Chapter Summaries

Zhu Bajie’s disguise led him into an intimate encounter with Manjushri Bodhisattva, while Tang Sanzang and the others summoned Guanyin Buddha and exposed what was happening. The chapter ended with Zhu Bajie admitting the experience had been quite something.

• Fu Yun Sou and the other elders left Manjushri Bodhisattva and Zhu Bajie alone on the mountaintop.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva tried to pull away, but Zhu Bajie embraced him and tore his clothes, and Manjushri Bodhisattva lost himself in passion.
• Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, Huanglong, and Sha Heshang summoned Guanyin Buddha and blamed the incident on the monster below.
• Guanyin Buddha divined that Zhu Bajie was with Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Sun Wukong loudly revealed the truth to the gathered powers.
• Zhu Bajie’s disguise and the spells concealing the truth faded, and he vomited on Manjushri Bodhisattva before washing himself in a stream.
• Sun Wukong teased Zhu Bajie about the encounter, and Zhu Bajie admitted it had been quite an experience.

Tang Sanzang blamed Manjushri Bodhisattva for the scandal at Jingji Ridge, and Guanyin Buddha sent him to the Demon Sect’s forbidden grounds, where the demonic beast army awaited. Meanwhile, Dong Wanggong prepared to pursue the Primordial Great Dao in the Hongmeng Immortal Palace while his Dao Companions stayed with him.

• Tang Sanzang defended Zhu Bajie and accused Manjushri Bodhisattva of bringing ridicule upon the Demon Sect and Buddhist Path.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva admitted his mistake and offered to enter the Demon Sect’s forbidden grounds to feed the demonic beast army.
• Guanyin Buddha sent Manjushri Bodhisattva to the forbidden grounds, ended the Jingji Ridge trial, and ordered Tang Sanzang and his disciples to continue west without changing identities.
• Heavenly Dao Merit fell upon the Jingji Ridge Four Old Monsters and Guanyin Buddha, while Manjushri Bodhisattva received none.
• Apricot Fairy thanked Dong Wanggong after her cultivation rose to Quasi-Saint Peak, and he promised that his Dao breakthrough would help his Dao Companions advance.
• Dong Wanggong took Apricot Fairy to Penglai Immortal Island and invited his Dao Companions into the Hongmeng Immortal Palace to cultivate with him as he pursued the Primordial Great Dao.

Dong Wanggong perfected the Great Dao of Strength and reached the Primordial Great Dao Realm after several eras of cultivation in the Hongmeng Immortal Palace. He discovered that the palace had become a Primordial Supreme Treasure and would eventually produce Primordial Violet Qi that could help his Dao Companions advance.

• Dong Wanggong told his Dao Companions that they could cultivate in the palace for several eras and draw on the Dao Resonance to pursue breakthroughs.
• After several dozen days passed in the Primordial World, Dong Wanggong perfected the Great Dao of Strength and formed the Primordial Great Dao Dao Fruit.
• Dong Wanggong checked his updated system panel and planned to use the World Tree to perfect the Reincarnation Master's Great Dao embryonic form.
• West Queen Mother noticed the Hongmeng Immortal Palace condensing Primordial Violet Qi, and Dong Wanggong explained that it would eventually produce more than a hundred strands to help his Dao Companions prove the Primordial Great Dao.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples avoided the suspicious Lesser Thunderclap Monastery, then launched a devastating attack on it from a distance. Old Demon Yellow Brow and Bodhisattva Lingji took shelter in the Golden Cymbals as the monastery came under fire, while Tang Sanzang wondered whether innocents might be hurt.

• Tang Sanzang and his disciples recognized that the seemingly sacred Lesser Thunderclap Monastery was suspicious and decided to circle the mountain before attacking it from a hundred miles away.
• Old Demon Yellow Brow summoned Bodhisattva Lingji after Tang Sanzang and his disciples bypassed Little Western Heaven.
• Bodhisattva Lingji spotted Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Heshang launching a barrage at Lesser Thunderclap Monastery and rushed to defend himself.
• Old Demon Yellow Brow and Bodhisattva Lingji hid inside the Golden Cymbals while Lingji arranged the Human Seed Bag and Short Soft Wolf Tooth Club as defenses.
• Sun Wukong stopped Tang Sanzang from preparing another attack, and Tang Sanzang asked whether they might have harmed innocent people.

