Chapter Summaries

Duanmu Huai slaughtered the monsters at Black Wind Cave and reached Five Finger Mountain, where he freed the trapped Great Sage Equal to Heaven by blasting the mountain apart. The monkey was left to join Duanmu Huai on his journey to Western Heaven.

• Duanmu Huai learned that a Black Bear Spirit, a Tiger Demon, and a Water Buffalo Demon preyed on travelers near the inn, then set out to kill them.
• Duanmu Huai fought his way to Black Wind Cave and destroyed the Black Bear Spirit, the other monsters, and the cave with a single strike.
• Duanmu Huai followed the trapped monkey’s cries to Five Finger Mountain and learned that the monkey was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
• Duanmu Huai ignored the monkey’s instructions to remove Tathagata’s seal and blasted Five Finger Mountain apart with his power.

Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong continued toward the Western Heaven, arriving at Guanyin Temple and disguising themselves to test its monks. After discovering the monks planned to drug and kill them for their treasures, Duanmu Huai prepared to teach them a lesson.

• Sun Wukong accepted Duanmu Huai as his master after Duanmu Huai blasted apart Five Finger Mountain, then brought him a Heavenly Horse rather than serving as his mount.
• Duanmu Huai explained that he intended to retrieve Buddhist scriptures and judge whether Guanyin's claims about their powers were true.
• Duanmu Huai recognized Guanyin Temple as Guanyin's Liuyun Lower Temple and criticized its lavish wealth and corrupt conduct.
• Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong disguised themselves, entered the temple, and let the abbot admire their Kasaya.
• Sun Wukong overheard the monks plotting to drug and kill them, then steal the Kasaya and Heavenly Horse; Duanmu Huai rose to confront them.

Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong exposed the monks’ attempt to murder them for the Kasaya and defeated the temple’s gang. After Duanmu Huai killed the Black Bear Spirit and broke the abbot’s legs, he ordered the surviving criminals tied up and sent to the county office.

• Monks tried to kill Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong with knives, but Duanmu Huai woke and killed several attackers before forcing a survivor to confess that the abbot targeted travelers for their valuables.
• Duanmu Huai confronted the abbot, and the abbot and a monk accused each other of leading the temple’s murder-and-robbery scheme.
• The abbot and monk summoned armed monks to attack, but Sun Wukong beat them and Duanmu Huai took back the Kasaya.
• The Black Bear Spirit arrived to claim the Kasaya, but Duanmu Huai killed him with a single blow.
• Duanmu Huai broke the abbot’s legs and ordered Sun Wukong to tie up the surviving criminals and take them to the county office.

After exposing and destroying Guanyin Monastery, Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong continued their journey and killed Yellow Wind Great King and his demons. Duanmu Huai ended the chapter considering how best to cook the dead Yellow-Haired Marten.

• Sun Wukong sent the evil monks to the county office, where officials uncovered more than a hundred bodies, executed the monks, and burned Guanyin Monastery.
• Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong ate the Black Bear Spirit and left Gao Family Village behind as they continued their journey.
• Tiger Vanguard attacked Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong, but Duanmu Huai beat him into submission and forced him to lead them to Yellow Wind Great King's cave.
• Duanmu Huai killed Tiger Vanguard and challenged Yellow Wind Great King while Sun Wukong fought the lesser demons.
• Yellow Wind Great King unleashed his divine wind, but Duanmu Huai dispelled it and killed him, after which Sun Wukong and his clones slaughtered the remaining demons.
• Duanmu Huai wondered whether the Yellow-Haired Marten was edible and decided it was too thin to boil, so he would have to roast it.

Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong took Wang Yuanwai’s notice to deal with the Fox Spirit tormenting his son, Ke Song. After hearing how the fox had defeated previous exorcists, Duanmu Huai killed it with the Golden Cudgel, leaving the household safe.

• Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong entered a city and found Wang Yuanwai’s notice offering a reward for exorcising the demon afflicting his son.
• Sun Wukong pulled down the notice despite townspeople warning that earlier demon hunters had died, and he and Duanmu Huai went to Wang Yuanwai’s residence.
• Wang Yuanwai explained that Ke Song had fallen for a mysterious woman named Mei Er, whom a master identified as a powerful Fox Spirit before dying while trying to subdue it.
• Wang Yuanwai told them that attempts to leave the city had failed, and Sun Wukong assured him that he and Duanmu Huai would defeat the fox that night.
• Duanmu Huai sent Sun Wukong to protect Wang Yuanwai and his household, then waited beside Ke Song and pretended to chant sutras.
• When the Fox Spirit appeared, Duanmu Huai grabbed her and beat her with the Golden Cudgel until she died and turned into a fox.

After defeating the fox spirit, Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong traveled to Gao Family Village, where they attended the wedding of Gao Shi’s daughter. As they prepared to leave the next day, the steward arrived with shocking news that made Gao Shi faint.

• Wang Yuanwai’s son woke after Duanmu Huai killed the fox spirit, and he described being trapped in an illusion that drained his strength.
• Duanmu Huai burned the fox spirit’s remains, accepted Wang Yuanwai’s payment and letter, and set out for Gao Family Village with Sun Wukong.
• The steward welcomed the pair to Gao Family Village, where they learned that Gao Shi’s daughter was marrying a man into the family.
• At the wedding feast, Duanmu Huai learned that Gao Shi had broken off her daughter’s engagement to Wang Yuanwai’s son while he was believed lost to the fox spirit.
• After spending the night at Gao Family Village, Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong prepared to leave, but the steward rushed over with grave news and Gao Shi fainted when she heard it.

After the groom was found murdered and Gao Shi’s eldest daughter disappeared, Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong investigated the crime. Gao Shi revealed her family’s bargain with a white-robed heavenly envoy and admitted she had summoned him to save the family business, while the groom’s identity raised further suspicions.

• The steward reported that the groom had been brutally killed and Gao Shi’s eldest daughter had vanished, so Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong examined the bridal chamber.
• Sun Wukong asked the local Earth God and City God about the case and learned that Gao Shi had an immortal connection.
• Duanmu Huai questioned Gao Shi, who revealed that her family had inherited a portrait of a white-robed envoy who granted wishes at the cost of a loved one.
• Gao Shi confessed that she had summoned the envoy to provide cloth and save the family business after her husband’s trade deal failed.
• Gao Shi identified the dead groom as a gardener who had worked in her household, prompting Duanmu Huai to suspect a connection between the murder and her private life.

Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong tracked down the White-robed Scholar, who admitted to exploiting the Gao family's fortune and killing their grooms to fulfill Gao Shi's third wish. Duanmu Huai killed him, and after Gao Shi traded her soul to restore her daughter's sanity, the pair continued their journey.

• Duanmu Huai deduced that Gao Shi and the groom had been lovers, and Sun Wukong used the scroll to track the White-robed Scholar.
• Sun Wukong caught the White-robed Scholar, who explained that Gao Shi's third wish had bound him to protect the Gao family forever, so he began killing grooms and abducting brides.
• Duanmu Huai learned that the bride could not be healed by an immortal and killed the White-robed Scholar, whose soul scattered completely.
• Duanmu Huai realized that the scholar had stolen the Gao family's fortune to cultivate, then returned with Sun Wukong and the bride to Gao Family Village.
• Gao Shi exchanged souls with her daughter, restoring the bride's sanity while leaving herself senile, and Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong resumed their journey.

Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong traveled through Western He Continent, criticizing its rampant demons and questioning Tathagata’s claims about the land. After joining a merchant caravan headed for Baoxiang Kingdom, they recognized a woman named Cui as a demon, and Duanmu Huai suspected she was the White Bone Spirit.

