Chapter Summaries

Black Bear Spirit escaped the battle at Lion Camel Kingdom and returned to Guanyin Monastery, where the little girl recognized him as her Little Bear. Tang Sanzang hoped Black Bear Spirit’s return would ease his predicament, but Black Bear Spirit rejected the little girl’s claim.

• Grand Supreme Elder Lao suggested the little girl might wield Samadhi True Fire because she came from another world, and the arguing figures fell silent to consider it.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva hesitated outside the South Heavenly Gate, secretly debating whether to enter the Heavenly Court and how to explain their mission.
• Tang Sanzang condemned Lesser Vehicle Buddhism after Sunlight Bodhisattva fled, while the little girl remained focused on finding her Little Bear.
• Black Bear Spirit escaped from Venerable Kashyapa, Yang Jian, and Sun Wukong, then returned toward Guanyin Monastery to recover.
• Black Bear Spirit entered Guanyin Monastery hoping to explore Leifeng Pagoda, but the little girl spotted him and called him her Little Bear.
• Black Bear Spirit denied knowing the little girl, while Tang Sanzang told her that he had not lied about her Little Bear returning.

The little girl found the Black Bear Spirit and demanded her Little Bear back, while Tang Sanzang tried to escape their confrontation. After the Black Bear Spirit attacked Tang Sanzang and the girl struck him with Blazing Radiance, Tang Sanzang and Ao Lie fled to retrieve the Brocade Kasaya, leaving the girl and Black Bear Spirit behind.

• The little girl recognized the Black Bear Spirit as her Little Bear, grabbed Tang Sanzang to keep him from leaving, and asked him to make the bear return to her.
• Tang Sanzang provoked the Black Bear Spirit, who attacked him, and the little girl struck the bear with a moving pillar of fire called Blazing Radiance.
• The Black Bear Spirit survived with superficial injuries and complained that he had harmed no mortals and had only considered taking the Brocade Kasaya.
• Tang Sanzang remembered his missing Brocade Kasaya and ran off, while Ao Lie followed him and left the little girl with the Black Bear Spirit.

The little lolita defeated Black Bear Spirit at Guanyin Monastery, but Yuanshi Tianzun took them both away on Wu Feng’s orders. Tang Sanzang and Little White Dragon, Ao Lie, then discussed the Brocade Kasaya and Sun Wukong, whose whereabouts remained unclear.

• Black Bear Spirit resisted the little lolita, who overwhelmed him with Samadhi True Fire until he submitted in exchange for food and lodging.
• Yuanshi Tianzun arrived on Wu Feng’s orders and took the little lolita and Black Bear Spirit away in his sleeve.
• Tang Sanzang and Little White Dragon, Ao Lie, saw that Guanyin Monastery had become ruins again, and Ao Lie concealed his knowledge of the Journey to the West.
• Tang Sanzang learned that the Brocade Kasaya was beneath Leifeng Pagoda, but Ao Lie said he could not lift the strengthened pagoda and they would have to wait for Fahai.
• Tang Sanzang worried that Sun Wukong had not returned, and Ao Lie assured him through the Chat Group that Sun Wukong was safe but delayed.

Tang Sanzang learned that Fahai had gone to Vulture Peak to capture the Golden-Winged Great Peng and heard how Fahai had converted the demons of the Lion Camel Kingdom. As Sun Wukong and Yang Jian pursued Venerable Kashyapa, Fahai decided to seek the Celestial Court’s help against the Golden-Winged Great Peng rather than confront Vulture Peak directly.

• Little White Dragon Ao Lie told Tang Sanzang that Fahai had gone to Vulture Peak to capture the Golden-Winged Great Peng.
• Ao Lie recounted how Fahai had converted the demons occupying the Lion Camel Kingdom, and Tang Sanzang praised his deed.
• Tang Sanzang asked Ao Lie to have Sun Wukong find out when Fahai would return so they could resume their journey.
• Venerable Kashyapa fled toward Vulture Peak after fighting Sun Wukong and Yang Jian, and Yang Jian followed him.
• After receiving Ao Lie’s message, Sun Wukong chased after Yang Jian and Venerable Kashyapa.
• Fahai chose to report the Golden-Winged Great Peng to the Celestial Court instead of attacking Vulture Peak himself.