After the destruction of Lesser Thunderclap Monastery, Zhu Bajie accidentally killed Old Demon Yellow Brow and nearly struck Bodhisattva Lingji, who had hidden inside the Golden Cymbals. Lingji received only a small share of the resulting merit before leaving, while Tang Sanzang and his disciples continued west and discussed killing more Demon Sect members along the way.

• The divine attacks destroyed Lesser Thunderclap Monastery, but Bodhisattva Lingji and Old Demon Yellow Brow survived behind the Golden Cymbals, badly injured.
• Zhu Bajie shattered the Golden Cymbals with the Shang Bao Qin Jin Pa, and Lingji pushed Old Demon Yellow Brow into its path; Yellow Brow died, his primordial spirit and True Spirit destroyed.
• Tang Sanzang questioned Lingji, then denied responsibility for the monastery’s destruction and let him fall while backing away.
• Heavenly Dao merit and destiny appeared, but only a small amount entered Lingji, barely enough to heal his injuries.
• Lingji warned Tang Sanzang and his disciples to complete their ordeals properly, then left to report to Guanyin Buddha.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples resumed their journey west, hoping they might kill Lingji later and agreeing to target Demon Sect members when they had a reasonable excuse.

Tang Sanzang and his companions arrived in Zhu Zi Kingdom, where they saw a notice seeking a doctor for the ill king. Meanwhile, Jin Sheng Gong attained the Great Luo and waited for Dong Wanggong, who set off to meet her after Haotian revealed the arrangement.

• Tang Sanzang entered Zhu Zi Kingdom and went to the palace to exchange the group’s Travel Document while Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Heshang, and Huanglong explored the city.
• Zhu Bajie spotted a royal notice seeking a doctor for the sick king, and Sun Wukong predicted their master would have the group treat him.
• Jin Sheng Gong reached the Great Luo after over twenty years of cultivation under True Person Ziyang and continued waiting for the Immortal Emperor.
• Haotian visited Dong Wanggong and told him he had cultivated Jin Sheng Gong as a potential Dao Companion.
• The Heavenly Dao revealed the arrangement, and Dong Wanggong left with Haotian to meet Jin Sheng Gong.

Dong Wanggong rewarded True Person Ziyang and shared Dao cultivation with Jin Sheng Gong, while Tang Sanzang told his disciples that Sai Taishui, Guanyin Buddha’s mount, was behind the king of Zhu Zi Kingdom’s illness. The group planned to confront Sai Taishui cautiously the next day.

• Dong Wanggong gave True Person Ziyang purple qi that would help him reach the Quasi-Saint Realm, and Haotian took him back to the Heavenly Court.
• After Haotian and the others left, Jin Sheng Gong joined Dong Wanggong in the palace to cultivate through Dual Cultivation.
• Tang Sanzang returned to the inn, where Zhu Bajie complained that he had gone to a feast without bringing food back.
• Tang Sanzang explained that Sai Taishui had caused the king of Zhu Zi Kingdom’s illness and would come to abduct women the next day.
• Tang Sanzang revealed that Sai Taishui was Guanyin Buddha’s Golden Mane Lion mount, so Sun Wukong suggested crippling him for now and dealing with him after the Journey to the West Tribulation.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples faced Sai Taishui when the demon returned to Zhu Zi Kingdom, and Tang Sanzang offered the king a way to get revenge despite their inability to kill Sai Taishui themselves. The chapter left the king considering a sacrifice that could restore his rule eighteen years later.

• Tang Sanzang told the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom that Sai Taishui was Guanyin Buddha’s mount and that they could not kill him, prompting the officials and king to condemn Buddhism and order its temples destroyed.
• Sai Taishui arrived and taunted the king by calling himself his father, while the king vowed to subdue him with the help of Tang Sanzang and his disciples.
• Sun Wukong challenged Sai Taishui to a fight to the death, but Sai Taishui refused and demanded that the king kowtow to him and recognize him as his father.
• Sai Taishui threatened to claim Zhu Zi Kingdom’s title, incense offerings, and fortune, and Tang Sanzang quietly asked the king whether he wanted the demon dead.
• Tang Sanzang told the king that sacrificing himself could earn Human Path fortune and let him return as Zhu Zi Kingdom’s ruler eighteen years later, with a chance to cultivate.