• Duanmu Huai complained to Sun Wukong that Western He Continent was overrun with demons, contradicting Tathagata’s praise of it.
• A merchant recognized Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong and asked them to escort his group to Baoxiang Kingdom; Duanmu Huai agreed.
• The old merchant introduced his young master and the young traders traveling with him.
• The young master brought a woman named Cui to join the caravan, claiming she was fleeing an abusive household.
• Sun Wukong recognized Cui as a demon and tried to strike her, but Duanmu Huai stopped him and suspected she was the White Bone Spirit.
• Duanmu Huai decided to follow Cui after the caravan set out so he could discover her intentions and find a pretext to deal with her.

Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong defeated Kui Mulang and his demons at Bowl Hill Wave Moon Cave, then found the captive third princess of Baoxiang Kingdom. They freed her and agreed to take her home as they continued west.

• Kui Mulang learned that Tang Sanzang was traveling nearby and led his demon soldiers out to challenge him.
• Duanmu Huai charged Kui Mulang and killed him with his fists before joining Sun Wukong in slaughtering the demon horde.
• Duanmu Huai spared one demon long enough to lead them to Bowl Hill Wave Moon Cave, where he and Sun Wukong killed the remaining demons and searched for treasure.
• Duanmu Huai discovered a woman hiding in the cave and learned she was Hundred Flowers Shame, the third princess of Baoxiang Kingdom, who Kui Mulang had abducted thirteen years earlier.
• Duanmu Huai offered to take Hundred Flowers Shame back to Baoxiang Kingdom, and she gratefully accepted.

Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong escorted the Third Princess back to Baoxiang Kingdom, where the King rewarded them before they continued west. At dusk, they found a sinister temple on a mountain, and Duanmu Huai recognized its plaque as something familiar.

• Duanmu Huai returned to the caravan with the rescued Third Princess and demon spoils, then discovered that Cui'er had disappeared.
• The Third Princess reunited with the King of Baoxiang Kingdom and told him that Duanmu Huai had rescued her and killed the demon.
• Duanmu Huai declined the King's offer to stay, accepted wine, meat, a travel permit, and one hundred taels of gold, and departed with Sun Wukong.
• Sun Wukong wondered about Duanmu Huai's identity and considered how their journey might end in a fight at Spirit Mountain, then decided to keep following him.
• Sun Wukong spotted a haunted-looking temple, and Duanmu Huai approached it and recognized the plaque above its entrance.

Duanmu Huai waited at Lanruo Temple for female ghosts, but Old Demon Granny and her followers tried to seduce him and seize his Tang Sanzang Meat. After Granny’s first approach failed, she sent in a disguised little monk, prompting Duanmu Huai to roar in outrage.

• Duanmu Huai sent Sun Wukong away for the night and waited alone at Lanruo Temple for female ghosts to arrive.
• The female ghosts plotted to drain Duanmu Huai’s Yang Energy and gain immortality, but Old Demon Granny interrupted them and entered his room herself.
• Duanmu Huai saw through Granny’s disguise and frightened her away with a roar.
• Old Demon Granny resolved to use her ultimate weapon and told the female ghosts her plan.
• Old Demon Granny sent a disguised little monk to approach Duanmu Huai, who shouted in fury.

Duanmu Huai heard the ghost of the King of Wuji Kingdom recount how a taoist priest had drowned him and stolen his throne, and he suspected Tathagata and Manjushri Bodhisattva had orchestrated the crime. He vowed to expose the false king and avenge the dead king, then ordered Sun Wukong to retrieve the corpse and find a way to revive him.

