Chapter Summaries

Duanmu Huai stormed Xiezhi Cave, defeated Sai Tai Sui, and killed him despite Guanyin’s attempt to reclaim her mount. He challenged the justice of Buddhist teachings and vowed to carry his slaughter through to Spirit Mountain.

• Duanmu Huai confronted Sai Tai Sui at Xiezhi Cave after the demons mistook him for a terrifying monster.
• Duanmu Huai slaughtered Sai Tai Sui’s demons and dispersed the smoke, fire, wind, and sand from his three bells.
• Duanmu Huai incapacitated Sai Tai Sui and was about to kill him when Guanyin arrived and explained that the demon was her escaped Golden Haired Hou.
• Duanmu Huai rejected Guanyin’s defense, killed Sai Tai Sui, and rebuked her and Buddhism over their treatment of mortals.
• Guanyin departed, and Duanmu Huai declared that he would destroy Spirit Mountain and make Tathagata face retribution.

Duanmu Huai left the Western Liang Women's Kingdom after securing the Queen’s promise to establish friendly relations with the Great Tang, while Li Shimin received news of more Western kingdoms submitting or seeking ties. At Flame Mountain, Duanmu Huai cleared the blazing eight-hundred-li barrier with one punch and continued west with Sun Wukong.

• Duanmu Huai reflected on Tathagata’s scriptures and Guanyin’s promotion of them before deciding how to deal with the Golden Haired Hou’s corpse.
• Sun Wukong returned the rescued Golden Saint Palace Consort to the Western Liang Women's Kingdom, and Duanmu Huai persuaded the Queen to send a letter seeking friendly relations with the Great Tang.
• Duanmu Huai continued west, while Li Shimin celebrated reports that the Wuji Kingdom had submitted and the Chechi Kingdom had established friendly relations with the Great Tang.
• Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong reached Flame Mountain, where Sun Wukong warned that its heat threatened Duanmu Huai’s mortal body.
• Duanmu Huai punched Flame Mountain into a crater, extinguishing its flames and bringing forth spring water, then set off with Sun Wukong.

Duanmu Huai learned that three demons had devoured Lion Camel Kingdom and countless people, so he scouted Lion Camel Ridge and destroyed the entire region with a devastating blast. When Manjusri and Samantabhadra arrived to subdue the demons, Duanmu Huai accused them of enabling their mounts and attacked them.

• Venus warned Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong about the demons of Lion Camel Ridge and revealed that they had eaten Lion Camel Kingdom and defeated a hundred thousand Celestial Guards.
• Duanmu Huai ordered Sun Wukong to scout Lion Camel Ridge and locate a peak overlooking the demon-infested region.
• Sun Wukong reported that Lion Camel Ridge was a vast graveyard and Lion Camel City was overrun with demons, then led Duanmu Huai to a summit.
• Duanmu Huai unleashed a blast that flattened Lion Camel Ridge and Lion Camel Kingdom just as Manjusri and Samantabhadra arrived.
• Duanmu Huai condemned Manjusri and Samantabhadra for their mounts’ crimes and charged at them with his fist.

Duanmu Huai killed Manjusri and Samantabhadra after destroying Lion Camel Kingdom, then continued west with Sun Wukong. At the Extinguish the Buddha Kingdom, whose King needed two more monks to fulfill his vow, the King heard about the travelers’ strength and chose to let them pass.

• Duanmu Huai attacked Manjusri and Samantabhadra, killed them both, and reduced Lion Camel Kingdom to a crater.
• Duanmu Huai told Sun Wukong he intended to confront Tathagata because Western Heaven had failed to control its demons.
• Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong reached the Extinguish the Buddha Kingdom, where guards stopped them because the King wanted two more monks to complete his vow.
• The King learned that the monks were envoys from the Great Tang, and the Grand Tutor warned him that they had killed the King of Chechi Kingdom.
• The King stamped Duanmu Huai’s travel permit and ordered a vegetarian feast prepared so the travelers could enter.

Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong reached Fengxian County, where Sun Wukong secured rain from the Heavenly Court by persuading its governor to repent. They then arrived in Tianzhu Kingdom, where Duanmu Huai learned the princess was choosing a husband and suspected she was the Jade Rabbit Spirit.

• Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong reached drought-stricken Fengxian County, where its governor begged them to pray for rain.
• Sun Wukong learned that the Jade Emperor had withheld rain because the governor had offended Heaven, and warned him that Duanmu Huai might storm the Heavenly Court.
• The Jade Emperor agreed to permit rain if the governor repented, so Sun Wukong urged the governor to worship Heaven and Earth.
• The governor repented, and rain fell across Fengxian County; Duanmu Huai ate a meal and departed with Sun Wukong.
• Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong reached Tianzhu Kingdom, where Duanmu Huai learned the princess was choosing a husband and suspected she was the Jade Rabbit Spirit.

