Chapter Summaries

Sun Wukong sought help removing the Golden Hoop from the East Sea Dragon King, who could not identify it and advised him to ask the Jade Emperor. Wukong entered the Heavenly Court peacefully and faced the Jade Emperor, who asked why he had come.

• Sun Wukong asked the East Sea Dragon King to remove the Golden Hoop, but the Dragon King could not discern its origins or break its restriction.
• The East Sea Dragon King guessed that a Saint of the Western Lands had forged the hoop and suggested asking for help at the Heavenly Court.
• Sun Wukong went to the Southern Heavenly Gate and persuaded the wary Four Heavenly Kings to let him pass.
• Sun Wukong entered the Lingxiao Treasure Hall and assured the startled immortals that he had come to ask for a favor, not cause trouble.
• The Jade Emperor noticed the Golden Hoop and asked Sun Wukong why he had come.

Sun Wukong went to the Heavenly Court seeking help to remove the Golden Hoop, but its immortals could not identify or undo it. Nezha suggested asking Tathagata at Spirit Mountain, so Sun Wukong hurried there and entered the Great Thunderclap Temple.

• Sun Wukong asked the Jade Emperor and the immortals to remove the Golden Hoop, complaining that Tang Sanzang had punished him for killing bandits.
• The Jade Emperor and the immortals examined the hoop, but their appraisal techniques and attempts to remove it all failed.
• Nezha suggested that Sun Wukong ask Tathagata at Spirit Mountain because the hoop was likely connected to the Western Teachings.
• Sun Wukong flew to Spirit Mountain and loudly demanded to know whether Tathagata was there.
• Sun Wukong entered the Great Thunderclap Temple, frightening the monks and making several flee.

Sun Wukong confronted Tathagata about the Golden Hoop, but Tathagata insisted it would vanish only when the scripture party reached Spirit Mountain and sent him back to Tang Sanzang. Sun Wukong brought Tang Sanzang food from Chang'an, and they reconciled as Sun Wukong promised not to kill anyone his master told him to spare.

• Sun Wukong demanded that Tathagata remove the Golden Hoop, but Tathagata said it restrained him and would disappear when the scripture party reached Spirit Mountain.
• Tathagata sent Sun Wukong back to the foot of Spirit Mountain, where Sun Wukong accepted that he had no choice but to continue the journey.
• Sun Wukong returned with steaming vegetarian food from Chang'an and offered it to a hungry Tang Sanzang.
• Tang Sanzang recognized the food's familiar flavor, softened toward Sun Wukong, and asked him not to kill recklessly on the journey.
• Sun Wukong swore to obey Tang Sanzang's wishes about whom to spare, and the two shared the remaining food beneath the locust tree.

After a dream warned Tang Sanzang that beasts feared power rather than kindness, he resolved to keep Sun Wukong afraid of the Golden Hoop. He woke and punished Wukong for merely looking at him, leaving their growing trust in jeopardy.

• Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong continued west, speaking more warmly and setting aside their earlier conflict over the Golden Hoop.
• In a dream, the Old Immortal warned Tang Sanzang that the monkey obeyed the Golden Hoop’s power, not his kindness, and reminded him of the Five Directional Guardians’ fate.
• Tang Sanzang concluded that he had to keep Sun Wukong afraid by continually asserting his authority and threatening him with the Tightening Curse.
• After waking, Tang Sanzang saw Sun Wukong watching him from the shadows and accused him of planning to kill him.
• Tang Sanzang recited the curse, causing Sun Wukong to writhe in agony, then ordered him never to look at him again, especially at night.

Sun Wukong endured Tang Sanzang’s increasingly arbitrary use of the Golden Hoop incantation and buried his growing hatred. At Eagle Sorrow Ravine, Little White Dragon dreamed of meeting the Dao Ancestor and pleaded for guidance to restore the Dragon Clan’s former glory.

• Tang Sanzang repeatedly used trivial excuses to torment Sun Wukong with the Golden Hoop incantation, and Sun Wukong stopped trying to explain himself.
• Little White Dragon waited in Eagle Sorrow Ravine to become the scripture seeker’s mount and fell asleep.
• In a dream, Little White Dragon entered Zixiao Palace and paid respects to the Dao Ancestor.
• The Dao Ancestor asked whether Little White Dragon wanted to restore the Dragon Clan’s former glory, prompting him to voice his resentment at the Dragon Clan’s dependent status.
• Little White Dragon asked the Dao Ancestor to teach him how to revive the Dragon Clan and vowed to give everything for its cause.

The Dao Ancestor gave Little White Dragon the Water-Raising Pearl and promised to support the Dragon Clan if he completed a task. Little White Dragon ate Tang Sanzang, then mistook Sun Wukong’s delighted retreat for fear and celebrated his newfound power.