Fahai went to the Heavenly Palace to seek justice against the Golden-Winged Great Peng for the people of the Lion Camel Kingdom. His accusation that the Great Peng was Tathagata Buddha’s maternal uncle left Heavenly Emperor Haotian and the assembled immortals bewildered, while Yang Jian and Sun Wukong turned back from Spirit Mountain to join them.

• Thousand-Mile Eye and Wind-Following Ear reported that Fahai was approaching the South Heavenly Gate, and Heavenly Emperor Haotian ordered that he be admitted.
• Fahai entered the Hall of Lingxiao, paid respects to the Jade Emperor, and hesitated before explaining his purpose.
• Heavenly Emperor Haotian urged Fahai to speak freely, promising to uphold justice as ruler of the Three Realms.
• Fahai accused the Golden-Winged Great Peng of devastating the Lion Camel Kingdom and asked the Jade Emperor to execute him.
• Heavenly Emperor Haotian and the immortals were shocked when Fahai identified the Great Peng as Tathagata Buddha’s maternal uncle.
• After Heavenly Emperor Haotian notified Yang Jian that Fahai had arrived, Yang Jian and Sun Wukong abandoned their trip to Spirit Mountain and headed for the Heavenly Palace.

Fahai learned that the world’s history differed from the one he knew and urged Heavenly Emperor Haotian to punish the Golden-Winged Great Peng. With Laozi’s backing, Haotian ordered his generals to capture the demon, leaving them facing an almost impossible mission at the Vulture Peak.

• Heavenly Emperor Haotian explained to Fahai that Dipankara Buddha was now Buddhism’s Buddha Ancestor and that Tathagata Buddha had returned to the Interception Sect as Daoist Duobao.
• Haotian weighed whether to support Fahai against the Western Buddhist Sect, then looked to Grand Supreme Elder Lao for backing.
• Grand Supreme Elder Lao supported Fahai’s call for justice and encouraged Haotian to act against the Golden-Winged Great Peng.
• Sun Wukong asked Fahai to help retrieve Tang Sanzang’s Brocade Kasaya, but Fahai insisted that bringing the Golden-Winged Great Peng to justice mattered to the Three Realms.
• Heavenly Emperor Haotian ordered Taibai Jinxing and Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing to capture the Golden-Winged Great Peng at the Vulture Peak, and both feared they could not succeed.

Sun Wukong brought Tang Sanzang to the Heavenly Court to witness Fahai accuse the Western Buddhist Sect and the Golden-Winged Great Peng. As Taibai Jinxing and Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li led an army toward Spirit Mountain, Maitreya Buddha learned of the approaching force.

• Sun Wukong left the Hall of Lingxiao to fetch Tang Sanzang and Little White Dragon Ao Lie, then took Tang Sanzang to Heaven to witness Fahai's complaint.
• Tang Sanzang praised Fahai for exposing the Western Buddhist Sect's cover-up of the Lion Camel Kingdom deaths, easing Fahai's doubts about his actions.
• Taibai Jinxing and Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li gathered a grand force to march on Spirit Mountain.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva returned to Spirit Mountain and warned Maitreya Buddha that the Heavenly Court had sent troops.

Maitreya Buddha learned that Heaven had mobilized troops to demand the Golden-Winged Great Peng from Lingshan. After discovering Dipankara Buddha had secretly sheltered the culprit, Maitreya ordered him and the Peng to go to Heaven and resolve the crisis.

• Manjushri Bodhisattva explained that Fahai had complained to Heaven after the Golden-Winged Great Peng fled to Lingshan, prompting Heavenly Emperor Haotian to mobilize troops.
• Maitreya Buddha denied arranging the Golden-Winged Great Peng, and Venerable Kashyapa suspected Dipankara Buddha was responsible.
• Maitreya Buddha sent Venerable Kashyapa to bring Dipankara Buddha and the Golden-Winged Great Peng to him.
• Dipankara Buddha initially denied involvement but returned to Lingshan with the Golden-Winged Great Peng after Venerable Kashyapa confronted him with the facts.
• Maitreya Buddha ordered Dipankara Buddha and the Golden-Winged Great Peng to go to Heaven and settle the matter themselves.