• Sun Wukong returned to find the ghost temple destroyed and Duanmu Huai in a foul mood after he had beaten Old Demon Granny to death.
• A drenched ghost appeared before Duanmu Huai and revealed that he was the King of Wuji Kingdom, drowned in a well by a taoist priest who had taken his form.
• Duanmu Huai recalled that the supposed taoist was the Lion Spirit, Manjushri Bodhisattva's mount, and blamed Tathagata and Manjushri Bodhisattva for the kingdom's drought and the King's murder.
• Duanmu Huai promised the King he would avenge him and return his kingdom, and the ghost disappeared.
• Duanmu Huai told Sun Wukong the King's story and ordered him to retrieve the corpse from the Eight-Cornered Glazed Well and try to revive it.
• Sun Wukong questioned whether he could restore a corpse dead for three years, but agreed to think of a way.

Duanmu Huai restored the Wuji Kingdom’s King, exposed and killed the Cyan Mane Lion, then confronted Manjusri Bodhisattva over the suffering the demon and Buddhist authorities had caused. He left Manjusri with a warning that he would destroy Buddhist teachings if the kingdom suffered further harm, and declared his plans for Western Heaven.

• Sun Wukong returned with the resurrected King after recovering his body and obtaining a Nine Revolutions Soul Restoration Pill.
• Duanmu Huai led the King and Sun Wukong into the capital, where his divine might forced the people and officials to kneel and revealed the taoist priest as a monster.
• The Cyan Mane Lion tried to flee, but Sun Wukong and Duanmu Huai stopped it, and Duanmu Huai killed it by slamming it to the ground.
• The King reclaimed his throne, agreed to pay tribute to the Great Tang, and treated Duanmu Huai to a lion feast at Spring Full Pavilion.
• Manjusri Bodhisattva explained that the lion had been sent under a Buddhist decree, but Duanmu Huai blamed him for the kingdom’s three-year drought, punched him, and threatened Western Heaven.
• Duanmu Huai told Sun Wukong he planned to extinguish Buddhist scriptures on the way to Western Heaven and challenge Tathagata.

Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong arrived in Chechi Kingdom to have their travel document stamped, but Deer Power Great Immortal persuaded the King to seize them. As soldiers attacked at the relay station, Duanmu Huai prepared to fight back.

• Duanmu Huai told Sun Wukong about Chechi Kingdom’s hostility toward Buddhism and decided they would enter the capital to get their travel document stamped.
• The King heard that the travelers came from Great Tang and asked Tiger Power Great Immortal, Deer Power Great Immortal, and Goat Power Great Immortal what to do.
• The three Great Immortals debated whether to target Duanmu Huai, then Deer Power Great Immortal persuaded the King that Tang Sanzang’s capture would let Chechi Kingdom claim Great Tang’s fortune.
• The King ordered the Imperial Guards to seize and execute the two monks, and hundreds of soldiers surrounded Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong at the relay station.
• Duanmu Huai faced the soldiers and readied himself to fight after they charged.

Duanmu Huai stormed the Chechi Kingdom’s palace after its king tried to assassinate an envoy of Great Tang, killed the king and the Tiger, Deer, and Sheep Three Great Immortals, and claimed the throne was for the court to settle. He then made hotpot from the demons as Sun Wukong arrived, leaving the Chechi officials to decide who would inherit the throne.

• Duanmu Huai recognized the Three Great Immortals’ role in the ambush and charged into the royal palace, declaring that Chechi had attacked an envoy of Great Tang.
• Duanmu Huai tore off the King of Chechi’s head in the Golden Luan Hall and warned the soldiers that Great Tang would destroy the kingdom if they resisted.
• The Three Great Immortals tried to flee, but Duanmu Huai killed them with a roar, and the soldiers and officials stood down.
• Duanmu Huai told the officials they could decide how to handle the succession, then had the imperial chef prepare the three demons for hotpot.
• Sun Wukong joined Duanmu Huai at the hotpot and chose clear broth while the officials discussed the next king.

After leaving Chechi Kingdom, Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong reached Chen Family Village, where a demon demanded children as sacrifices. Duanmu Huai defeated the Great Inspiration King, a giant carp spirit, and planned to return to the village for fish soup.

