Recaps

Di Xin asked Haotian to help him end the Human Race’s feudal fragmentation, accepting the price of sharing its Fortune Aura and spreading Heavenly Court worship. With Houtu’s approval, Di Xin sacrificed his body to guide lost souls from the Yellow Springs while his Primordial Spirit became a divine statue above the Nine Heavens.

• Di Xin came to the Heavenly Court seeking a way to intervene in the Human Race’s divided and war-torn state.
• Haotian offered to help if Di Xin secured half the Human Race’s Fortune Aura for the Heavenly Court and established its worship among the people.
• Haotian consulted Houtu, who agreed on the condition that Di Xin guard the depths of the Yellow Springs and guide lost souls.
• Di Xin accepted, and his physical body descended into the Yellow Springs to form a path for lost souls to climb toward freedom.
• Di Xin’s Primordial Spirit transformed into a vast divine statue above the Nine Heavens, illuminating the Primordial Wilderness.

Di Xin descended toward the East Sea Coast to undergo tribulation while Haotian defended his actions against Venerable Yuanshi. The chapter ended with Venerable Yuanshi leaving after warning Haotian to keep his word.

• Haotian sent Di Xin’s consciousness into the Six Paths of Reincarnation while Di Xin’s body and Primordial Spirit remained elsewhere.
• Venerable Yuanshi confronted Haotian, accusing him of breaking the rules by letting Di Xin reincarnate into the Human Race.
• Haotian argued that Di Xin had not interfered in human affairs and had only been demoted to the Mortal Realm under an old Heavenly Edict.
• Venerable Yuanshi investigated the Heavenly Court’s regulations, then warned Haotian before departing.

Qingyuan established the Dao Sect, which spread throughout the Primordial Wilderness and strengthened its Immortal Dao without changing the Human Race’s divisions. A tremendous disturbance at the East Sea announced an Innate Spirit’s birth, while a golden light startled the Heavenly Court.

• Haotian watched Venerable Yuanshi depart and told Di Xin that his future achievements depended on him.
• Qingyuan founded the Dao Sect in West Kunlun, accepted disciples of every rank, and saw it grow to include a fifth of the Primordial Wilderness’s living beings.
• Di Xin’s consciousness passed through a hundred lifetimes without ending the Human Race’s cycle of division and unity, while Great Zhou eventually unified the Nine Provinces.
• A world-shaking explosion at the East Sea drew countless powers, but an unseen Saint’s threat prevented them from approaching the island.
• A golden light announced the birth of an Innate Spirit, and the Heavenly Emperor ordered Zhang Bairen to investigate the disturbance in the lower realm.

Haotian sent Zhang Bairen to investigate a golden light from the lower realm, where an Immortal Stone had become a Stone Monkey but lost its Innate Origin after eating mortal food. Zhang Bairen found the monkey at Flower Fruit Mountain, discovered the Water Curtain Cave Grotto-Heaven, and returned to report to the Heavenly Emperor.

• Haotian ordered Zhang Bairen to investigate the disturbance in the lower realm.
• Thousand-Mile Vision and Wind-Listening Ears told Zhang Bairen that the Stone Fetus had lost its Innate Origin after drinking springwater and eating wild peaches.
• Zhang Bairen found the Stone Monkey with a troop of monkeys at Flower Fruit Mountain as it leapt through a waterfall.
• Zhang Bairen followed the Stone Monkey through the waterfall and discovered the Water Curtain Cave Grotto-Heaven.
• Zhang Bairen returned to the Lingxiao Treasure Hall and reported his findings to the Heavenly Emperor.

Zhang Bairen was promoted to Imperial Lord despite fierce objections from the Heavenly Court officials. Centuries later, Stone Monkey confronted the death of an Old Monkey and learned that all beings eventually died of old age.

• Zhang Bairen reported that the Stone Fetus had lost its innate foundation after consuming mortal food and was now mortal.
• Haotian announced Zhang Bairen’s promotion, and Zhang Bairen and the other immortals urged him to withdraw the decree.
• Haotian named Zhang Bairen the Nine Heavens Mystic Spirit Great Virtue Radiant Light Vast Virtue Universal Transformation World-Saving Compassionate Imperial Lord and ordered him to attend court beside the throne.
• The immortals protested and sought help to reverse the promotion, but Zhang Bairen took his new seat at court and was immediately besieged by officials presenting memorials.
• Centuries later, Stone Monkey found an Old Monkey dead in Water Curtain Cave and asked whether everyone eventually died.
• An Old Monkey told Stone Monkey that all beings died as they aged, describing birth, aging, illness, and death as the ordinary way of the Human Realm.