Dipankara Buddha brought Golden-Winged Great Peng to the Heavenly Court, where Heavenly Emperor Haotian put the demon on trial for the massacre at Lion Camel Kingdom. Dipankara disavowed Golden-Winged Great Peng and pushed for his execution, while the captive could not speak in his own defense.

• Maitreya Buddha pressured Dipankara Buddha into taking Golden-Winged Great Peng to the Heavenly Court to answer for the Buddhist Sect’s trouble.
• Taibai Jinxing reported that Dipankara Buddha and Golden-Winged Great Peng were coming, and the Heavenly Court’s great experts gathered in the Hall of Lingxiao.
• Dipankara Buddha saw the assembled Heavenly Court officials and realized Golden-Winged Great Peng would not be saved.
• Heavenly Emperor Haotian asked Golden-Winged Great Peng whether he had gathered demons and devastated Lion Camel Kingdom, and Dipankara Buddha admitted the crimes while claiming the demon had tried to frame the Buddhist Sect.
• Dipankara Buddha’s restriction kept Golden-Winged Great Peng from speaking as Heavenly Emperor Haotian declared that he should be executed.

The Heavenly Emperor Haotian sentenced the Golden-Winged Great Peng to repent in the eighteenth level of hell, and Fahai helped Tang Sanzang recover his Brocade Kasaya. Tang Sanzang resumed his journey west, while Yang Jian brought Fahai to Flower-Fruit Mountain and Sun Wukong reached Gao Village, where Marshal Tian Peng lived.

• The Heavenly Emperor Haotian sentenced the Golden-Winged Great Peng to repent in the eighteenth level of hell and ordered Yang Jian to escort him there.
• Dipankara Buddha returned to Spirit Mountain, and Fahai thanked the Heavenly Emperor Haotian on behalf of the Lion Camel Kingdom.
• Fahai helped Tang Sanzang retrieve his Brocade Kasaya at Guanyin Monastery and offered to assist if he met demons he could not defeat.
• Yang Jian arrived at Guanyin Monastery and took Fahai to Senior Wu Feng's General Store on Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Sun Wukong recognized Gao Village as Marshal Tian Peng's home and suggested that Tang Sanzang stay there for the night.

Tang Sanzang and his companions reached Gao Village in the Country of Wusizang and were invited to stay for the night. Sun Wukong overheard Master Gao berating a pig-headed live-in son-in-law, whom he suspected was Marshal Tian Peng, while Master Gao welcomed Tang Sanzang into the village.

• Sun Wukong asked a passerby where they were and learned they had reached Gao Village in the Country of Wusizang.
• Gao An invited Tang Sanzang and his companions to stay at Gao Village before Master Gao's seventieth birthday celebration.
• Sun Wukong overheard people inside Gao Village insulting a pig-headed live-in son-in-law and guessed he was Marshal Tian Peng.
• The chapter revealed that Marshal Tian Peng had been living at Gao Village as a pig demon for nearly three years after Wu Feng's General Store sent him into the past.
• Master Gao welcomed Tang Sanzang and told Gao An to have the kitchen prepare a vegetarian feast.

Tang Sanzang accepted Master Gao’s request to pray for blessings at his seventieth birthday celebration, while Sun Wukong worried about the mysterious power in Gao Village and his coming encounter with Marshal Tian Peng. Master Gao looked forward to using Tang Sanzang’s presence to make his birthday banquet the most impressive one around.

• Master Gao welcomed Tang Sanzang with a lavish vegetarian feast and introduced him to his daughters and sons-in-law, including Gao Cuilan.
• After the meal, Master Gao asked Tang Sanzang to pray for blessings at his seventieth birthday celebration the next day, and Tang Sanzang agreed.
• Sun Wukong wondered where Marshal Tian Peng was and realized his divine sense could not reach beyond the main hall.
• Sun Wukong feared Marshal Tian Peng had grown much stronger and hoped he would show mercy, having abandoned the idea of proving his strength to Tang Sanzang.
• Master Gao celebrated Tang Sanzang’s agreement because his presence would bring him prestige at the birthday banquet.