• Chechi Kingdom's new King gave Duanmu Huai a travel document and a letter of submission to the Great Tang, and soldiers escorted Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong to the border.
• An old man from Chen Family Village begged Duanmu Huai to save his grandchildren, Chen Guanbao and Yi Chengjin, from the Great Inspiration King, who demanded two children each year.
• Duanmu Huai had Sun Wukong use his Clone Technique to impersonate the children while he waited to ambush the demon at its temple.
• The Great Inspiration King arrived, and Duanmu Huai's first punch slipped off its slick body before the demon dragged him into the Reaching Heaven River.
• Duanmu Huai blasted the water away, subdued the demon, and discovered it was a giant carp; he decided to return to Chen Family Village for fish soup.

Duanmu Huai celebrated capturing Great Immortal Inspiration by having Chen Family Village prepare a whole-fish feast, then crossed Reaching Heaven River by splitting it with a punch. After Sun Wukong failed to defeat a demon with a ring that stole magical weapons, Duanmu Huai recognized the likely culprit as Laozi’s Azure Ox and set out to confront it.

• Duanmu Huai brought Great Immortal Inspiration back to Chen Family Village and ordered the carp demon cooked into a feast.
• Duanmu Huai told Sun Wukong to record that eating the carp demon could extend a person’s life by a hundred years.
• Sun Wukong scouted ahead, challenged a demon, and lost his Golden Cudgel to the demon’s ring.
• Sun Wukong enlisted Nezha and several celestial officials, but the demon’s ring captured their weapons and treasures as well.
• Duanmu Huai split Reaching Heaven River with a punch and crossed it on the White Dragon Horse.
• Sun Wukong returned to Duanmu Huai for help, and Duanmu Huai recognized the demon as likely Laozi’s Azure Ox and went to confront it.

Duanmu Huai killed the Green Bull Demon after it attacked him with its ring, then continued toward Western Heaven with Sun Wukong. Near Daughter Country, they discovered that every woman in the city, including its queen, had fallen into an unresponsive sleep.

• Sun Wukong lured the Green Bull Demon from its cave, and Duanmu Huai shattered its Diamond Ring with a punch and killed it.
• Sun Wukong cleared the cave and recovered the treasures stolen from him and the Heavenly Court's immortals.
• Duanmu Huai told the immortals he would kill any monster that harmed mortals, regardless of its heavenly origins, and planned to butcher and eat the bull.
• Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong feasted in the cave for several days before continuing their journey toward Western Heaven.
• Sun Wukong scouted Western Liang Women's Kingdom and found its women, including the queen, asleep and impossible to wake.
• Duanmu Huai rode into the city with Sun Wukong and decided to investigate the Royal Palace.

Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong broke the spell that had put the Western Liang Women's Kingdom to sleep, then learned that Sai Tai Sui had abducted the Queen’s daughter and threatened the kingdom. They reached Qilin Mountain Xie Zhi Cave, where Duanmu Huai prepared to clear the demon guards while Sun Wukong went to rescue Golden Saint Palace Consort.

• Duanmu Huai used his Buddhist staff to awaken the sleeping people of the Western Liang Women's Kingdom, and the Queen thanked him and asked for help against Sai Tai Sui.
• The Queen explained that Sai Tai Sui had abducted her daughter, Jin Sheng Gong, and kept demanding palace maids; she suspected the demon had caused the kingdom’s mass sleep.
• Sun Wukong defeated and captured a demon sent by Sai Tai Sui, who revealed that Jin Sheng Gong’s Five-Colored Immortal Garment kept the king from touching her and that the sleep spell was meant to make her surrender.
• Duanmu Huai ordered Sun Wukong to kill the captive demon, then set out with him for Qilin Mountain Xie Zhi Cave.
• At the cave, Duanmu Huai raised his Namo Great Compassionate Gatling Bodhisattva and told Sun Wukong to enter, find Golden Saint Palace Consort, and bring her out.