Duanmu Huai exposed the Jade Rabbit Spirit’s scheme to seize Tang Sanzang’s Primordial Yang and terrified her until Chang'e arrived to take her back to the Moon Palace. Sun Wukong also found the real Princess, and Duanmu Huai received a bottle of Moon Palace wine instead of rabbit meat.

• Duanmu Huai told Sun Wukong to arrange for Chang'e to retrieve the Jade Rabbit Spirit and directed the Great Sage to make the embroidered ball hit him.
• The Jade Rabbit Spirit threw the ball, and Duanmu Huai went to the Palace with her as the King’s new Imperial Son-in-Law.
• The Jade Rabbit Spirit agreed to the marriage, but the King delayed the wedding for three days while Duanmu Huai frightened her in the Palace that night.
• Duanmu Huai and Sun Wukong revealed that the Jade Rabbit Spirit had been trapped in an illusion, and Chang'e arrived to take her back.
• Sun Wukong returned the real Princess to the King, and Chang'e gave Duanmu Huai Moon Palace wine after he asked for rabbits to make Spicy Rabbit Head.

Duanmu Huai reached Lingyun Crossing at Vulture Peak and sent Sun Wukong away before continuing alone to confront Tathagata. After rejecting Tathagata’s condemnation of the Eastern Land, Duanmu Huai transformed and began his assault on Spirit Mountain.

• Duanmu Huai reached Lingyun Crossing with Sun Wukong and told him his merits were complete, then urged him to return the Heavenly Horse and live freely.
• Duanmu Huai explained that he planned to confront Tathagata over the deaths of mortals and said he would not tolerate Buddhism’s treatment of ordinary people.
• Sun Wukong reluctantly departed with the Heavenly Horse after Duanmu Huai asked him to spread the Great Tang Western Regions Food Journal.
• Duanmu Huai crossed toward Spirit Mountain, and his steps devastated the landscape and killed the gathered Buddhist beings.
• Tathagata appeared and condemned the Eastern Land, but Duanmu Huai rejected his judgment and declared that he would destroy Spirit Mountain.
• Duanmu Huai invoked Law Manifestation of Heaven and Earth and charged into battle, vowing to slaughter the monks and burn the Buddhist scriptures.

Duanmu Huai defeated Tathagata in his dream quest and gained the Sixth Heaven Demon King Divine Office and a new spell-immunity use. After waking, he learned that Shepard’s brother and the second Normandy had vanished while investigating a distress signal from a warship that appeared to belong to the Inquisition.

• Duanmu Huai shattered Tathagata’s divine forms and golden body, destroying Spirit Mountain and defeating the Buddha.
• The System awarded Duanmu Huai the Sixth Heaven Demon King Divine Office, Specified Deity Spell Immunity Uses +1, and a believer reward of Spell Resistance +50%.
• Duanmu Huai celebrated the reward and considered using his new Divine Office to disrupt Evil God cults and counter Deceitful Trickster.
• Okegis told Duanmu Huai that the Systems Alliance was trying to reach him, and Mia connected him to Shepard’s sister.
• Shepard’s sister said her brother had disappeared aboard the second Normandy after finding a distress signal from an unidentified warship.
• Shepard’s sister showed Duanmu Huai a photograph of a Gothic warship resembling an Inquisition vessel, and he responded with a grim joke.

Shepard's younger brother led an Alliance team aboard a silent Inquisition cruiser after Systems Alliance Headquarters ordered them to investigate it. After their shuttle was destroyed and they became cut off from Normandy, strange sights aboard the ship left them fearing what awaited them.

• Normandy SR-2 received a distress signal of screams and prayers and located an unresponsive Inquisition Moon-class Cruiser.
• Systems Alliance Headquarters ordered Shepard's younger brother to investigate the cruiser before contacting the Inquisition, and he obeyed.
• Shepard's younger brother, Ashley, and Alliance soldiers entered the cruiser by shuttle, but its hangar turrets shot them down.
• The team found bloodstains and locked doors in the empty hangar, then restored the backup power supply to open their way onward.
• When the lights came on, Shepard's younger brother briefly saw a bloodied head and mutilated bodies on the console, but they vanished when he looked again.

Shepard's brother led a Systems Alliance team into an ancient warship, where they encountered mutated attackers and fled through its dangerous corridors. Duanmu Huai identified the vessel as a Space Hulk and decided to investigate it himself.

• Shepard's brother recognized the dead laborers as Servitors and concluded that the warship came from the era of the Human Empire.
• Cloaked attackers ambushed Shepard's brother's team, and the Systems Alliance soldiers killed them after discovering their mutated bodies.
• Shepard's brother led the team across the warship as strange creatures attacked, choosing dark passages by instinct and heading for an elevator while some soldiers disappeared.
• Duanmu Huai explained to Shepard's sister that the warship was a Space Hulk, a vessel lost in Warp Space, and that boarding one was nearly suicidal.
• Duanmu Huai agreed to go investigate the Space Hulk himself.

