Chapter Summaries

Universal Manifestation Tathagata opened the Present-Moment Pure Land to all who sincerely sought the Dao, attracting the marginalized and defectors from across the Primordial Wilderness. As its population and influence surged, Daoist Jieyin’s assembly of Buddhist leaders confronted the threat of upheaval within the Buddhist Sect.

• Universal Manifestation Tathagata announced that anyone could enter the Present-Moment Pure Land and be taught according to their wishes, without discrimination.
• Low-ranking monks and other rejected beings flocked to the Present-Moment Pure Land, where Universal Manifestation Tathagata welcomed them and provided teaching and shelter.
• Spirit Mountain tried to deter defections, but over a million living beings joined the Present-Moment Pure Land within a month.
• Tathagata Buddha Patriarch, Ancient Buddha Randeng, Maitreya, and other Buddhist leaders gathered with Daoist Jieyin to discuss Universal Manifestation Tathagata’s growing power and the danger of internal strife.

Daoist Jieyin reassured the Western Teachings that Universal Manifestation Tathagata would not interfere with Western Flourishing or the Journey to the West. After confirming this with him, Jieyin flew toward Five Elements Mountain, where a trapped Monkey remained pinned beneath the mountain.

• Daoist Jieyin told the gods and Buddhas that Universal Manifestation Tathagata was the former Scripture Pavilion monk who had cultivated there for countless Yuan Hui.
• Jieyin assured Tathagata Buddha Patriarch and the others that Universal Manifestation Tathagata would not contest their positions or disrupt Western Flourishing.
• The gods and Buddhas accepted Jieyin's assurances and departed the Ultimate Bliss World.
• Jieyin visited the Present-Moment Pure Land, where Universal Manifestation Tathagata confirmed he would not interfere in Western Flourishing or the Journey to the West Calamity.
• Jieyin left the Pure Land and flew toward Five Elements Mountain, where a golden-furred Monkey was pinned beneath Buddhist Sect talismans.

Daoist Jieyin visited Sun Wukong beneath Five Elements Mountain and discovered that Wuzhiqi had given him a mysterious power that was strengthening his Primordial Spirit. Worried that Qingyuan might interfere with the Journey to the West, Jieyin flew to Golden Ao Island to seek him out.

• Daoist Jieyin secretly observed Sun Wukong and saw that his health had improved since the Five Directional Guardians stopped feeding him Copper-Juice Iron Pills.
• Daoist Jieyin sensed Wuzhiqi's ancient demonic power in the light between Sun Wukong's brows and decided it was not a move by Qingyuan.
• Sun Wukong studied the runes inside the light, which refined his Primordial Spirit, and hoped to use dreams of a strange world to grow strong enough to escape Five Elements Mountain.
• Daoist Jieyin reflected on the Western Teachings' dependence on the Journey to the West and his fear that any disruption could ruin their chance to rise.
• Daoist Jieyin left for Golden Ao Island to meet Qingyuan and discuss the stalled scripture journey.

Daoist Jieyin visited Golden Ao Island to ask Qingyuan about Journey to the West, but Sect Master Tongtian’s presence and their old grievances kept him from raising the matter. The chapter ended with Jieyin silently drinking tea while Qingyuan and Tongtian discussed swordsmanship.

• Daoist Jieyin arrived on Golden Ao Island and overheard Qingyuan and Sect Master Tongtian praising Tongtian’s recent battle with Luohou.
• Qingyuan welcomed Daoist Jieyin and served him Great Dao Spirit Tea as Tongtian greeted him coolly.
• Qingyuan advised Tongtian that Luohou could read emotional fluctuations and that the Ruthless Sword Dao might counter him.
• Daoist Jieyin considered asking Qingyuan to approve Journey to the West but hesitated because Tongtian was present and their past conflict made the request awkward.
• Qingyuan and Tongtian continued discussing the Sword Dao while Daoist Jieyin sat quietly and drank tea.

Qingyuan proposed creating ten thousand Great Thousand Worlds whose overlapping Great Dao laws could enrich the Primordial Wilderness, and Sect Master Tongtian agreed to support the project. Daoist Jieyin asked to let the Western Teachings participate but was told to stabilize the Western Lands first; he then tried to turn the conversation toward Journey to the West.

