Chapter Summaries

Lin Zhu ordered Nezha to buy every Taiji Pill from Grand Supreme Elder, while Guanyin Bodhisattva tried to take Chen Xuanzang from the Great Tang Heavenly Prison. Chen Xuanzang attacked her with filth and attempted suicide, so she forcibly carried him to Western Heaven; Lin Zhu and the Enforcers learned what happened and laughed at Western Heaven’s predicament.

• Lin Zhu told Nezha to exchange demon materials for every Taiji Pill at Tushita Palace, and Nezha hurried off to carry out the order.
• At the Ninth Heaven Prison banquet, Nine Phoenix settled into Lin Zhu’s robe while the Jade Emperor tacitly tolerated the Enforcers’ oversteps.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva appeared in Chen Xuanzang’s cell to take him to Western Heaven, but Chen Xuanzang threw chamber-pot filth at her and tried to stab himself.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva immobilized Chen Xuanzang to keep him alive, then forcibly took him to Spirit Mountain despite his resistance.
• An Enforcer reported the incident to Lin Zhu, and the gathered Enforcers erupted in laughter as Lin Zhu remarked that Western Heaven would face trouble.

Lin Zhu rushed home after learning that the Chaos Green Lotus had produced a lotus seed, only to discover that it had stopped producing Chaos Qi and now produced Merit Divine Water instead. He tested the new treasure on himself and Fairy Nishang, whose cultivation began advancing toward the middle stage of Early Grand Luo Golden Immortal.

• Lin Zhu ended the Enforcers' banquet and hurried back to the Star Dou Palace after the system announced that the Chaos Green Lotus had bloomed.
• Lin Zhu passed Venus Deity without stopping, then reunited with Fairy Nishang and thanked her for warning him about Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
• Lin Zhu found a lotus seed on the still-immature Chaos Green Lotus and learned from the system that the lotus would now produce Merit Divine Water instead of Chaos Qi.
• Lin Zhu collected four portions of Merit Divine Water, equivalent to forty thousand Merit, after the system converted the Chaos Qi stored in the pond.
• Fairy Nishang declined Lin Zhu's offer of Merit Divine Water, but Lin Zhu drank some and transferred a portion to her through a kiss, helping her breakthrough barrier begin to give way.

Fairy Nishang broke through to Grand Luo Golden Immortal Completion, while Lin Zhu attended the Jade Emperor’s court and learned he was to be rewarded for his victory in the Underworld. After Lin Zhu revealed that his battered gourd held thirty-two thousand Merit Divine Water, the Jade Emperor ordered another forty thousand awarded to him, then tried to hide his distress behind a toast.

• Fairy Nishang advanced from Early Grand Luo Golden Immortal to Grand Luo Golden Immortal Completion, and Lin Zhu left Star Dou Palace after telling her to consolidate her realm.
• Venus Deity summoned Lin Zhu to Lingxiao Palace, where the Jade Emperor praised his victory over Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s forces and prepared to reward him with eight thousand Merit.
• The Jade Emperor noticed Lin Zhu’s gourd and discovered it contained Merit Divine Water; Lin Zhu said about thirty-two thousand remained inside.
• Shocked by Lin Zhu’s wealth, the Jade Emperor ordered Venus Deity to bring another forty thousand Merit Divine Water for Lin Zhu.
• Lin Zhu declined the reward as too generous, but the Jade Emperor insisted on its honor and toasted Lin Zhu, shedding tears as he drank.

Lin Zhu accepted the Jade Emperor’s forty thousand Merit Divine Water and gave it to Nezha, stunning the immortals when he revealed he had even more at home. Meanwhile, Chen Xuanzang woke bound in a Buddha Light pool at Spirit Mountain, convinced he was being tortured, while Buddha Tathagata watched in a troubled state.

• The Jade Emperor gave Lin Zhu forty thousand Merit Divine Water, and Lin Zhu sensed that the Jade Emperor was distressed about the gift.
• Lin Zhu received a task to give the divine water to Nezha, then tossed Nezha the gourd as a monthly bonus.
• Nezha tried to return the precious gift, but Lin Zhu revealed another gourd containing four portions of purer Merit Divine Water, leaving the Jade Emperor and the immortals stunned.
• Nezha drank the forty thousand Merit Divine Water, and its Vow Power surged through him as his aura rapidly rose.
• Chen Xuanzang woke immobilized and bound to a golden pillar in a Buddha Light pool, mistaking its nourishing power for boiling oil torture.
• Buddha Tathagata watched Chen Xuanzang in the meditation chamber, his face dark and his Buddha Light disordered.