Sun Wukong worried that Marshal Tian Peng would miss his chance to join Tang Sanzang’s scripture-seeking group because he had not appeared at Gao Village. The next morning, Tang Sanzang sought a birthday gift for Master Gao, but Little White Dragon Ao Lie warned him against giving away dragon treasures.

• Sun Wukong pondered why Marshal Tian Peng had not appeared and worried that Tang Sanzang would leave Gao Village without noticing him.
• Tang Sanzang woke to find Gao Village bustling with guests celebrating Master Gao’s seventieth birthday.
• Tang Sanzang asked Sun Wukong what gift they should give Master Gao, then considered taking scales, whiskers, or blood from Little White Dragon Ao Lie.
• Little White Dragon Ao Lie refused and reminded Tang Sanzang that revealing valuable treasures to mortals could bring disaster, as it had at Guanyin Monastery.
• Tang Sanzang reconsidered after hearing Ao Lie’s warning.

Tang Sanzang and his companions settled on giving Master Gao a huge inscribed stone for his seventieth birthday. Sun Wukong brought the stone to Gao Village, where the guests admired his strength, but he reconsidered how to make the gift suit Tang Sanzang’s status.

• Tang Sanzang rejected Sun Wukong’s offer to obtain a gift from Emperor Tang Li Shimin, and Monk Cihang suggested carving a birthday blessing into a large stone.
• Sun Wukong went searching for a suitable stone while Tang Sanzang ate breakfast and learned that guests wanted to meet him at Master Gao’s birthday gathering.
• Tang Sanzang arrived at the main hall and asked Master Gao to wait for his disciple to bring the birthday gift.
• Sun Wukong descended carrying a huge, smooth, jade-white stone, impressing the guests and Gao family members.
• As guests questioned the stone’s value, Sun Wukong thought the gift needed to better match Tang Sanzang’s identity as a Great Tang holy monk.

Sun Wukong revealed auspicious characters inside a stone as Tang Sanzang’s gift to Master Gao, then Marshal Tian Peng arrived at the birthday feast with a present despite the Gao family’s hostility. Gao Cuilan reproached him for coming, though he knew she still cared for him.

• Sun Wukong cracked open a huge stone to reveal golden characters wishing Master Gao fortune and longevity, impressing the guests.
• Tang Sanzang accepted the seat of honor, while Master Gao’s other sons-in-law presented calligraphy and ginseng.
• Sun Wukong grew anxious when Marshal Tian Peng had not arrived with a gift, but then heard that the Gao family’s third son-in-law was approaching.
• Marshal Tian Peng entered the hall, sensed the guests’ hostility, and said he had come to celebrate Master Gao’s birthday and give him a present.
• The eldest and second sons-in-law accused Marshal Tian Peng of ruining the celebration, and Gao Cuilan reproached him for showing up.
• Marshal Tian Peng did not resent Gao Cuilan because he knew she still had genuine feelings for him.

Marshal Tian Peng brought a golden pill to Master Gao’s seventieth-birthday celebration, but Gao Cuilan and her family tried to send him away and mocked his gift. After the Gao family’s second son-in-law attacked him, Marshal Tian Peng revealed a fearsome side and struck back, leaving the guests stunned.

• Gao Cuilan sided with Master Gao and urged Marshal Tian Peng to leave his gift and go.
• The Gao family’s eldest and second daughters mocked Marshal Tian Peng and disparaged his gift while Sun Wukong watched.
• Marshal Tian Peng claimed the gift was a golden pill refined by Grand Supreme Elder Lao that could extend a mortal’s life by a thousand years.
• The Gao family and guests mocked his claim, and Master Gao and the sons-in-law demanded that he leave.
• The Gao family’s second son-in-law knocked the pill box from Marshal Tian Peng’s hand and tried to shove him out, so Marshal Tian Peng slapped him flying.