Stone Monkey rejected the idea that monkeys had to die and be ruled by the Underworld, then learned from Old Monkey that Immortals could live forever beyond King Yama’s jurisdiction. He vowed to seek a master, learn immortality, and lead the other monkeys to eternal youth.

• Old Monkey tried to comfort Stone Monkey by saying that death from old age was simply the way of the world.
• Stone Monkey angrily stopped the monkeys from drinking and challenged why they had to be ruled in life and bound by the Underworld after death.
• Old Monkey recalled seeing people fly over Flower Fruit Mountain and learning that they were Immortals.
• Old Monkey explained that Immortals could fly, wield great powers, and live forever beyond King Yama’s jurisdiction.
• Stone Monkey excitedly vowed to find a master, cultivate immortality, and help all the monkeys attain eternal youth.

The Monkey King set out from Flower Fruit Mountain on a raft to seek immortality, dismissing Old Monkey’s warnings about the dangers of the outside world. A sudden storm smashed his raft and knocked him unconscious, leaving the gods and Buddhas guarding his voyage to rescue him and report the interference to Tathagata Buddha Patriarch.

• The Monkey King promised the monkeys he would attain immortality and bring them along, but Old Monkey warned that crossing the ocean and finding an Immortal would be perilous.
• The Monkey King rejected Old Monkey’s doubts and ordered the monkeys to prepare supplies and build a raft for his journey.
• The Monkey King sailed away from Flower Fruit Mountain and drifted across the sea for years before spotting a distant coastline.
• The Monkey King mocked Old Monkey’s warnings and urinated toward the heavens, whereupon a sudden storm sent a huge wave crashing into his raft.
• The wave shattered the raft and knocked the Monkey King unconscious, so the Eight Vajras, Eighteen Arhats, and other hidden guardians rescued him from the sea.
• An Arhat returned to the Western Pure Land to report the attack to Tathagata Buddha Patriarch.

Tathagata persuaded Jieyin and Zhunti to divide the Western Teachings into three autonomous Buddhist branches, and they appointed him leader of the Present Branch. When Maitreya reported that Monkey had fallen into the water, Jieyin asked Tathagata to plan the response, leaving Maitreya stunned.

• Tathagata proposed organizing the Buddhist Sect into Past, Present, and Future branches to expand its influence and Fortune Aura.
• Tathagata argued that the Saints could retain control by appointing or dismissing branch leaders, and Jieyin and Zhunti agreed to the plan.
• Jieyin and Zhunti named Tathagata the Buddha of the Present Branch and leader of the Buddhist Sect.
• Maitreya reported that Monkey had fallen into the water after angering the Heavenly Court, and Jieyin judged the punishment minor.
• Jieyin asked Tathagata how to handle the incident, and Tathagata began outlining a plan that protected Monkey while preserving the Heavenly Court's dignity.

Daoist Zhunti appointed Maitreya as the Future Buddha but gave Tathagata authority over the Buddhist Sect’s present affairs. Tathagata planned to establish Mahayana Buddhism outside the Western Pure Land, while Zhunti privately wondered whether he was an Interception Sect mole.

• Maitreya brooded over Daoist Duobao’s rise until Tathagata alerted him that Daoist Zhunti was calling.
• Daoist Zhunti told Maitreya he would become the Future Buddha and govern a Buddhist branch, but Tathagata would lead the Present Buddha branch and manage the sect’s current affairs.
• Maitreya objected to Tathagata’s authority, but Zhunti reprimanded him and sent him away.
• Tathagata proposed leaving the Western Pure Land to establish a new dojo, found Mahayana Buddhism, and welcome disciples from all walks of life.
• Daoist Zhunti told Tathagata to consult the Heavenly Emperor about the Buddhist Sect’s growth and preserve the Journey to the West.
• Daoist Zhunti asked Jieyin whether Duobao might be a mole sent by the Interception Sect.

Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti discussed whether Duobao could betray the Western Teachings and how to secure the Buddhist Sect’s rise. Jieyin then visited Daoist Randeng to recruit him as the Buddha of the Past, but Randeng asked why a Saint had come to his mountain.