Tang Sanzang persuaded the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom to sacrifice his life and destiny to destroy Sai Taishui, and the king chose to fight the demon. As Sai Taishui unleashed the Purple Gold Bell, Huanglong and Zhu Bajie went to rescue the captives from his cave.

• Tang Sanzang told the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom that Sai Taishui would die if he killed the king, who could gain merit and destiny through his sacrifice.
• The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom agreed to face Sai Taishui and asked Tang Sanzang to protect the kingdom and secure his son's succession.
• The king challenged Sai Taishui from the city wall, while Sun Wukong recognized that the king's burning destiny could raise him to Grand Unity Golden Immortal strength.
• Tang Sanzang sent Huanglong and Zhu Bajie to rescue the king's mother and concubines and deal with Sai Taishui's forces at the cave.
• Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Bodhisattva Lingji watched from the Nine Heavens, expecting Sai Taishui to humiliate the king.
• The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom burned his blood essence and destiny, transformed into a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, and confronted Sai Taishui as the demon activated the Purple Gold Bell.

The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom fought Sai Taishui while Tang Sanzang's group secured the Queen Mother and the concubines. After the king provoked Sai Taishui into a murderous rage, Sai Taishui prepared to attack, unaware that the king was baiting him into a fatal trap.

• Zhu Bajie reported that Huanglong had rescued the Queen Mother and the concubines and was escorting them back to the palace.
• The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom burned his power to reach the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm and attacked Sai Taishui, but Sai Taishui wounded him with the Purple Gold Bell.
• The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom spent his life force launching another attack, and Zhu Bajie praised his resolve to protect the Human Race.
• Sun Wukong arrived and told Sai Taishui that Huanglong had rescued the Queen Mother and the concubines, then taunted him to return to Western Mount Sumeru as Guanyin Buddha's mount.
• The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom taunted Sai Taishui and urged him to kill, while Sai Taishui threatened to devour the king and claim his concubines.

Sai Taishui swallowed the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Bodhisattva Lingji hurried to contain him and answer for their failure to intervene. Tang Sanzang and his disciples challenged the Bodhisattvas’ accusations as Zhu Zi Kingdom’s general demanded justice, while the king’s soul drifted toward reincarnation.

• Samantabhadra Bodhisattva reassured Bodhisattva Lingji that Sai Taishui would not kill the king, but Sai Taishui swallowed the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom.
• Tang Sanzang comforted the grieving Queen Mother, knowing the king would return in eighteen years with greater fortune.
• Samantabhadra Bodhisattva suppressed Sai Taishui, and Sai Taishui realized that the Kalpa Tribulation had driven him to kill the king.
• Tang Sanzang defended his group’s decision not to attack Sai Taishui and reminded the Bodhisattvas that they should have intervened.
• Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie protested the Bodhisattvas’ treatment of their group, while Zhu Zi Kingdom’s general presented tens of thousands of severed heads and demanded an explanation.
• The King of Zhu Zi Kingdom’s soul, glowing with golden light, drifted toward the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Bodhisattva Lingji faced blame for Sai Taishui’s killing of the king of Zhu Zi Kingdom, so they summoned Guanyin Buddha to handle the crisis. Tang Sanzang calmed the palace guards, and Guanyin Buddha promised to punish Sai Taishui in a way that would satisfy the Human Sacred Land.

• Bodhisattva Lingji and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva summoned Guanyin Buddha after the people of Zhu Zi Kingdom blamed them for the king’s death.
• A general confronted the two bodhisattvas as palace guards formed a battle array and gathered their fighting will into a giant dragon.
• Bodhisattva Lingji warned Samantabhadra Bodhisattva not to let the tribulation aura cloud his mind, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva thanked him.
• Guanyin Buddha arrived, questioned the two bodhisattvas, and heard them admit their fault.
• Tang Sanzang praised Guanyin Buddha and persuaded the general to stand down, ending the palace guards’ uprising.
• Huanglong warned that Sai Taishui’s punishment had to satisfy the Human Sacred Land, and Guanyin Buddha said she already had a plan.

Guanyin Buddha confronted Sai Taishui over his crimes, but his confused accusations enraged her, and she erased him completely. Heavenly Dao Merit and Destiny were divided among Guanyin Buddha, the general, and the deceased King of Zhu Zi Kingdom as the pilgrimage continued.