• The Dao Ancestor appealed to Little White Dragon’s resentment over the Dragon Clan’s subservient status and offered him a chance to restore its greatness.
• Little White Dragon accepted the Dao Ancestor’s task and received the Water-Raising Pearl, a high-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure that controlled water.
• After practicing with the pearl, Little White Dragon waited until Sun Wukong left to beg for food, then burst from the ravine and swallowed Tang Sanzang and the white horse.
• Sun Wukong questioned the local earth god, learned Tang Sanzang had been eaten, and laughed with relief instead of anger.
• Little White Dragon attacked Sun Wukong with water dragons, but Sun Wukong dodged them and walked away laughing.
• Little White Dragon believed Sun Wukong had fled in fear and celebrated the pearl’s power and his hopes for the Dragon Clan.

Sun Wukong celebrated Tang Sanzang’s apparent death, then went to Spirit Mountain and the Heavenly Court to seek help and demand that the Golden Hoop be removed. The Four Heavenly Kings accompanied him to Eagle Sorrow Ravine, where Little White Dragon emerged and began overpowering them with the Water-Raising Pearl.

• Sun Wukong rejoiced that Tang Sanzang had apparently been eaten, but realized the Golden Hoop still bound him and decided to seek its removal.
• At Spirit Mountain, Sun Wukong reported that Little White Dragon had swallowed Tang Sanzang; the Buddhas dismissed his alarm and sent him to the Heavenly Court for help.
• Sun Wukong told the Jade Emperor that he could not find the dragon underwater, so the Jade Emperor ordered the Four Heavenly Kings to investigate Eagle Sorrow Ravine with him.
• Dhritarashtra sent his Purple-Gold Dragon Flower Fox Ferret into the ravine, but it fled back in fright before Little White Dragon burst from the water.
• Little White Dragon boasted that he had eaten Tang Sanzang and used the Water-Raising Pearl to summon massive water dragons that drove the Four Heavenly Kings onto the defensive.

Empowered by the Water-Raising Pearl and Eagle Sorrow Ravine, Little White Dragon defeated the Four Heavenly Kings and drew the Heavenly Court’s attention. As Li Jing and Nezha arrived with a hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, Little White Dragon stood ready to face them.

• Little White Dragon used the Water-Raising Pearl to withstand the Four Heavenly Kings’ attacks and repel their Four Symbols Demon-Sealing Formation.
• Little White Dragon overwhelmed the Four Heavenly Kings, leaving them alive but unable to fight, while watching Loose Immortals witnessed his victory.
• Sun Wukong searched Eagle Sorrow Ravine for Tang Sanzang, concluded the monk was dead, and flew toward the Southern Heavenly Gate.
• The Jade Emperor ordered Li Jing and Nezha to lead a hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals to confront Little White Dragon, killing him if he refused to submit.
• Li Jing and Nezha reached Eagle Sorrow Ravine, where Little White Dragon challenged them and their army to attack.

The Little White Dragon used the Water-Raising Pearl to defeat Juling Shen and break Li Jing’s Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare. More than half of the heavenly army was swept away, and the rest fled as the formation collapsed.

• Li Jing sent Juling Shen to attack the Little White Dragon after the Four Heavenly Kings were defeated.
• The Little White Dragon used the Water-Raising Pearl to bind Juling Shen in water and hurl him into a cliff, leaving him gravely wounded.
• Li Jing ordered the hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals to form the Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare around Eagle Sorrow Ravine.
• The Little White Dragon summoned a vast water curtain that eroded the formation’s talismans.
• The water curtain burst into streams that pierced and dragged away more than half the heavenly army, scattering the survivors and shattering the formation.

Little White Dragon used the Water-Raising Pearl to flood Eagle Sorrow Ravine and drive off the Heavenly Court’s forces. After Li Jing reported that the pearl might be an Innate Spiritual Treasure, the Jade Emperor suspected someone was backing the dragon.

• Little White Dragon raised the water in Eagle Sorrow Ravine until it became a vast sea, then mocked Li Jing and the retreating heavenly army.
• Li Jing left the ravine and confronted Sun Wukong, who threatened him after Li Jing questioned why he had not fought Little White Dragon.
• Nezha urged Li Jing and Sun Wukong to return to the Heavenly Court and report what had happened.
• The Jade Emperor and the assembled immortals viewed the flooded ravine in a water mirror while the injured Four Heavenly Kings and Juling Shen stood among them.
• Li Jing told the Jade Emperor that Little White Dragon’s Water-Raising Pearl could be an Innate Spiritual Treasure, and the Jade Emperor suspected someone was behind the incident.

The Jade Emperor sent Luo Xuan to capture Little White Dragon, and Sun Wukong joined him and Nezha on the journey to Eagle Sorrow Ravine. When Little White Dragon emerged from the flooded ravine, Luo Xuan struck him with his sword and severed his head.

