magic power to speak human language, but she remained unable to take human form or use her own magic.
• The dragon girl asked who Yuan Shouchang was and why he had imprisoned her kin, but he did not reveal his reason.

The Jing River Dragon King learned that Ao Ling had been captured and killed the Turtle Prime Minister after discovering his lies. He went to Chang'an to confront Yuan Shouchang, where Dynastic Fortune suppressed him, while a mysterious force clouded his judgment about Ao Ling’s safety.

• Ao Ling lamented that the Turtle Prime Minister had sealed her powers and sent her to mortals, while the other trapped Aquatic creatures said Yuan Shouchang meant them no harm.
• The Turtle Prime Minister told the Jing River Dragon King that Ao Ling had been captured by a fisherman and accused Yuan Shouchang of masterminding it.
• The Jing River Dragon King saw through the Turtle Prime Minister’s story, then killed him and destroyed his soul.
• The Jing River Dragon King transformed into a wealthy human elder and entered Chang'an, where Dynastic Fortune suppressed him.
• The Jing River Dragon King vowed to confront Yuan Shouchang, unaware that a mysterious force was intensifying his suspicions about Ao Ling’s fate.

The Jing River Dragon King sought Yuan Shouchang to learn where his daughter Ao Ling was, but Yuan warned that the Dragon King was being manipulated as the key to initiating the Journey to the West Tribulation. The Dragon King realized that killing the Turtle Prime Minister had put him in grave danger and might bring punishment from the Heavenly Court.

• The Jing River Dragon King paid a passerby for Yuan Shouchang’s address and hurried to his home.
• The Jing River Dragon King accused Yuan Shouchang of conspiring with the Turtle Prime Minister and demanded that he return Ao Ling.
• Yuan Shouchang told the Jing River Dragon King that a powerful, unnamed being planned to use his life to initiate the Journey to the West Tribulation.
• The Jing River Dragon King asked whether he could survive, and Yuan Shouchang warned him that acting rashly would bring the killing calamity upon him.
• Yuan Shouchang reminded the Jing River Dragon King that the Turtle Prime Minister was a Heavenly Court official, so killing him without submitting him for judgment was a grave offense.

Yuan Shouchang explained that the Jing River Dragon King’s killing tribulation could be averted if Emperor Tang Li Shimin kept Wei Zheng from carrying out his execution. The Dragon King chose to seek Li Shimin’s help rather than risk using the dragons’ favor with Dao Ancestor Hongjun, while Dipankara Buddha watched from beyond the Thirty-three Heavens.

• Yuan Shouchang told the Jing River Dragon King that Heaven would execute him the next day and that Li Shimin could save him by keeping Wei Zheng from carrying out the sentence.
• Yuan Shouchang warned the Jing River Dragon King that the Jing River’s Aquatic creatures were also at risk, and the Dragon King left to seek Li Shimin’s help.
• The Jing River Dragon King searched for a suitable offering, doubted that a mortal emperor could save him, and lamented that the Turtle Prime Minister’s death had brought him to this crisis.
• The Jing River Dragon King considered asking the dragons to use their connection to Dao Ancestor Hongjun, but feared consuming their favor and becoming a sinner to his race.
• Dipankara Buddha watched the Jing River Dragon King vanish and said he had successfully guided him toward Emperor Tang Li Shimin.

Jing River Dragon King entered Emperor Tang Li Shimin’s dream to ask him to save his life from a killing calamity. He explained that killing Turtle Prime Minister for conspiring against his youngest daughter had violated Heavenly Laws, leaving Li Shimin to hear how the Heavenly Court governed the Jing River.

• Jing River Dragon King used a sliver of power in the Great Tang palace to enter Li Shimin’s dream, where he appeared as a golden dragon.
• Jing River Dragon King identified himself and pleaded with Li Shimin to save him from a killing calamity.
• Li Shimin offered to help if the matter was within his means and had not arisen from harm to the Great Tang’s people.
• Jing River Dragon King explained that Turtle Prime Minister had colluded with outsiders against his youngest daughter, so he had killed him in anger.
• Jing River Dragon King told Li Shimin that the Heavenly Court governed the Jing River and that Turtle Prime Minister held an immortal registry there.

The Jing River Dragon King persuaded Emperor Tang Li Shimin that they were both targets of a hidden scheme and asked him to keep Wei Zheng from presiding over the Dragon King's execution. The next morning, Li Shimin summoned Wei Zheng to play Go, but Wei Zheng rebuked him for neglecting court.

• The Jing River Dragon King explained that a mastermind had arranged for him to violate the Heavenly Laws so he would be executed before his case could be investigated.
• Emperor Tang Li Shimin initially refused to get involved, but agreed after the Dragon King warned that Li Shimin might also be the scheme's target.
• The Dragon King asked Li Shimin to keep Wei Zheng occupied at the hour of the execution so the Jade Emperor could investigate, and promised a treasure in return.
• The next morning, Li Shimin dismissed the officials and summoned Wei Zheng to play Go instead of attending court.
• Wei Zheng scolded Li Shimin for neglecting the court, while a historian recorded their exchange.