• Guanyin Buddha condemned Sai Taishui’s crimes and offered him a chance to atone, but Sai Taishui misread her intentions and accused her of cruelty.
• Bodhisattva Lingji tried to correct Sai Taishui, but Sai Taishui insulted him, transformed into his Golden-Haired Hou form, and prepared to fight Guanyin Buddha.
• Guanyin Buddha destroyed Sai Taishui’s body, Primordial Spirit, and True Spirit, leaving him no chance to reincarnate.
• Heavenly Dao Merit and Destiny descended, with three-tenths going to Guanyin Buddha and two-tenths granting the general the Dao of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
• Bai Qi recognized the general and promised to teach him battle formations, while the remaining five-tenths entered the Six Paths of Reincarnation and merged into the King of Zhu Zi Kingdom.
• Guanyin Buddha told Samantabhadra Bodhisattva that Dao Ancestor Hongjun had decided the merit’s distribution, then departed for Mount Sumeru as the five pilgrims continued westward.

Wutian visited Tang Sanzang and revealed a scheme to free him from Golden Cicada during the Pansi Cave and Yellow Flower Temple tribulations. Tang Sanzang agreed to go to Pansi Cave alone, while Wutian’s plan left Sun Wukong and the others stunned.

• Sun Wukong sensed a demonic presence ahead and discovered seven female demons in Pansi Cave and their senior brother, a Thousand-Eyed Centipede, at Yellow Flower Temple.
• Zhu Bajie volunteered to visit the seven female demons, prompting Sha Heshang and Huanglong to tease him about his lustful motives.
• Wutian appeared before Tang Sanzang and his four disciples, saying he had come to help Tang Sanzang become his true self again.
• Wutian explained that he would lift Buddha’s restriction on Golden Cicada after Tang Sanzang went alone to Pansi Cave, setting up events tied to Golden Cicada’s past romance with Baihua Xiu.
• Tang Sanzang agreed to follow Wutian’s arrangements and said he would not let Golden Cicada claim the merit from the Journey to the West.
• Sun Wukong praised Wutian’s scheme, while Zhu Bajie called him even more devious than his master.

Wutian dissolved Golden Cicada’s restriction and sent Tang Sanzang to Pansi Cave to lure him into taking over the body. After the seven Spider Spirits drained Tang Sanzang’s apparent soul and left him unconscious, Golden Cicada awakened in his body.

• Wutian told Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie that Tang Sanzang could break free of Golden Cicada, then dissolved the restriction and vanished.
• Tang Sanzang bid his disciples farewell and traveled to Pansi Cave while Sun Wukong, Huanglong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Heshang waited and feasted.
• The seven Spider Spirits watched Tang Sanzang enter their hut, then transported him to Pansi Cave and bound him with their webs.
• Tang Sanzang pretended to struggle, then let the Spider Spirits drain his primordial spirit and soul while hiding his true vital core.
• Golden Cicada’s consciousness awakened in Tang Sanzang’s body after the restriction disappeared, and he exclaimed that taking control had been exhilarating.

Wutian drugged Golden Cicada during his fight with the seven Spider Spirits, sending him into a violent frenzy. When Baihua Xiu arrived with her children, Golden Cicada killed them and attacked her; Arhat Dragon-Subduing then came to Pansi Cave to rescue Tang Sanzang.

• Golden Cicada broke free of the webs in Pansi Cave and threatened the seven Spider Spirits, but Wutian scattered the Dragon Clan drug The Sow is Also Crazy.
• The drug drove the Spider Spirits wild and caused Golden Cicada to lose control and attack them.
• Baihua Xiu brought her two children to Pansi Cave, hoping to see Golden Cicada, and found him with the Spider Spirits.
• Golden Cicada killed Baihua Xiu's children and left her badly injured, mistaking her for someone he could seize.
• Arhat Dragon-Subduing arrived at Pansi Cave, annoyed that Sun Wukong and the others had not rescued Tang Sanzang.

Golden Cicada regained his reason after being manipulated into brutal crimes, but the Heavenly Dao punished him for breaking his oath to Baihua Xiu and stripped him of his fortune. Tang Sanzang recovered, freed from Golden Cicada, and was told to continue west while the Buddhist figures dealt with the seven female demons.