Duanmu Huai assembled a team and prepared to investigate a Space Hulk, ordering his forces to locate and contain the possibly corrupted Normandy SR2. After Tong found the Hulk, Duanmu Huai identified it as an old Ecclesiarchy warship and ordered his fleet to disable it for boarding.

• Duanmu Huai chose Okegis, Medea, and Mary to accompany him, while ordering Echote to prepare two Strike Fleets and Rumiere to intercept any Normandy SR2 distress signal.
• Duanmu Huai warned that Normandy SR2 might be infected by an Electronic Devil and ordered Echote to destroy it if Rumiere located it.
• Duanmu Huai reached the reported signal location, found it empty, and ordered Tong and Ranni to locate the Space Hulk.
• Tong used her vision to find the Hulk, collapsed after seeing it in the Soul Sea, and confirmed its coordinates to Duanmu Huai.
• Duanmu Huai identified the Space Hulk as a Reign of Blood-era Human Empire warship and ordered Echote to destroy its engines and thrusters before launching Boarding Torpedoes.

Duanmu Huai and his companions boarded a Space Hulk to search for Shepard and discovered signs that the Systems Alliance crew had been attacked by mutants and Xenomorphs. After Duanmu Huai blasted open a blocked passage, strange footsteps approached from all directions, and the group prepared to fight.

• Duanmu Huai launched Mary, Okegis, and Medea toward the Space Hulk in a Boarding Torpedo, where they killed mutants and destroyed a Chaos shrine.
• Duanmu Huai led the group deeper into the ship, asking Mary to watch for anything unusual while he used the Augury Device to choose a route toward the bridge.
• Duanmu Huai examined corpses and identified bullet wounds that showed the Systems Alliance had been attacked, then followed the bodies to the engineering room where Shepard's group had fled from Xenomorphs.
• Duanmu Huai recognized the bodies in the room as mutants and Genestealers, then used magic to blast open a passage blocked by rubble.
• Rapid footsteps sounded from the surrounding pipes and walkways, and Duanmu Huai ordered everyone to prepare for battle.

Duanmu Huai and his companions fought Genestealers aboard a Space Hulk and destroyed much of the ship before following Mary through its shifting corridors. They found Shepard’s younger brother and his Systems Alliance squad, but Duanmu Huai attacked their alien ally, who took Shepard’s brother hostage.

• Duanmu Huai, Okegis, Mary, and Medea fought off waves of Genestealers aboard the Space Hulk.
• Duanmu Huai ordered Echote to destroy the ship’s rear half, and the bombardment weakened its gravity.
• Mary used her Gold Eye to guide the group through the Space Hulk’s illusions.
• Duanmu Huai found Shepard’s younger brother and several Systems Alliance soldiers hiding in a warehouse.
• Duanmu Huai attacked the black-armored alien woman, who dodged and held Shepard’s younger brother at knifepoint.

Duanmu Huai exposed a Pink Horror impersonating a Dark Eldar aboard the Space Hulk, rescued Shepard's younger brother, and destroyed the wreck. He warned Shepard's older sister that the Dark Eldar might have taken the Normandy SR-2, and her report of attacks on Systems Alliance colonies confirmed his fears.

• Mary spotted that the supposed Dark Eldar was a Pink Horror, and Duanmu Huai knocked Shepard's younger brother aside before smashing the demon and its two blue offspring.
• Duanmu Huai rescued Shepard's younger brother, withdrew the group from the Space Hulk, and had Echote destroy the remaining wreckage.
• Duanmu Huai contacted Shepard's older sister, warned that the Dark Eldar might have hijacked the Normandy SR-2, and urged her to investigate the colonies.
• Duanmu Huai told Shepard's younger brother why he distrusted aliens, recounting how the Dark Eldar had betrayed the Tau.
• Shepard's older sister reported that an unidentified alien force had attacked Systems Alliance colonies, and Duanmu Huai prepared to depart.

Duanmu Huai arrived at Elysium after the Dark Eldar raided the colony, finding its residents tortured and many survivors abducted. He learned that the Dark Eldar had escaped through the Webway and began considering how to find their hidden capital, Commorragh.

• Sister Shepard reported that a colony had gone silent, and Duanmu Huai ordered his fleet to investigate Elysium.
• Brother Shepard recalled Elysium’s repeated disasters, including attacks by Batarians, Geth, and Reapers, before a Dark Eldar invasion.
• Duanmu Huai’s fleet reached Elysium after the Dark Eldar had fled, and Commander Edward described the colony’s devastation.
• Duanmu Huai explained that the Dark Eldar tortured their victims for sustenance and hid their capital in the Webway, making them difficult to pursue.
• Duanmu Huai learned that Elysium’s residents had dismantled its anti-aircraft guns and began thinking about how to locate and attack Commorragh.