• Daoist Jieyin reassured Daoist Zhunti that Duobao had no reason to betray the Western Teachings because he had nowhere else to pursue the Path of Supreme Ego.
• Daoist Zhunti left to make arrangements in the Human Realm and consult the First Disciple of Intercepting Sect about instructing the child destined for the tribulation.
• Daoist Jieyin proposed inviting Daoist Randeng to join the Buddhist Sect as the Buddha of the Past, offering him the Western Buddha Throne and equal standing.
• Daoist Jieyin arrived at Yuanjue Cave and asked Bai Shan to announce a guest from the West to Daoist Randeng.
• Daoist Randeng welcomed Daoist Jieyin and asked why a Saint had visited Spirit Vulture Mountain.

Daoist Jieyin persuaded Daoist Randeng to accept the position of Buddha of the Past and teach Stone Monkey, promising him a path toward sainthood. Meanwhile, Daoist Zhunti waited at the Heavenly Court to see Haotian, but found Zhang Bairen in the side hall instead.

• Daoist Jieyin offered Daoist Randeng a chance to become Buddha of the Past, and Randeng accepted after hearing the terms.
• Daoist Jieyin asked Daoist Randeng to teach Stone Monkey, and Randeng agreed.
• Daoist Randeng established a temple near Mountain Peak beyond the East Sea Coast and waited for Stone Monkey.
• Daoist Zhunti waited at the Heavenly Court until an immortal official escorted him to a side hall to meet Haotian.
• Daoist Zhunti entered the side hall and found Zhang Bairen there instead of Haotian.

Haotian appointed Zhang Bairen acting Heavenly Emperor, and Zhunti offered the Western Teachings’ help in exchange for cooperation with the Journey to the West. Meanwhile, the Monkey King struggled to survive among humans and left the war-torn East Sea Coast in search of a way to become an Immortal.

• Taibai Golden Star delivered Haotian’s decree appointing Zhang Bairen acting Heavenly Emperor while Haotian entered Secluded Cultivation.
• The Heavenly Court erupted in disbelief and protest, but Zhang Bairen’s appointment stood.
• Zhunti proposed that Zhang Bairen cooperate with the Journey to the West and offered Western Teachings’ support in establishing his authority.
• Zhang Bairen said he would consider Zhunti’s offer, and Zhunti left to consult other parties while continuing to press him.
• After waking on a beach, the Monkey King stole clothes, learned human speech, and searched for Immortals while the feudal states’ war engulfed the region.
• After nearly dying several times amid the fighting, the Monkey King left the East Sea Coast for the wider world.

After more than fifty years searching for immortality, the Monkey King learned of an Immortal on Fangcun Mountain and persuaded a woodcutter to guide him there. The woodcutter entered through the mountain gate, but the Monkey King could not cross its invisible barrier.

• The Monkey King helped an injured villager, who told him about an Immortal on a nearby mountain and suggested asking a woodcutter for help.
• The villager sent the Monkey King to the woodcutter by asking him to deliver medicinal plaster to Xu Laosan.
• The woodcutter agreed to take the Monkey King to the mountain, which he identified as Fangcun Mountain, home to an Immortal with Outer and Inner Sect Disciples.
• The woodcutter led the Monkey King to Fangcun Mountain and went inside to report to an Inner Sect senior brother.
• The Monkey King tried to enter through the open gate but was stopped by an invisible barrier.

Monkey waited outside Fangcun Mountain for decades despite being told he lacked the fate to enter and cultivate. As his body aged and weakened, he heard startling news that the chapter left unrevealed.

• Monkey failed to enter Fangcun Mountain, and the woodcutter told him that he might lack the fate to cultivate immortality.
• Monkey stayed outside the gate for ten years, surviving on fruit and dew while the woodcutter repeatedly urged him to give up.
• The woodcutter brought his son Huzi to seek entry, but Huzi was also turned away, and the woodcutter planned to send him to learn butchery.
• Monkey promised to offer Huzi a chance to cultivate if he became an immortal, but the woodcutter left with his son and did not return for several years.
• Monkey continued waiting as his body aged and weakened, while kind-hearted Daoists helped care for him.
• After sixty years of waiting, Monkey heard news that he could scarcely believe.

Monkey learned in a dream that the woodcutter had died long ago and that his hopes of becoming an Immortal might be futile, then awoke back on the day he first came to Fangcun Mountain. He entered the mountain and asked Bai Shan to introduce him to the old Immortal.

• A Daoist told Monkey that the woodcutter had died in a tiger attack more than fifty years earlier, leaving his wife and child to fend for themselves.
• Monkey collapsed from grief and fear that his years of waiting to become an Immortal were only wishful thinking, then stopped breathing.
• Monkey jolted awake beside the woodcutter and realized he was alive and apparently back at the start of his journey to Fangcun Mountain.
• Monkey crossed Fangcun Mountain's gate without encountering the barrier he remembered from his dream and eagerly followed the woodcutter inside.
• The woodcutter introduced Monkey to Bai Shan, who said Monkey had spiritual nature but a sullied foundation, and Monkey asked to meet the old Immortal.