• Qingyuan told Sect Master Tongtian that he wanted to create ten thousand Great Thousand Worlds with Great Dao laws as their foundations.
• Qingyuan explained that his granddisciples had already begun testing the idea in secret, and Sect Master Tongtian pledged his support.
• Daoist Jieyin asked whether the Western Teachings could participate and offered their disciples as help.
• Sect Master Tongtian told Daoist Jieyin to handle the Western Lands' affairs first, and Qingyuan said he could return to the matter once the region was stable.
• Daoist Jieyin considered how to bring up Journey to the West, and Sect Master Tongtian urged him to speak directly.

Daoist Jieyin secured Qingyuan’s approval to begin the Journey to the West and arranged cooperation with the major powers across the Primordial Wilderness. After a thousand peaceful years, the story left him waiting for the calamity to begin.

• Daoist Jieyin asked Qingyuan how to launch the Journey to the West, and Qingyuan told him that the preparations were complete and he could proceed according to the plan.
• Daoist Jieyin visited the Heavenly Court, where the Jade Emperor agreed to provide its forces as needed.
• Daoist Jieyin met King Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and secured the Underworld Bureau’s arrangements for Jin Chanzi’s reincarnation.
• Daoist Jieyin gained the tacit agreement of Taishang Laojun and Venerable Yuanshi, then arranged with Baize and the Demon Saints to avoid disrupting the journey.
• Daoist Jieyin reached a noninterference agreement with Xing Tian and Chi You, settled potential disputes with other powers, and returned to the Ultimate Bliss World.
• A thousand years passed peacefully as the Immortal Dao developed, while Daoist Jieyin waited for the Journey to the West Calamity to begin.

The Primordial Wilderness prospered as the Immortal Dao, trade, and spiritual energy developed. On the East Sea Coast, Li Shimin unified hundreds of rival forces and built Great Tang into a flourishing dynasty whose growing potential drew the Heavenly Court’s attention.

• Immortal arts, trade routes, and cultivation flourished under the Heavenly Court and Dao Sect, while the Primordial Wilderness’s spiritual energy and Dao Resonance grew stronger.
• Li Shimin rose from a medium-sized East Sea Coast nation, defeated neighboring rivals, and inherited its throne after his father died.
• Li Shimin led Great Tang’s armies through more than a thousand victories, relying on capable officials and generals to unite the East Sea Coast.
• After conquering the region, Li Shimin standardized laws and measures, built infrastructure, and promoted farming, commerce, and education, strengthening Great Tang.
• The Heavenly Court investigated Great Tang and learned that Li Shimin’s national power and Fortune Aura had made the dynasty a force with great potential.

After the Great Tang’s unified fortune appeared, Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti saw the chance for the Western Teachings to flourish and prepared to begin the Journey to the West. Daoist Zhunti reached Five Elements Mountain to meet Sun Wukong, who did not recognize him.

• A golden pillar of Great Tang fortune rose from Chang'an, revealing to Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti that the moment for Western Flourishing had arrived.
• Daoist Jieyin praised the Buddhist Sect’s growing influence and confirmed that the scripture seekers’ preparations were proceeding smoothly.
• Daoist Zhunti said he would visit the scripture seekers and convert Sun Wukong, while Daoist Jieyin planned to notify the Heavenly Court and the Underworld Bureau.
• Daoist Zhunti flew to Five Elements Mountain, where the local earth god and the Four Duty Merit Officers and Five Directional Guardians greeted him and reported that Sun Wukong had behaved quietly.
• Daoist Zhunti approached Sun Wukong and asked whether he knew him, but Sun Wukong dismissed the question and said he had no idea who he was.

Buddha Mother Zhunti revealed himself as a Saint and offered Sun Wukong freedom and a return to Flower Fruit Mountain if he escorted a scripture seeker to Spirit Mountain. Sun Wukong accepted, and Zhunti vanished.

• Daoist Zhunti revealed his Saint aura and identified himself to Sun Wukong as Buddha Mother Zhunti of the Western Lands.
• Zhunti asked whether Sun Wukong had realized his errors and offered to erase his offenses and grant him freedom and Great Buddha rank.
• Zhunti promised Sun Wukong could return to Flower Fruit Mountain and end the Heavenly Court's pursuit if he agreed to help.
• Zhunti asked Sun Wukong to escort a scripture seeker to Spirit Mountain to obtain the scriptures.
• Sun Wukong accepted Zhunti's offer, and Zhunti disappeared.

Daoist Zhunti began arranging the Journey to the West after promising Sun Wukong freedom and gaining the Saints’ assent. He traveled to Chang’an and waited outside the imperial hunting grounds, where Li Shimin was hunting.