Duanmu Huai explained how the Systems Alliance could reach the Dark Eldar city of Commorragh, then went to interrogate a captured Dark Eldar for its Webway code. His display of power frightened the captive to death, leaving the group with a corpse and no code as they set out to continue their plan.

• Li Longcheng told Duanmu Huai that the Dark Eldar had attacked three colonies and that the Systems Alliance had sentenced the officer whose decision led to the Normandy SR-2 being captured.
• Duanmu Huai said they could reach Commorragh by finding a Teleportation Gate and obtaining its activation code from a captured Dark Eldar.
• Li Longcheng revealed that soldiers had captured a seriously injured Dark Eldar, and Duanmu Huai hurried to Citadel Hospital before it could wake and escape.
• Duanmu Huai grabbed the unconscious Dark Eldar and terrified it with his power, causing it to bleed and die before revealing its code.
• Duanmu Huai explained that the Dark Eldar had mistaken him for a servant of Obsessive Sin come to claim its soul, then said they had the code and told the girls to leave.

Duanmu Huai investigated a supposed Eldar teleportation gate at a remote Cerberus research station, suspecting the message was a Dark Eldar trap. After finding the station deserted and its guide tortured, he confronted the Dark Eldar waiting by the gate and charged into battle.

• Duanmu Huai received a message from a Cerberus research director about a possible Eldar teleportation gate and suspected the Dark Eldar had arranged a trap.
• Duanmu Huai traveled with Okegis, Mary, Lorena, and Jia Wei to the frozen planet and entered Research Station 36.
• A tortured researcher led the group through the empty station to the gate, then killed himself after finishing his account.
• Duanmu Huai called out the Dark Eldar concealed around the gate, and they emerged to surround the group.
• Duanmu Huai threatened the Dark Eldar, gripped his warhammer, and charged at them.

Duanmu Huai and his allies defeated the Dark Eldar guarding a Teleportation Gate, then prepared to invade Commorragh and destroy the Dark Eldar. He opened the gate despite the enemy’s attempts to seal it and led the Inquisition and Systems Alliance forces toward the portal.

• Duanmu Huai, Okegis, Jia Wei, Lorena, and Mary slaughtered the Dark Eldar aboard the station.
• Duanmu Huai told Li Longcheng that the assault on Commorragh required total extermination and warned the Systems Alliance against joining unless its forces could follow that order.
• Li Longcheng decided to send a marine unit alongside the Inquisition’s Night Watch.
• Duanmu Huai opened and stabilized the Teleportation Gate while the Dark Eldar tried to seal it.
• Duanmu Huai ordered the assembled forces to kill every enemy on sight and led them toward the gate.

Duanmu Huai led the Night Watch and Systems Alliance forces into Commorragh, where they overwhelmed the Dark Eldar with gunfire and a scorched-earth advance. After destroying buildings, skimmers, and a warship, he ordered his forces to keep moving through the city.

• Duanmu Huai emerged from the Teleportation Gate and killed a Dark Eldar, prompting hundreds of Night Watch to pour through and attack.
• Duanmu Huai shattered a High Tower and used its upper half to demolish the surrounding district, then flattened more of Commorragh with a shock wave.
• The Night Watch and Systems Alliance forces advanced under sustained fire, forcing the Dark Eldar to retreat without gaining an advantage.
• Duanmu Huai’s anti-aircraft turrets shot down incoming skimmers, while Bolter fire cut down the slaves and mutant creatures sent against the frontline.
• A Venom Blade Class Corvette exploded in the sky and crashed into the city.
• Duanmu Huai ordered his forces to continue forward through Commorragh.

Duanmu Huai led the Inquisition’s assault through Commorragh, slaughtering Dark Eldar and killing an Archon as the city fell into panic. The Inquisition fleet arrived through the Webway and attacked Commorragh’s defense fleet, while Echote ordered the assault to continue.

• Duanmu Huai smashed through a mansion, killed its Dark Eldar defenders and a heavily armored warrior, and tore apart an Engine of Pain.
• Duanmu Huai descended to a platform, destroyed the fleeing Archon’s vehicle, and killed the Archon and a Dark Eldar child.
• Asdrubael Vect ordered every fleet gathered to destroy the invaders, then learned Commorragh’s defense fleet was under attack.
• Echote led the Inquisition warships in battle against the Dark Eldar fleet while Ann and Mary watched Commorragh from a porthole.
• Echote ordered the fleet to continue its attack and completely destroy the Dark Eldar fleet.