The City God and Mountain God arrived at Master Gao’s seventieth birthday celebration and revealed Marshal Tian Peng’s importance to Gao Village. The chapter ended with the minor gods defending Marshal Tian Peng and scolding the Gao family’s sons-in-law for insulting him.

• Master Gao and the guests rushed to welcome the City God and Mountain God when they arrived.
• The Mountain God and Earth God credited Gao Village’s peace to Marshal Tian Peng rather than to Master Gao’s family.
• Master Gao’s sons-in-law called Marshal Tian Peng a disrespectful pig demon and urged Master Gao to drive him out.
• Gao Cuilan tried to defend her husband, but the Earth God and Mountain God slapped the two sons-in-law.
• The Mountain God and Earth God identified Marshal Tian Peng and reminded the Gao family that he had protected Gao Village for three years.

After Marshal Tian Peng completed his three-year trial, the Heavenly River Navy returned to Gao Village with his weapon and a Nine Revolutions Golden Pill, restoring his power and original appearance. The Heavenly Court and Western Buddhist Sect watched the unexpected events unfold, while Wu Feng remained unaware of the arrangements made through his store.

• Two generals from the Hundred Thousand Heavenly River Navy presented Marshal Tian Peng with the Nine-Tooth Rake and a Nine Revolutions Golden Pill, and the navy welcomed him back.
• Sun Wukong and Little White Dragon Ao Lie grew jealous as Marshal Tian Peng swallowed the pill, reached the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, and regained his original appearance.
• In the Hall of Lingxiao, Heavenly Emperor Haotian asked Grand Supreme Elder Lao about the pill, and Lao admitted that neither he nor Taishang Laozi could refine it.
• Messenger soldiers reported that the Hundred Thousand Heavenly River Navy had deserted, and Heavenly Emperor Haotian assumed Wu Feng had arranged their appearance at Gao Village.
• Wu Feng was also baffled by the events, while Maitreya Buddha and the other Buddhas watched from Western Spirit Mountain and cursed the Heavenly Court.

Maitreya Buddha mistook Marshal Tian Peng’s arrival in Gao Village with the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill and the Hundred Thousand Heavenly River Navy for a Heavenly Court bid to join the Western Buddhist sect’s journey-to-the-West plan. As Marshal Tian Peng revealed his identity and confronted the Gao family, Maitreya set out for the Heavenly Court to learn its intentions and negotiate.

• Venerable Kashyapa suggested that the Heavenly Court had sent Marshal Tian Peng to claim a place in the Western Buddhist sect’s pilgrimage team, rather than to obstruct the plan.
• Maitreya Buddha decided to visit the Heavenly Court, confirm its intentions, and discuss the price of its participation in the Eighty-One Tribulations.
• Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang, Little White Dragon Ao Lie, and the people of Gao Village watched Marshal Tian Peng arrive with the Hundred Thousand Heavenly River Navy.
• Marshal Tian Peng regretted that General Juanlian was absent but relished showing off before Sun Wukong and Golden Cicada.
• Marshal Tian Peng told Master Gao and the Gao family that three years of patience had earned him disdain, revealed himself as a marshal of the Heavenly Court, and declared that he would no longer stay with the family.

Marshal Tian Peng revealed his identity in Gao Village, then turned against Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong under the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill’s influence. Wu Feng recognized that the conflict was meant to test Sun Wukong, and the chapter ended as Sun Wukong challenged Marshal Tian Peng and his Hundred Thousand Heavenly River Navy.

• The Gao family panicked after learning that their mistreated son-in-law was Marshal Tian Peng and seeing the Hundred Thousand Heavenly River Navy arrive.
• Wu Feng watched from his General Store and explained that the Navy’s Heavenly Net Array could influence a battle between Grand Unity Golden Immortals.
• The Nine Revolutions Golden Pill turned Marshal Tian Peng’s fondness for Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong into hatred, and he decided to play along with the change.
• Marshal Tian Peng rejected the scripture journey and insulted Tang Sanzang, while Tang Sanzang failed to understand his remarks about making keys.
• Sun Wukong recognized a repeat of Little White Dragon Ao Lie’s earlier confrontation and cursed Marshal Tian Peng and his Navy.