Buddha Tathagata raged over the lack of Taiji Pills as Chen Xuanzang’s life dwindled, while Lin Zhu and Nezha discovered that Tushita Palace had been devastated in a violent attack. Lin Zhu declared the case closed, prompting a grieving attendant to openly challenge him.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva told Buddha Tathagata that her Compassionate Glazed Liquid could not stop the Demonic Qi from eroding Chen Xuanzang’s True Spirit, and an informant reported that Grand Supreme Elder had no Taiji Pills.
• Buddha Tathagata accused Grand Supreme Elder of scheming to extort Western Heaven and decided to punish him despite Guanyin Bodhisattva’s warning.
• The Jade Emperor drank alone in Lingxiao Palace and despaired over Lin Zhu’s power, treasures, and wealth.
• Lin Zhu sensed a disturbance near Tushita Palace, and he and Nezha went there to investigate and possibly collect pills or materials.
• Lin Zhu and Nezha found Tushita Palace burning, its attendants dead or wounded, and Grand Supreme Elder missing.
• Lin Zhu dismissed the destruction as a case that could not be investigated, and a young attendant angrily accused him of neglecting his duty.

Lin Zhu used Grand Supreme Elder’s panic over Tushita Palace’s destruction to bargain for a Nine Revolutions Grand Luo Golden Pill, while concealing that he did not know who the real culprit was. After the Jade Emperor defended Lin Zhu and urged Grand Supreme Elder to accept the loss, Lin Zhu and Nezha celebrated their prize at the Ninth Heaven Prison.

• Nezha grabbed a boy who insulted Lin Zhu, but Grand Supreme Elder returned and killed the boy, then crushed his primordial spirit after searching it.
• Lin Zhu offered to identify the culprit in exchange for a Nine Revolutions Grand Luo Golden Pill, and Grand Supreme Elder reluctantly handed over his last pill when Lin Zhu threatened to leave.
• Lin Zhu departed with Nezha without revealing the culprit, leaving Grand Supreme Elder furious that he had been tricked out of the pill.
• The Jade Emperor dismissed Grand Supreme Elder’s complaints and praised Lin Zhu, urging Grand Supreme Elder not to obstruct the investigation over a pill.
• Lin Zhu and Nezha returned to the Ninth Heaven Prison and celebrated their new Nine Revolutions Grand Luo Golden Pill.

Lin Zhu went to Spirit Mountain to trade Taiji Pills that could save Chen Xuanzang, but after Buddha Tathagata offered only one Acquired Spiritual Treasure, Lin Zhu crushed every pill in front of the Buddhas. Western Heaven was left in despair, believing Chen Xuanzang and its Journey to the West plan were lost.

• Lin Zhu arrived at Spirit Mountain and turned to leave when he felt the Buddhas' hostility, but Buddha Tathagata stopped him and insisted that Spirit Mountain welcomed him.
• Buddha Tathagata asked Lin Zhu for the Taiji Pill and offered one Acquired Spiritual Treasure in exchange, and Lin Zhu readily accepted the price.
• Lin Zhu revealed several Taiji Pills, including a Top-grade Taiji Pill, and the Buddhas celebrated their chance to save Chen Xuanzang.
• Buddha Tathagata cautiously reached for the pills as Lin Zhu claimed he wanted no reward for helping others.
• Lin Zhu abruptly crushed all the Taiji Pills, leaving Buddha Tathagata and the Thirty Thousand Buddhas horrified and furious.

Lin Zhu crushed Western Heaven’s apparent supply of Taiji Pills, driving the Thirty Thousand Buddhas into a furious attack before stopping them effortlessly. The Buddhas then saw the remaining pills in his sack and again begged for mercy, while Buddha Tathagata watched and tried to gauge Lin Zhu’s strength.

• Buddha Tathagata threatened to kill Lin Zhu, but stopped when he noticed more than ten Taiji Pills in Lin Zhu’s sack.
• Tathagata and the Thirty Thousand Buddhas changed their tune and pleaded for Lin Zhu to give them the pills.
• Lin Zhu crushed the pills in the sack and condemned the Buddhas for abducting prisoners from the mortal realm’s Heavenly Prison.
• The enraged Buddhas charged Lin Zhu, while Buddha Tathagata allowed the assault to test Lin Zhu’s strength.
• An invisible force halted the attackers in midair, and Lin Zhu mocked them while shaking the sack of remaining Taiji Pills.
• The trapped Buddhas made excuses and appealed to Lin Zhu, fixating on the more than a hundred middle-grade and several hundred low-grade Taiji Pills in the sack.