Monkey insisted on pursuing inner sect admission at Fangcun Mountain despite Bai Shan and the woodcutter warning him that the process could take over ten years and might still end in failure. He began working in the Servant Hall, determined to endure the years of chores and learn from the sect’s disciples.

• Bai Shan explained that inner sect candidates had to spend years doing chores, serving disciples, and studying scripture before facing an assessment, while Outer Disciples could pay tuition to learn practical skills.
• Bai Shan judged Monkey’s origins and aptitude poor and advised him to become an Outer Disciple instead.
• The woodcutter warned Monkey that many applicants failed and urged him to settle for learning a few useful skills, but Monkey firmly insisted on becoming an Inner Sect Disciple.
• Bai Shan said ten years would offer only a hope of admission and promised Monkey could become an Outer Disciple if he failed the assessment.
• The woodcutter left Fangcun Mountain, and Monkey became a worker in the Servant Hall, doing chores and occasionally visiting sect disciples in hopes of learning from them.

Monkey spent over ten years working in Fangcun Mountain’s Servant Hall while Inner Sect Disciples repeatedly refused to choose him because he was a small monkey. The chapter ended when an Inner Sect Disciple summoned him to Qingfeng Pavilion.

• Monkey endured the first three years of labor and waited for an Inner Sect Disciple to choose him as a servant.
• After months of rejection, Monkey learned that the disciples thought taking a monkey as a servant would be strange and embarrassing.
• Monkey’s supposed friends turned him away, and he continued working until he had spent six years in the Servant Hall.
• Servants mocked Monkey as he remained unchosen through another three years and then stayed in the hall for over ten years.
• An Inner Sect Disciple summoned Monkey to Qingfeng Pavilion.

After thirteen years as a servant at Fangcun Mountain, Monkey was chosen by Bai Shan despite having no apparent affinity for the Dao. Monkey went to collect his new clothes and identity token, leaving the Servant Hall disciples stunned by his claim that Bai Shan had taken him on.

• Chen San told Monkey that a senior brother wanted to see him, and Monkey hurried to Clear Wind Pavilion.
• Bai Shan told Monkey that thirteen years without being chosen showed he had no affinity for the Dao and urged him to leave cultivation behind.
• Monkey insisted he believed he could become an Inner Sect Disciple, so Bai Shan chose him as his servant.
• Bai Shan gave Monkey a token and instructed him to collect new clothes and an identity token from Chen Xuan.
• At the Servant Hall, Yang An mocked Monkey, but Chen Xuan rebuked Yang An and asked why Monkey wanted new clothes.
• Monkey said Bai Shan had asked him to follow, stunning the Servant Hall disciples.

After Bai Shan named Monkey as his servant, Monkey gained status at Fangcun Mountain and proved his ability by managing sect affairs. Bai Shan later gave him a Dao Scripture to study, and Monkey reached a state of understanding that astonished Bai Shan.

• Chen Xuan treated Monkey with respect after learning Bai Shan had specifically chosen him, while Yang An was expelled from the mountain.
• Monkey's new status drew disciples seeking his favor, but he recognized that their attention came from his connection to Bai Shan.
• Monkey followed Bai Shan, learned to read and manage affairs, and gradually earned responsibility for more of Fangcun Mountain's work.
• After several years, Bai Shan gave Monkey a Dao Scripture and told him to comprehend it to qualify for the Inner Sect.
• Monkey struggled with the scripture for two years until Bai Shan advised him to calm his heart, after which his understanding deepened.
• Bai Shan sensed that Monkey had reached an extraordinary level of insight into the Dao Scripture, beyond what Bai Shan himself could attain.

Monkey spent years comprehending the Dao Scripture on Fangcun Mountain, developing an extraordinary aura that left Bai Shan unable to guide him and increasingly anxious for his teacher’s return. Daoist Randeng finally returned, summoned the Inner Sect Disciples, and began expounding the Dao while observing Monkey, bringing him close to receiving instruction.