• The Jade Emperor offered merit, the Innate Spiritual Treasure, and the spoils at Eagle Sorrow Ravine to whoever captured Little White Dragon, and Luo Xuan volunteered despite the other immortals' objections.
• Luo Xuan took Sun Wukong and Nezha with him, while Sun Wukong wondered why the Heavenly Court's immortals seemed stronger than before and Nezha joked about an account ban and a version update.
• Luo Xuan, Sun Wukong, and Nezha reached Eagle Sorrow Ravine and found the surrounding valleys flooded by the Water-Raising Pearl.
• Sun Wukong called Little White Dragon out of the water, and Little White Dragon challenged him while displaying the pearl.
• Luo Xuan drew his crimson sword, appeared before Little White Dragon, and cut off his head.

Luo Xuan killed Little White Dragon and took the Water-Raising Pearl, then learned from Sun Wukong and the local earth god that the dragon had eaten the scripture-seeking monk. Luo Xuan reported both events to the Jade Emperor, leaving the assembled immortals stunned as the Jade Emperor asked whether the monk’s death was certain.

• Luo Xuan beheaded Little White Dragon with one stroke and retrieved the Water-Raising Pearl from the water.
• Sun Wukong recalled Luo Xuan’s strength and told him that Little White Dragon had eaten Tang Sanzang.
• Luo Xuan summoned the local earth god, who confirmed that Little White Dragon had swallowed Tang Sanzang and his horse.
• Luo Xuan, Nezha, and Sun Wukong left Eagle Sorrow Ravine to report the monk’s death to the Jade Emperor.
• Luo Xuan told the Jade Emperor that Little White Dragon was dead and Tang Sanzang had been eaten, prompting the immortals to react in shock.
• The Jade Emperor asked Luo Xuan whether he was certain Tang Sanzang was dead.

After the Heavenly Court reported that Tang Sanzang had been eaten by a dragon, Sun Wukong went to Spirit Mountain to tell the Buddhas. Tathagata Buddha Patriarch sent a disciple to investigate, leaving the assembly uncertain whether Tang Sanzang had truly died.

• Luo Xuan reported to the Jade Emperor that a wicked dragon had swallowed Tang Sanzang and his horse, leaving no trace.
• The Jade Emperor sent Sun Wukong to Spirit Mountain to report Tang Sanzang’s disappearance and let Spirit Mountain decide what to do.
• Sun Wukong hurried to Spirit Mountain, hoping Tang Sanzang’s death meant the Golden Hoop could be removed.
• Ananda scolded Sun Wukong for repeatedly leaving Tang Sanzang, but Sun Wukong announced that the monk was gone and explained that Little White Dragon had eaten him.
• Tathagata Buddha Patriarch could not divine the truth, so one of his Personal Disciples volunteered to investigate.

After learning Tang Sanzang had been eaten at Eagle Sorrow Ravine, Tathagata Buddha Patriarch consulted Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti, who obtained Three Lights Divine Water from Venerable Yuanshi. Tathagata set out to revive Tang Sanzang, with Sun Wukong reluctantly following him.

• The gray-robed monk reported that the wicked dragon had eaten the scripture seeker, alarming the gods and Buddhas in the Hall of the Great Hero.
• Tathagata Buddha Patriarch consulted Daoist Jieyin and Daoist Zhunti, who deduced that Little White Dragon had devoured Tang Sanzang without outside interference.
• Daoist Zhunti traveled to Jade Void Palace and persuaded Venerable Yuanshi to give him Three Lights Divine Water.
• Daoist Jieyin gave the water to Tathagata Buddha Patriarch and told him it could revive Tang Sanzang if applied to his remains.
• Tathagata announced that he would go to Eagle Sorrow Ravine to revive Tang Sanzang, and Sun Wukong complained before following him on his Somersault Cloud.

Tathagata Buddha Patriarch revived Tang Sanzang and confirmed that he would continue the scripture journey. The West Sea Dragon King sent Ao Rong to serve as Tang Sanzang’s white horse, but in a dream, the High Immortal questioned whether the events were suspicious.

• Tathagata Buddha Patriarch restored Tang Sanzang to life and asked whether he was willing to continue seeking the scriptures, and Tang Sanzang agreed.
• Sun Wukong watched Tang Sanzang’s revival and realized the scripture journey and the Golden Hoop’s control would continue.
• Ao Run apologized for his son’s attack and presented Ao Rong, who transformed into a white horse to carry Tang Sanzang to Western Heaven.
• Tang Sanzang rode the White Dragon Horse onward with Sun Wukong, then dreamed of the High Immortal and recounted recent events.
• The High Immortal asked Tang Sanzang whether he found what had happened suspicious, and Tang Sanzang asked what could be suspicious.