Emperor Tang Li Shimin tried to keep Wei Zheng from reaching Heaven to carry out the Heavenly Court’s order to execute Jing River Dragon King. Wei Zheng fell asleep during their chess game, and Li Shimin waited for the execution time to pass, believing Jing River Dragon King’s calamity had been averted.

• Emperor Tang Li Shimin claimed his arm was injured and invited Wei Zheng to play chess so he would remain in the palace.
• As the third quarter of noon approached, Wei Zheng grew anxious to fulfill the Heavenly Court’s order to oversee Jing River Dragon King’s execution, while Li Shimin deliberately prolonged the game.
• Wei Zheng tried to lose quickly, but Li Shimin insisted they finish their game, and Wei Zheng eventually fell asleep at the chessboard.
• Emperor Tang Li Shimin covered Wei Zheng with his cloak and waited until the execution time was nearly upon them, believing Wei Zheng could no longer reach Heaven in time.
• Emperor Tang Li Shimin decided to wait until after the third quarter of noon before waking Wei Zheng and fanned him while he slept.

Emperor Tang Li Shimin learned that Wei Zheng had beheaded the Jing River Dragon King in a dream despite his efforts to keep Wei Zheng from acting. Wei Zheng explained that the emperor’s dynastic aura had helped him, then warned that Li Shimin could not send out his primordial spirit because he was merely mortal.

• Qin Shubao and Xu Maogong brought the Jing River Dragon King’s severed head to Emperor Tang Li Shimin.
• Wei Zheng awoke, saw the head, and admitted that he had beheaded the Jing River Dragon King in a dream under Heaven’s orders.
• Wei Zheng explained that the dragon had violated Heavenly Law by killing a minister with an immortal register.
• Wei Zheng credited Emperor Tang Li Shimin’s feather fan and dynastic aura with helping him defeat the dragon.
• Emperor Tang Li Shimin asked whether he could send his primordial spirit to Heaven, and Wei Zheng warned that he was merely mortal.

Wei Zheng’s immortal registry and dual service to Heaven and Great Tang drove Emperor Tang Li Shimin to dismiss him as chancellor. Wei Zheng challenged Li Shimin’s rule and legacy, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Emperor Tang Li Shimin questioned Wei Zheng’s loyalty after learning he held an immortal registry, but Wei Zheng insisted he was both Great Tang’s chancellor and Heaven’s immortal official.
• Li Shimin tried to make Wei Zheng retire, while Wei Zheng resisted because his chancellorship let him cultivate through the people’s incense offerings.
• Wei Zheng defended executing Jing River Dragon King and refused to answer which side he would support if Great Tang fought Heaven.
• Li Shimin accused Wei Zheng of favoring Jiancheng and dismissed him from his service, and Wei Zheng answered by criticizing the basis of Li Shimin’s succession and achievements.
• Qin Shubao interrupted Wei Zheng’s disrespectful remarks, but Wei Zheng continued, prompting Li Shimin to challenge his claim that anyone could have built a prosperous Great Tang.

Emperor Tang Li Shimin dismissed Wei Zheng after losing trust in him over the Jing River Dragon King's death, but Wei Zheng left him with a warning about protecting the people. Dipankara Buddha revealed that the Western Buddhist Sect had arranged the scheme and turned the Dragon King's remaining soul against Li Shimin, who woke from a nightmare as the ghost began targeting him.

• Emperor Tang Li Shimin stripped Wei Zheng of his office and titles, and Wei Zheng advised him to keep the country prosperous before leaving the palace.
• Qin Shubao and Xu Maogong pledged loyalty to Li Shimin and went to retrieve the Jing River Dragon King's body.
• Dipankara Buddha seized the Jing River Dragon King's soul, erased most of it, and left it consumed by hatred for Li Shimin.
• The Jing River Dragon King's remaining soul targeted Li Shimin, who woke from a nightmare of the Dragon King pleading for help.

Dipankara Buddha empowered the Jing River Dragon King’s ruined soul to breach Emperor Tang Li Shimin’s Dynastic Fortune and attack him in a dream. After surviving the assault, Li Shimin summoned Great Tang generals to protect him, and Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong arrived at the palace.

• Dipankara Buddha lent his power to the Jing River Dragon King, enabling him to enter Li Shimin’s dream despite the damage it caused his soul.
• The Jing River Dragon King attacked Li Shimin in his dream, blaming him for helping Wei Zheng execute him, but Dynastic Fortune burned the Dragon King’s hand.
• The Jing River Dragon King continued strangling Li Shimin until Li Shimin woke and resolved not to wait helplessly for another attack.
• Li Shimin stayed awake until morning and summoned Qin Shubao, Yuchi Gong, Xu Maogong, and other Great Tang generals, intending to use their baleful aura against the Dragon King.
• Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong reached the palace and found Li Shimin looking weak; Qin Shubao asked whether he had caught a chill.