Lin Zhu forced Western Heaven to trade the Immortal Trapping Sword and Immortal Ending Sword for a low-grade Taiji Pill while Chen Xuanzang teetered on the brink of death. Buddha Tathagata administered the pill at the last moment, leaving Chen Xuanzang’s fate uncertain.

• The Buddhas blamed Grand Supreme Elder for hoarding the Taiji Pills, and Buddha Tathagata begged Lin Zhu for one to save Chen Xuanzang.
• Lin Zhu gave Buddha Tathagata a sack of Taiji Pills, then secretly destroyed them into useless powder, plunging Western Heaven into despair.
• When Lin Zhu revealed another low-grade Taiji Pill, the Buddhas stopped their attack and pleaded for it as Chen Xuanzang’s life ran out.
• Lin Zhu demanded the Immortal Trapping Sword and the Immortal Ending Sword in exchange, and Buddha Tathagata accepted under the pressure of the deadline.
• Buddha Tathagata gave Lin Zhu both swords, and Lin Zhu sent him the pill just before time ran out.
• Buddha Tathagata rushed to Chen Xuanzang and forced the pill into his mouth, where it melted and released pure Yin Yang Qi through his body.

Lin Zhu saved Chen Xuanzang with a Taiji Pill, then faced Buddha Tathagata and the Thirty Thousand Buddhas as they tried to kill him. Grand Supreme Elder suddenly stormed into the Great Thunderclap Monastery, disrupting the attack, and Lin Zhu declared that he would leave.

• The Taiji Pill suppressed the conflict between Buddha and demon inside Chen Xuanzang and preserved his life.
• Buddha Tathagata gave Lin Zhu the Immortal Trapping Sword and Immortal Ending Sword, leaving Lin Zhu with three of the Four Swords of Zhuxian.
• Buddha Tathagata ordered the Thirty Thousand Buddhas to surround Lin Zhu and unleash the Myriad Buddhas Pay Homage Array.
• As the Buddhas attacked, Grand Supreme Elder's furious roar shook Spirit Mountain and halted their assault.
• Grand Supreme Elder entered the monastery, and Buddha Tathagata suspected he had colluded with Lin Zhu over the Limitless Pill affair.
• Lin Zhu denied needing allies, told the Buddhas he was leaving, and identified Grand Supreme Elder as the likely mastermind behind the Limitless Pill affair.

Grand Supreme Elder stormed into the Great Thunderclap Monastery to confront Buddha Tathagata over the destruction of Tushita Palace, the stolen pills, and the murdered attendants. Lin Zhu stayed to watch as Tathagata denied involvement and invited Grand Supreme Elder to investigate, while the Elder prepared to verify the truth.

• Grand Supreme Elder burst through the monastery gates on Qing Niu, fully armed and furious.
• Lin Zhu greeted Grand Supreme Elder, refused to leave, and taunted Buddha Tathagata from behind him.
• Buddha Tathagata questioned Grand Supreme Elder's violent entrance, and the Elder demanded to know whether Western Heaven had ordered the attack on Tushita Palace.
• Buddha Tathagata denied the accusation and insisted that Grand Supreme Elder use any means to inspect Spirit Mountain and prove Western Heaven's innocence.

Lin Zhu pushed Buddha Tathagata into accepting the Grand Supreme Elder’s inspection by undermining his attempt to avoid it. The Grand Supreme Elder invoked Tathagata’s former name, Duobao Daoren, and began using a Merit mirror to investigate the destruction of Tushita Palace.

• The Thirty Thousand Buddhas denied destroying Tushita Palace, while Lin Zhu worried that an investigation might expose his own involvement.
• The Grand Supreme Elder called on Lin Zhu to be examined, but Tathagata argued that inspecting him could damage the elder’s reputation.
• Lin Zhu urged the Grand Supreme Elder to examine Tathagata first, claiming it would prove his impartiality and clear Western Heaven’s name.
• Lin Zhu taunted Tathagata with sunflower seeds until the Grand Supreme Elder called him Duobao Daoren and demanded an investigation.
• Tathagata agreed to be examined, and the Grand Supreme Elder formed a Merit mirror that began showing scenes from Tathagata’s recent past.