After Old Immortal's accusations made Tang Sanzang suspect Sun Wukong had arranged for the White Dragon to eat him, Tang Sanzang confronted Sun Wukong and used the Tightening Curse to punish him. At Guanyin Zen Temple, Elder Jinchi fell asleep and found himself before an enormous Buddha.

• Old Immortal questioned Sun Wukong's actions surrounding Tang Sanzang's death and warned Tang Sanzang to control the monkey through fear.
• Tang Sanzang woke beside the campfire, saw Sun Wukong watching from a tree, and accused him of arranging the White Dragon's attack.
• Sun Wukong denied harming Tang Sanzang, but Tang Sanzang interrupted him and recited the Tightening Curse.
• Sun Wukong writhed and cried out in pain until Tang Sanzang stopped reciting, then lay bleeding on the ground as Tang Sanzang returned to the fire.
• Elder Jinchi fell asleep while chanting at Guanyin Zen Temple and found himself kneeling before an enormous Buddha.

Elder Jinchi learned that Tang Xuanzang had taken the chance to become the scripture pilgrim that he believed belonged to him, and the Buddha Patriarch gave him a way to replace Tang Xuanzang. Tang Xuanzang arrived at Guanyin Zen Temple seeking lodging, where Jinchi prepared to meet him.

• Elder Jinchi pleaded with the Buddha Patriarch to teach him how to attain Buddhahood, but learned that Tang Xuanzang had taken his opportunity to become the scripture pilgrim.
• The Buddha Patriarch offered Jinchi a method to become the scripture pilgrim and drive Tang Xuanzang from the party, and Jinchi accepted it.
• Tang Sanzang continued west on the White Dragon Horse and reached Guanyin Zen Temple at dusk, where he asked the young monk for a night's lodging.
• The young monk told Elder Jinchi that Tang Xuanzang had arrived, and Jinchi ordered him to bring Tang Xuanzang to the main hall.

Elder Jinchi met Tang Sanzang at Guanyin Zen Temple and, after hearing about his journey and Buddha’s gifts, persuaded him to lend over his Brocade Kasaya and Nine-Ring Staff for the night. Jinchi sent Tang Sanzang to rest, leaving the treasures in his possession.

• Elder Jinchi prepared himself and entered the main hall, where Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong were waiting.
• Elder Jinchi challenged Tang Sanzang’s claim to be a scripture-seeker, then softened after Tang showed his documents and described Buddha Patriarch reviving him.
• Tang Sanzang told Elder Jinchi how Ananda and Kasyapa had directed him west and given him the Brocade Kasaya and Nine-Ring Staff.
• Elder Jinchi broke into tears and begged to borrow the kasaya and staff for one night, and Tang Sanzang handed them over.
• Elder Jinchi asked a monk to take Tang Sanzang to a secluded courtyard to rest.

Elder Jinchi ordered the monks to carry out a plan after Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong left the hall. As the temple’s monks set fires to trap Tang Sanzang and Jinchi, Sun Wukong chased the Black Bear Spirit, leaving Tang Sanzang trapped in the burning courtyard.

• Elder Jinchi told the monks in the hall to proceed according to plan after Tang Sanzang left with a young monk.
• Tang Sanzang settled into the prepared room and ordered Sun Wukong to sleep outside and guard the door.
• Sun Wukong overheard Guanyin Zen Temple monks piling firewood and pouring oil around the courtyard, but he did not stop them.
• The Black Bear Spirit appeared, and Sun Wukong chased him into the darkness.
• A monk returned with a torch and set the courtyard ablaze; Tang Sanzang woke, found Sun Wukong gone, and became trapped by the fire.
• Guangzhi watched in anguish as Elder Jinchi sat inside his burning room beside the Brocade Kasaya and Nine-Ring Staff.

After dying in the temple fire, Tang Sanzang was tricked by Elder Jinchi into signing a complaint that activated a soul-exchange formation. Elder Jinchi took Tang Sanzang’s identity and young body, while Tang’s remnant soul remained bound to him as he declared himself the scripture seeker.

• The fire destroyed much of Guanyin Zen Temple, and the souls of Tang Sanzang and Elder Jinchi appeared in a strange gray space.
• Elder Jinchi persuaded Tang Sanzang to sign a complaint, which transformed into runes and activated the Soul-Life Conversion Formation.
• Elder Jinchi revealed that the formation would transfer Tang Sanzang’s Fated Number, identity, and origin to him.
• The formation drained Tang Sanzang’s soul and made Elder Jinchi’s soul solid, leaving Tang’s remnant attached to him.
• Elder Jinchi returned to life in a young body among the temple ruins and proclaimed that he was Tang Xuanzang.