Chapter Summaries

Li Chengqian learned that Li Shimin’s teacher was an immortal, while Xuanzang returned to Golden Mountain Temple and met Yang Chan and Sun Huo Wang, who asked Xuanji for help with their family’s misfortune. Xuanji welcomed them inside and began hearing their request.

• Li Shimin told Li Chengqian that Verdant Green Maiden was an immortal and reminded him of the Qing Xiao Jade Maiden Temple.
• Xuanzang returned to Golden Mountain Temple after visiting his parents in Jiangzhou, and Xuanji told him she had taken a new, nonhuman disciple.
• Yang Chan and Sun Huo Wang arrived at Xuanji’s home, startling Xuanzang, who mistook them for monsters.
• Yang Chan asked Xuanji to help her family, claiming Sun Huo Wang could not solve their problem.
• Xuanji invited Yang Chan and Sun Huo Wang inside, and Xuanzang left to buy fruit for Sun Huo Wang.

Yang Chan fabricated a family crisis to get close to Xuanji, who agreed to help and went with her to a staged Illusion Realm. After Xuanji left, Sun Huo Wang revealed Yang Chan’s identity to her, and Xuanji wondered why the Third Holy Mother of Mount Hua seemed so foolish.

• Yang Chan told Xuanji a made-up story about trouble at home, and Xuanji agreed to help her.
• Xuanzang gave Sun Huo Wang fruit, and Xuanji left with Yang Chan and Sun Huo Wang to investigate the supposed trouble.
• At Yang Chan’s secluded residence, Xuanji burned a talisman drawn with her blood, nearly disrupting Yang Chan’s Illusion Realm.
• Yang Chan praised Xuanji and arranged to keep in touch, while Xuanji became friends with her despite finding her foolish.
• After Xuanji left, Sun Huo Wang followed her and revealed that Yang Chan was the Third Holy Mother of Mount Hua.
• Xuanji questioned why Yang Chan had brought an obvious spirit monkey while pretending to seek help, and Sun Huo Wang agreed it would have been foolish.

Sun Huo Wang told Xuanji he had quickly mastered the Great Heavenly Immortal Formula, then accompanied her home, where Li Shimin recognized her as his former teacher. After speaking with Xuanji about his family and accomplishments, Li Shimin asked her to instruct Li Chengqian for a few days, and she agreed.

• Sun Huo Wang told Xuanji he was doing well with the Great Heavenly Immortal Formula, and she warned him to cultivate patiently.
• Xuanji and Sun Huo Wang found Li Shimin and Li Chengqian waiting outside her home with the Black Armor Army.
• Li Shimin greeted Xuanji as his teacher, and she initially denied that she was the person he remembered.
• Li Shimin spoke with Xuanji about his achievements and his siblings' longing to see her.
• Li Shimin asked Xuanji to instruct Li Chengqian, and she agreed to teach him for the next few days.

Li Shimin acknowledged that Xuanji was not the teacher he remembered but still had a deep connection to her, and he invited Xuanzang to Chang'an to hold a Water-Land Assembly. After Li Shimin and Xuanzang departed, Xuanji thanked Sun Huo Wang for treating her well and left for Mount Tai.

• Li Shimin told Li Chengqian that Xuanji was not the teacher he remembered, but studying under her would still benefit him.
• Li Shimin invited Xuanzang to Chang'an to hold a Water-Land Assembly, and Xuanzang accepted after Xuanji urged him to go.
• Xuanzang packed his belongings and followed Li Shimin's party to Chang'an.
• Sun Huo Wang brought Xuanji pastries from Yang Chan, and Xuanji asked whether his respect came from her lessons or her connection to Verdant Green Maiden.
• Xuanji thanked Sun Huo Wang for treating her well, ate one of the pastries, and departed for Mount Tai.
• Sun Huo Wang found Xuanji gone and hurried to tell Yang Chan what had happened.

Sun Huo Wang stopped Yang Chan from following Xuanji to Mount Tai, believing Xuanji needed to face the past alone. At the palace, Xuanji cut her wrist and used her blood to reach Qing Nü, where she witnessed the Green Snake Girl’s life from the birth of the dragon totem through the Yellow Emperor’s death and the passage of a thousand years.