The Round Light Mirror showed that Buddha Tathagata had not personally left Western Heaven during the destruction of Tushita Palace, but Grand Supreme Elder still accused him of arranging the theft. Tathagata accepted blame, returned ten million Merit as atonement, and was left gravely weakened as Lin Zhu slipped away.

• The Round Light Mirror showed Buddha Tathagata remaining in Western Heaven when Tushita Palace was destroyed, but Grand Supreme Elder accused him of hiding his involvement and demanded the stolen treasures back.
• Lin Zhu tried to mediate with pointed remarks that further inflamed Grand Supreme Elder, who demanded that Duobao answer for betraying his old mentor.
• Buddha Tathagata said he would return every stolen treasure and strip ten million Merit from himself as atonement.
• Buddha Tathagata forcibly removed the Merit from his body, damaging his cultivation and Dao foundation, then presented it to Grand Supreme Elder.
• Grand Supreme Elder accepted the Merit and left the Great Thunderclap Monastery, while Lin Zhu escaped unnoticed through the damaged doorway.

After Grand Supreme Elder confronted Tathagata over Tushita Palace, Lin Zhu secured a commission to recover a highly important stolen item and returned to the Ninth Heaven Prison. He left his subordinates watching for clues while quietly considering the mystery behind the lost treasure.

• Tathagata ordered Guanyin to prepare Chen Xuanzang to resume his journey west and commanded the Five Directions Attendants to protect him in secret.
• After the Thirty Thousand Buddhas departed, Tathagata mourned his broken ties with Grand Supreme Elder and the damage to his Great Dao.
• Grand Supreme Elder asked Lin Zhu to recover a vital item stolen from Tushita Palace and agreed to pay five million Merit, plus a two-hundred-thousand-Merit advance.
• Lin Zhu returned to the Ninth Heaven Prison, celebrated his bargain for the Immortal Trapping Sword and Immortal Ending Sword, and told his Golden Immortal Enforcers to search for clues about the missing treasure.
• After the meeting, Lin Zhu examined the advance payment as his excitement gave way to gravity.

Lin Zhu considered the significance of Old Lord’s five-million-Merit offer, stocked the Ninth Heaven Prison’s treasury with Taiji Pills, and sent his subordinates to investigate Tushita Palace under the guise of official work. Chen Xuanzang awoke with fragments of his erased memories as the Scripture-Seeking journey began, and the King of Tang declared him his sworn brother before sending him west.

• Lin Zhu suspected that Grand Supreme Elder’s offer for the missing item concealed a major secret, while Grand Supreme Elder returned to the ruins of Tushita Palace with little hope of recovering it.
• Lin Zhu gave his subordinates intermediate- and high-grade Taiji Pills for the Heavenly Prison Treasury and ordered them to gather information about Tushita Palace while enjoying paid leave.
• Li Shimin told Lin Zhu’s avatar that Chen Xuanzang was out of danger and that the travel supplies were ready, while Chen Xuanzang woke with confused memories that unsettled Guanyin Bodhisattva.
• Li Shimin issued Chen Xuanzang’s travel document, and the court prepared his belongings and horse for the journey west.
• At Chang’an’s gates, Li Shimin gave Chen Xuanzang his travel pass and provisions, then declared them sworn brothers and urged him to return with the True Scripture.

At Tang Sanzang’s farewell ceremony, the King of Tang named him and blessed his journey, while Lin Zhu discovered the king had gained a century of life through intercepted merit. Tang Sanzang set out with his unruly childhood friend Monk Lu, and ended the chapter sensing a mysterious connection to Lin Zhu.

• Tang Sanzang swore to retrieve the True Scriptures for the King of Tang and Great Tang, and Lin Zhu noticed merit that revitalized the king and extended his life by a hundred years.
• The King of Tang bestowed the names Sanzang and Tang on Chen Xuanzang, who misheard the name as “San Zang” and embraced its destructive meaning.
• Lin Zhu provoked Guanyin Bodhisattva by recalling her humiliation, while Tang Sanzang drank wine and argued that breaking a minor precept served a greater duty.
• Tang Sanzang invited his childhood friend Monk Lu to join the journey, and the two drank and played finger guessing at the farewell ceremony as Guanyin seethed.
• After drinking with Monk Lu, Tang Sanzang told Lin Zhu that seeing him caused pain and a strange familiarity, then said Lin Zhu seemed like his father.