• Monkey deepened his understanding of the Dao Scripture over nearly five years, and Bai Shan marveled at his growing aura and unusual talent.
• Bai Shan worried that Monkey might seek a cultivation method on his own and waited for his teacher to return.
• Monkey continued studying, fulfilled his duties, and repaid Xu Laosan while the woodcutter’s family settled into a better life in town.
• Daoist Randeng returned from the Western Lands and ordered Monkey to ring the bell and summon the Inner Sect Disciples.
• Daoist Randeng rebuked the disciples who began to object, then expounded the Dao while secretly watching Monkey.

Daoist Randeng accepted the monkey as his disciple and named him Sun Wukong after testing his account of reaching Fangcun Mountain. When Wukong's excitement disrupted the lecture, Randeng offered to teach him a cultivation method and asked what he wished to learn.

• Daoist Randeng rejected a group of Servant Hall disciples as unsuitable for Inner Sect cultivation, while Bai Shan recommended the monkey.
• Randeng challenged the monkey's claim that he had come from Flower Fruit Mountain, then pretended to calculate and accepted him as a disciple.
• Randeng gave the monkey the Dharma name Wukong and the surname Sun, and the newly named Sun Wukong celebrated as disciples congratulated him.
• Sun Wukong returned to listen to Randeng's lecture but repeatedly danced when he heard profound teachings, interrupting the lesson.
• Randeng offered to teach Sun Wukong a cultivation method and asked what kind he wished to learn.

Sun Wukong rejected several cultivation paths Randeng offered because they could not grant immortality, provoking Randeng to beat him and leave. Believing the beating was a sign of private instruction, Wukong visited Randeng’s chamber at night, where Randeng questioned why he had come.

• Wukong refused Randeng’s offers to teach the Technique Path, Stillness Path, and Movement Path because none could grant immortality.
• Randeng struck Wukong three times with a ruler and angrily rebuked him for rejecting every method.
• After Randeng and the senior disciples left, the other Fangcun Mountain disciples scolded Wukong for interrupting the lesson.
• Wukong went to Randeng’s chamber late at night, waited beside his sleeping figure, and said he had come in response to Randeng’s instructions.
• Randeng sat up and asked when he had summoned Wukong, who began explaining the hint he believed Randeng had given earlier.

Daoist Randeng taught Sun Wukong about immortality and let him choose between two cultivation methods, and Wukong chose the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique. After decades of secluded cultivation, Wukong’s laughter revealed an aura that shocked Bai Shan and Lu Guang.

• Daoist Randeng explained that true immortality required becoming powerful enough to defy the will of heaven and earth, and Wukong connected this lesson to how he had become king of the monkeys.
• Daoist Randeng offered Wukong the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique and the Eight-Nine Profound Art, and Wukong resolutely chose the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique.
• Daoist Randeng taught Wukong the technique, and Wukong bowed to him before leaving to cultivate in seclusion.
• For decades, Wukong trained diligently and occasionally returned to Daoist Randeng for guidance while Fangcun Mountain’s students changed around him.
• Wukong’s laughter rang across Fangcun Mountain, and Bai Shan and Lu Guang sensed that he had reached the Perfected Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm.

Bai Shan and Lu Guang discovered that Sun Wukong had reached Perfected Grand Unity Golden Immortal after only several decades of cultivation. Daoist Randeng warned them not to investigate Sun Wukong’s mission, then reflected that it was time for the monkey to descend the mountain.

• Bai Shan and Lu Guang sensed Sun Wukong’s Perfected Grand Unity Golden Immortal aura and struggled to believe how quickly he had advanced.
• Lu Guang wondered whether Sun Wukong had relied on Pills, but Bai Shan judged his realm solid and his cultivation orthodox.
• Bai Shan and Lu Guang asked Daoist Randeng about Sun Wukong, and he warned them not to investigate because they could not bear the Karma.
• After the two disciples left, Daoist Randeng calculated that Sun Wukong’s time to descend the mountain had arrived and wished him well.

Sun Wukong demonstrated his ability to pluck a star and clash with a Heavenly Court Star Lord, drawing envy from Fangcun Mountain’s disciples. Daoist Randeng reprimanded him for showing off and warned of the resentment and trouble his display could cause, then asked how long he had been on the mountain.

• Bai Shan and Lu Guang gave up resenting Sun Wukong after he became a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
• Sun Wukong plucked a star from the sky and exchanged a palm strike with a Heavenly Court immortal, astonishing the disciples.
• The disciples showered Sun Wukong with insincere praise while secretly envying his abilities.
• Daoist Randeng arrived, scolded Sun Wukong for flaunting his skills, and warned him about the consequences of refusing or agreeing to teach them.
• Sun Wukong pleaded for another chance, and Daoist Randeng asked how many years he had been at Fangcun Mountain.