• The Five Directional Guardians feared Sun Wukong would punish them for mistreating him, but Sun Wukong ignored their attempts to flatter him and wondered whether Daoist Zhunti’s offer concealed a trick.
• Daoist Zhunti met Daoist Jieyin, and they reviewed the Journey to the West arrangements before splitting up to consult the other powers.
• Daoist Zhunti visited Taishang Laojun, Venerable Yuanshi, Sect Master Tongtian and Qingyuan, Empress Nuwa, and Empress Pingxin, receiving no objections to the plan.
• Daoist Zhunti went to Great Tang’s Chang’an, observed the city, and waited outside Li Shimin’s imperial hunting grounds.

Li Shimin led his generals on a hunt when Daoist Zhunti intervened to save a white deer and urged him to spread Buddhist scriptures in the Eastern Land. Li Shimin rejected Zhunti’s appeal and left, while Zhunti watched him go with a faint smile.

• Li Shimin arrived at the Royal Hunting Grounds with his Imperial Guards and powerful generals, then shot an arrow at a white spirit deer.
• Daoist Zhunti appeared in the arrow’s path, caught it, and let the deer escape.
• Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, and the other generals confronted Zhunti, but Li Shimin stopped them and asked the monk why he had intervened.
• Daoist Zhunti urged Li Shimin to spare the deer for merit and said Buddhist scriptures could bring peace to the Eastern Land.
• Li Shimin rejected Zhunti’s appeal, ordered him to leave, and rode away with his guards and generals.

Daoist Zhunti visited Li Jiancheng’s tomb, found his resentment undiminished, and arranged with the Lord of Hell to summon the victims of the Xuanwu Gate Incident. In the City of Wrongful Deaths, Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and their followers begged the Saint to uphold justice against Li Shimin.

• Li Shimin recalled his military victories and the deaths of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji before returning to the palace.
• Daoist Zhunti entered Li Jiancheng’s tomb and sensed the resentment that had remained there for a century.
• Daoist Zhunti arrived at the City of Wrongful Deaths, where the Lord of Hell agreed to cooperate with him.
• The Lord of Hell summoned Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, their executed sons, and their slain followers to meet Daoist Zhunti.
• Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and their followers accused Li Shimin of killing them and their families, then pleaded with Daoist Zhunti to uphold justice.

Daoist Zhunti allowed Li Jiancheng and the other Lost Souls to seek an explanation from Li Shimin, though he refused to help them. After Zhunti disappeared, Li Jiancheng rallied the Lost Souls to take revenge on Li Shimin.

• The Lost Souls' complaints fell silent when Daoist Zhunti stared at them, terrifying Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and their followers.
• Daoist Zhunti asked whether they believed they had been wrongfully killed and were unwilling to accept it, and the Lost Souls pleaded for a chance to confront Li Shimin.
• Daoist Zhunti gave them an opportunity to seek an explanation from Li Shimin but said he would not help them, leaving his involvement unstated.
• Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji understood the Saint's hint and promised to claim they had left on their own.
• After Daoist Zhunti vanished, Li Jiancheng urged the Lost Souls to kill Li Shimin, and they rose with renewed resentment as Lord Yama slipped away.

Daoist Zhunti borrowed the Human Dao Seal from Saint Taiqing so he could divert Great Tang’s Human Path Fortune and advance Journey to the West. In Chang’an, he encountered Yuan Shoucheng, a popular diviner whose predictions had impressed the locals.

• Daoist Zhunti visited Saint Taiqing at Shouyang Mountain and asked to borrow the Human Dao Seal.
• Daoist Zhunti explained that Li Shimin’s flourishing Fortune Aura would obstruct Journey to the West unless Human Path Fortune was diverted.
• Saint Taiqing warned Daoist Zhunti to mind his limits, then lent him the Human Dao Seal.
• Daoist Zhunti hurried to Chang’an and wandered through the bustling city in disguise.
• Daoist Zhunti stopped at a crowd gathered around Yuan Shoucheng’s divination stall, where an old fisherman praised Yuan’s accurate advice.

Daoist Zhunti used the Human Dao Seal to draw Li Shimin’s consciousness into a misty realm, where the ghosts of Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and their sons confronted him. The chapter ended with the dead surrounding Li Shimin, their wounds and resentment on display.