• Sun Huo Wang told Yang Chan that Xuanji had gone to Mount Tai, then persuaded her not to interfere.
• Xuanji placed a flower on an unknown grave and climbed Mount Tai, finding the palace and sleeping Qing Nü familiar.
• Xuanji cut her wrist and let her blood touch Qing Nü’s lips, asking the Mount Tai Goddess to talk with her.
• Xuanji entered a vision of the Yellow Emperor naming the Green Snake Girl Shao Dian Qing Nü and declaring the tribe’s snake totem a dragon.
• Xuanji watched Qing Nü help the Yellow Emperor’s tribe prosper, fight at Zhuolu, and become increasingly dragonlike as the tribes’ totems were joined to her.
• After the Yellow Emperor died, Qing Nü left to travel the world, and Xuanji witnessed her singing about being the only one left after a thousand years.

Xuanji spent centuries beside Verdant Green Maiden, witnessing her help Yu quell the floods and shape the fate of successive dynasties. At Mount Tai, Xuanji asked whether her existence and sense of self were mistakes, and Verdant Green Maiden affirmed her right to live, prompting Xuanji to embrace her in tears.

• Qing Nü sensed Xuanji following her, welcomed her on Mount Tu, and invited her to share roasted meat.
• Yu came to Mount Tu seeking help with the floods, and Qing Nü agreed to assist him while making a deal to collect from his descendants later.
• Qing Nü traveled with Yu as he organized tribes to control the Yellow River, and he became Da Yu before casting the Nine Cauldrons.
• Xuanji watched the Xia Hou Clan rise and fall, the Zi Clan establish its dynasty, and Qing Nü defy Heaven amid its lightning.
• At Mount Tai, Xuanji asked whether having a self made her existence a mistake, and Verdant Green Maiden affirmed her freedom and right to live.
• Xuanji burst into tears and hugged Verdant Green Maiden.

Xuanji returned to Verdant Green Maiden, awakening Qing Nü with two of her spirits restored. Qing Nü questioned Heaven about the Book of Fate and learned that Xuanzang’s Journey to the West was beginning in Chang’an, though she still had concerns about the journey’s dangers.

• Xuanji comforted Verdant Green Maiden, then gave her blood and returned to her, asking her to care for her disciple Xuanzang.
• Xuanji vanished as her blood entered Verdant Green Maiden, and the Tianchong Spirit returned to her body.
• Qing Nü woke with her strength still limited and summoned Heaven, reproaching Him for not coming when called.
• Heaven admitted he had known about Xuanji’s fate and explained that Qing Nü’s interference with Great Tang had forced the Book of Fate to revise history.
• Qing Nü asked about Journey to the West, and Heaven told her that Xuanzang had gone with Li Shimin to Chang’an and that its auspicious fortune could aid her recovery.
• Qing Nü worried about the group’s ability to face demons, but Heaven reminded her that Xuanzang had learned the Great Heavenly Immortal Formula from the Spirit of Wisdom.

Verdant Green Maiden discussed the journey to seek scriptures with Heaven, then left Mount Tai and traveled toward Chang'an. Near Luoyang, she encountered Chunyu Tiying running a free clinic and disguised herself as a patient.

• Verdant Green Maiden urged Heaven to include Pig and Sha Monk in the journey so Sun Huo Wang and her disciple would not travel alone or face unnecessary hardship.
• Heaven agreed to let Verdant Green Maiden find suitable candidates herself, then left after bantering with her.
• After Heaven departed, Verdant Green Maiden left her empty palace despite her reduced strength and greeted Han Xin at his tomb.
• Verdant Green Maiden traveled toward Chang'an while Hong Luan continued searching for her other souls.
• Near Luoyang, Verdant Green Maiden disguised herself and visited Chunyu Tiying's free clinic, where Chunyu Tiying recognized her and teased her about her sleeping posture.

Verdant Green Maiden reunited with Chunyu Tiying, who treated her with medicine and introduced her to her disciples, Sun Simiao and Meng Shen. After discussing the disciples’ future and Xuanji, Verdant Green Maiden set out for Chang'an while Chunyu Tiying continued treating people.

• Chunyu Tiying gave Verdant Green Maiden foul-smelling medicine that eased an abnormality in her body, then finished treating the commoners who had gathered.
• Chunyu Tiying explained that she had recognized Verdant Green Maiden’s condition through her medical skill and praised the prosperity brought by Peace Under Heaven.
• Sun Simiao and Meng Shen greeted their master Chunyu Tiying and paid their respects to Verdant Green Maiden.
• Verdant Green Maiden urged Chunyu Tiying to let her disciples travel and develop their skills, but Chunyu Tiying worried they were not ready to go alone.
• Chunyu Tiying said Xuanji seemed good-hearted, and Verdant Green Maiden said she planned to go to Chang'an while Chunyu Tiying continued healing people.