Tang Sanzang invited Lin Zhu to join the westward scripture-seeking journey, but Lin Zhu refused while suggesting Western Heaven could persuade him with a public show of humility. Tang Sanzang then set out with Monk Lu, and Guanyin Bodhisattva rejoiced as the Journey to the West began and merit started flowing to her.

• Tang Sanzang invited Lin Zhu to accompany him to Western Heaven, while the system offered Lin Zhu rewards for refusing and raising his value.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva warned Lin Zhu not to interfere, but Tang Sanzang rebuked her and questioned whether Western Heaven's trials were fair to ordinary people.
• Lin Zhu declined Tang Sanzang's invitation, then joked that he might reconsider if Western Heaven's Buddhas came to invite him humbly or a Bodhisattva sang “Conquer.”
• Tang Sanzang left with Monk Lu, the attendants, and the Silver Mane Horse, beginning his journey westward.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva felt more than a hundred thousand points of merit gathering and celebrated the journey's beginning.

After Tang Sanzang began his westward journey, Merit flowed into the Western Heaven, while Lin Zhu traveled to Mount Kunlun to prepare for Tang Sanzang’s coming tribulations and reunite with its immortals. He was greeted with teasing affection from Bixiao, Qiongxiao, Yunxiao, and Wudang Shengmu, and ended the chapter trying to compose himself inside the main hall.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva hurried back to her sacred grounds to pursue a breakthrough, while Lin Zhu planned to prepare a gift for the Monkey imprisoned beneath Five Elements Mountain.
• Tang Sanzang’s departure from Chang'an brought Merit Golden Light to the Great Thunderclap Monastery, stabilizing Buddha Tathagata’s aura and renewing the Thirty Thousand Buddhas’ hopes for Buddhism’s rise.
• Lin Zhu traveled to Mount Kunlun, where Wudang Shengmu and the Three Xiaos—Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao—came out to welcome him.
• Bixiao hugged Lin Zhu and repeated suggestive remarks she had overheard from Qiongxiao and Yunxiao, embarrassing him until Wudang Shengmu stopped her and sent her to make noodles.
• Yunxiao teased Lin Zhu as he tried to retreat inside, and he overheard her and Wudang Shengmu say that he would eventually fall into their net.
• Lin Zhu entered the main hall, sat upright on a prayer mat, and tried to regain his composure.

Lin Zhu visited Mount Kunlun, where Wudang Shengmu and the Three Xiao Sisters teased him before Wudang Shengmu gifted him three Yellow Center Plums and advised him to reach the Quasi-Saint realm. He stayed on the mountain, where the four powerful immortal maidens continued to torment him with affection and cultivation training.

• Lin Zhu tried to steady himself as Bixiao, Qiongxiao, Yunxiao, and Wudang Shengmu arrived in new outfits.
• Wudang Shengmu drew Lin Zhu to sit beside her, while Yunxiao teased him with hints about needing a yang-rich companion.
• Wudang Shengmu said the sisters had been restless and advised Lin Zhu to advance to the Quasi-Saint realm, noting the faint Saintly Nature around him.
• Wudang Shengmu gave Lin Zhu three recently ripened Yellow Center Plums to help stabilize his foundation and improve his cultivation.
• During his stay on Mount Kunlun, Bixiao startled Lin Zhu, Qiongxiao made him drink unusual teas and wines, and Yunxiao repeatedly drew close to him.
• Wudang Shengmu regularly forced magical power through Lin Zhu’s meridians to guide his cultivation, leaving him feeling trapped by the four women’s attention and power.

Tang Sanzang and Monk Lu were captured by demons, while the Five Directions Attendants watched without intervening because the deadly trial had been arranged to eliminate people they considered obstacles to the westward journey’s merits. As Lord Xiongshan seized Monk Lu, the bound Tang Sanzang remained helpless in the cave.

• General Yin and his demons ambushed Tang Sanzang and Monk Lu after they entered a desolate mountain range, and the two attendants fled before being captured.
• Monk Lu fought to protect Tang Sanzang, who briefly surged with rage and struck a demon, but the demons subdued and bound them all.
• Lord Xiongshan and Techushi decided to eat the attendants, and the demons slaughtered them in front of Tang Sanzang, leaving him terrified and doubting Buddha and Guanyin.
• The Five Directions Attendants watched from above and revealed that the trial was meant to remove people who would dilute the journey’s merits, while ensuring Tang Sanzang survived.
• Monk Lu shouted at the demon kings to release Tang Sanzang, and Lord Xiongshan approached and grabbed Monk Lu’s arm.