• Yuan Shoucheng advised a fisherman where to fish, setting the events involving the Jing River Dragon King in motion.
• Daoist Zhunti sensed an extraordinary presence near Yuan Shoucheng but could not identify it, then entered the imperial city unseen.
• Daoist Zhunti shifted the Fortune Aura above Li Shimin’s bedchamber with the Human Dao Seal and pulled Li Shimin’s consciousness from his body.
• Li Shimin awoke in a misty realm and heard accusing voices demanding that he return their lives.
• Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji appeared before Li Shimin, followed by their murdered sons, all bearing fatal wounds and deep resentment.

Li Shimin was haunted by the Lost Souls of those he killed in the Xuanwu Gate Incident, who condemned him for murdering his brothers, nephews, and their followers. After waking from one nightmare, he fell asleep again and found himself on a bloody ancient battlefield, where the dead began accusing him once more.

• Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and other Lost Souls confronted Li Shimin in the mist and blamed him for their deaths and the massacre of their families.
• Li Shimin dropped his sword and retreated as the Lost Souls surrounded him, then awoke in his bedchamber drenched in sweat.
• Li Shimin dismissed the nightmare to his guards and spent the day reviewing memorials, but Li Jiancheng's face kept returning to his thoughts.
• Li Shimin went to sleep again and found himself standing on a battlefield strewn with corpses, broken weapons, and burning wreckage.
• Voices from the dead accused Li Shimin of killing his brother and thirty-seven members of a family, and he trembled as their accusations closed in.

Li Shimin was tormented by a nightmare in which the ghosts of Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and their dead followers accused him of murder and attacked him. He woke terrified and lashed out at the curtains and night birds, ordering every bird within the imperial city killed.

• Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, their children, and their dead soldiers appeared before Li Shimin and accused him of killing them.
• A cavalry of a hundred thousand Lost Souls charged and surrounded Li Shimin, and Li Jiancheng wounded him with a sword.
• Li Shimin woke drenched in sweat and could not answer the guard who asked if he was all right.
• Li Shimin convinced himself the shadows and curtains might signal danger, then hacked the curtains apart with his sword.
• Li Shimin ordered his guards to kill every bird in the imperial city, and they rushed outside to carry out his command.

Li Shimin was tormented for months by nightmares in which Li Jiancheng’s Lost Soul sought revenge, leaving him weak and the court unsettled. After Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong insisted on seeing him, they learned the cause and guarded his chamber that night, allowing him to sleep until dawn without dreaming.

• Li Shimin repeatedly dreamed that Li Jiancheng blamed him for his death and tried to kill him.
• For months, Li Shimin’s nightmares worsened his health and temper while his sons and court officials maneuvered amid uncertainty over the succession.
• Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong forced their way into Li Shimin’s chamber and found him severely weakened.
• Li Shimin told Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong about the nightmares, and they vowed to guard his door.
• Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong stood watch outside Li Shimin’s chamber, and he slept through the night without dreaming.

Li Shimin’s nightmares returned whenever Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong stopped guarding his bedchamber, and attempts to replace them with portraits only worked temporarily. The chapter ends with Li Shimin dreaming of a Dragon instead of the Lost Souls.

• Li Shimin slept peacefully while Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong guarded him, but his nightmares returned when they went home for a night.
• Li Shimin summoned the generals back and sought help from masters and immortals, but no solution worked without them standing guard.
• Fang Xuanling suggested hanging portraits of Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong outside the bedchamber, and Yan Liben painted them.
• Li Shimin slept without nightmares for more than ten days, but the Lost Souls eventually returned and forced him to summon the generals again.
• Li Shimin dreamed of a Dragon instead of the Lost Souls.

The Jing River Dragon King begged Li Shimin to save him from execution by Wei Zheng, promising to end the haunting by Li Jiancheng’s Lost Souls in return. Li Shimin tried to keep Wei Zheng from carrying out the execution, but a dragon head fell in Chang’an, leaving him to realize the Dragon King had died anyway.

• The Jing River Dragon King told Li Shimin that Wei Zheng was assigned to execute him and offered to stop Li Jiancheng’s Lost Souls from haunting the emperor if Li Shimin intervened.
• Li Shimin agreed, and after the Dragon King’s visit, he stopped dreaming of Li Jiancheng and believed the Lost Souls had been suppressed.
• On the day of the execution, Li Shimin kept Wei Zheng in the palace to play chess, and Wei Zheng fell asleep before the appointed time.
• After Wei Zheng woke and left with a meaningful look, a guard reported that blood rain had fallen in Chang’an and a huge dragon head had crashed into the street.
• Li Shimin realized the Jing River Dragon King had been executed despite his attempt to keep Wei Zheng from carrying it out.