• Arhat Dragon-Subduing found Golden Cicada killing Baihua Xiu and summoned Guanyin Buddha and Ancient Buddha Burning Lamp.
• Ancient Buddha Burning Lamp and Guanyin Buddha subdued Golden Cicada's lust and bound the seven female demons.
• Ancient Buddha Burning Lamp showed Golden Cicada the crimes he had committed, and Guanyin Buddha explained that his broken Heavenly Dao Oath had brought punishment and drained his merit and destiny to Tang Sanzang.
• Ancient Buddha Burning Lamp took Golden Cicada toward Mount Sumeru, saying only the Demon Ancestor might save him, while Guanyin Buddha suspected Wutian had engineered the plot.
• Ancient Buddha Burning Lamp restored Tang Sanzang, who felt liberated from Golden Cicada and agreed to continue west for the scriptures.
• Tang Sanzang asked Ancient Buddha Burning Lamp or Arhat Dragon-Subduing to kill or convert the seven female demons, whose drug-induced lust remained dangerous.

Sun Wukong and his companions arrived at Pansi Cave after Ancient Buddha Burning Lamp suppressed the lustful aura within the seven Spider Spirits, and Tang Sanzang’s group left with Golden Cicada. Meanwhile, Jin Sheng Gong advanced in cultivation through Dual Cultivation with Dong Wanggong, and the Spider Spirits’ account of Golden Cicada enraged their senior brother, the Thousand-Eyed Centipede Spirit.

• Sun Wukong and his three junior brothers entered Pansi Cave, where Ancient Buddha Burning Lamp said he had suppressed the seven Spider Spirits’ lustful aura and advised seeking Saint Wutian or a powerful Dragon Clan member later.
• Guanyin Buddha, Ancient Buddha Burning Lamp, and Arhat Dragon-Subduing departed with Golden Cicada, and Tang Sanzang led his disciples out of Pansi Cave.
• The seven Spider Spirits later woke, dressed, and went to Yellow Flower Temple to tell the Thousand-Eyed Centipede Spirit that Golden Cicada had defiled them and killed Baihua Xiu.
• Jin Sheng Gong told Dong Wanggong she had become a Hunyuan Grand Unity Golden Immortal, and he took her away to travel across the Primordial Wilderness.
• The Thousand-Eyed Centipede Spirit flew into a rage at Golden Cicada and Tang Sanzang, then pounced on his seven junior sisters.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples entered Yellow Flower Temple, where the Thousand-Eyed Centipede Spirit and seven female demons tried to poison them with tainted tea. Most of the group resisted the poison, but Sha Heshang was afflicted, and the two sides prepared to fight.

• Tang Sanzang accepted the Thousand-Eyed Centipede Spirit’s invitation to enter Yellow Flower Temple and discuss the Dao.
• The Thousand-Eyed Centipede Spirit recognized Huanglong and secretly considered devouring him.
• The seven female demons poisoned the tea with their venom and a sword reduced to needle size.
• Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Tang Sanzang, and Huanglong resisted the poison, while Sha Heshang suffered and Tang Sanzang sealed it inside him.
• The Thousand-Eyed Centipede Spirit and the seven female demons revealed their trap, and Tang Sanzang ordered Zhu Bajie and Huanglong to restrain the demons as he and Sun Wukong faced the spirit.

Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong defeated the Thousand-Eyed Centipede Spirit, but his poisonous sword unleashed a disaster that destroyed life across millions of miles. Shennong directed them to Fengqi Mountain to seek a way to revive the dead, while explaining that their tribulation would also bring the Empress there together with Immortal Emperor East King Duke.

• Tang Sanzang bound the Thousand-Eyed Centipede Spirit with his Brocade Kasaya, weakening his powers, and Sun Wukong crushed him with the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
• The dying Thousand-Eyed Centipede Spirit ignited his poisonous sword, whose fragments devastated the land and killed its living creatures.
• Tang Sanzang absorbed the poison with the Funeral Dao Profound Coffin while Sun Wukong destroyed the remaining fragments and laws.
• Shennong appeared and told Tang Sanzang and his disciples to seek help from the Empress at Fengqi Mountain to revive the dead.
• Shennong advised Tang Sanzang to pray for Immortal Emperor East King Duke to descend, revealing that the Empress was fated to become his Dao Companion.
• Tang Sanzang agreed to gather his disciples to bathe, change clothes, burn incense, and pray for Immortal Emperor East King Duke.