Xuanzang won a month of Buddhist debates in Chang'an and revealed that he cultivated both Daoism and Buddhism. At the Water-Land Dharma Assembly, Verdant Green Maiden met Guanyin, who appeared in the form of a lay devotee.

• Xuanzang defeated the monks who came to debate him, and the last abbot praised his understanding of Buddhist Law.
• Xuanzang explained that he had not been tonsured because he cultivated both the Dao and Buddhism.
• Li Shimin, Li Xiu Ning, and Li Jiancheng welcomed Xuanzang as their junior fellow disciple and prepared the Water-Land Dharma Assembly.
• Verdant Green Maiden watched the assembly from the Shunde Heavenly Maiden Temple and noticed beings invisible to ordinary people.
• Guanyin revealed herself to Verdant Green Maiden in the Six-Time Guanyin form and asked whether she intended to speak from her perch.

Verdant Green Maiden agreed to help Guanyin with the eastward spread of Mahayana Buddhist Law after he appealed to her sense of responsibility. She then asked Guanyin to let Good Wealth Dragon Girl serve as his representative stationed with her.

• Guanyin thanked Verdant Green Maiden for teaching Xuanzang and confirmed that Xuanzang was a disciple of the Tathagata sent to the mortal world.
• Guanyin asked Verdant Green Maiden to speak with Monkey and help protect the eastward journey, and she reluctantly agreed.
• Guanyin explained that spirits had gathered to hear Xuanzang at the Water and Land Dharma Assembly because of his special identity.
• Guanyin introduced his acolyte, Good Wealth Dragon Girl, and sent her ahead to the assembly grounds.
• Verdant Green Maiden asked Guanyin to let Good Wealth Dragon Girl stay with her as his representative.

Good Wealth Dragon Girl reluctantly agreed to accompany Verdant Green Maiden for a few decades after Guanyin explained that the journey would help her understand worldly suffering. Verdant Green Maiden welcomed her and gave her a small gift from her Dragon Pearl.

• Good Wealth Dragon Girl waited outside Qing Xiao Jade Maiden Temple with the Brocade Kasaya until Guanyin and Verdant Green Maiden arrived.
• Guanyin took back the Brocade Kasaya and told Good Wealth Dragon Girl to follow Verdant Green Maiden for a few decades.
• Good Wealth Dragon Girl questioned Guanyin's decision, doubting Verdant Green Maiden's prospects because she defied the Book of Fate.
• Guanyin explained that he wanted Good Wealth Dragon Girl to experience worldly suffering and urged her to treat Verdant Green Maiden as she would treat him.
• Good Wealth Dragon Girl accepted Guanyin's instruction, greeted Verdant Green Maiden, and received a small gift from her Dragon Pearl.

Qing Nü gave the Good Wealth Dragon Girl a Mermaid's Tear Pearl and urged her to choose a less conspicuous name before they traveled together. After the girl chose Saro, the Water and Land Dharma Assembly began, and Guanyin prepared to approach Xuanzang with a transformed robe and crown.

• Qing Nü gave the Good Wealth Dragon Girl a Mermaid's Tear Pearl as a meeting gift.
• Qing Nü and Guanyin agreed to call each other Glazed and Miaoshan, then Qing Nü suggested that the Dragon Girl change her name.
• The Good Wealth Dragon Girl chose the name Saro, after her father, the Sagara Dragon King.
• Qing Nü recognized the meaning of Saro as a sacred tree associated with Buddha Shakyamuni's nirvana.
• Xuanzang, Li Shimin, and their company arrived at the Qing Xiao Jade Maiden Temple as the Water and Land Dharma Assembly began.
• Guanyin transformed the Brocade Kasaya into a Daoist robe and prepared a Taiqing Fish Tail Crown to offer Xuanzang.

Guanyin persuaded Xuanzang to accept a daoist robe and tin staff, then urged him to travel to India for the Greater Vehicle Buddhist Law. Xuanzang recognized Verdant Green Maiden as Master Xuanji and agreed to go to Great Thunderclap Temple.

• Verdant Green Maiden helped Guanyin sell the daoist robe and monk's staff and told Li Shimin that Buddha was originally Dao.
• Guanyin offered the robe and staff to Xuanzang, and Li Shimin bought them as a gift for him.
• Guanyin refused Li Shimin's payment and gave the robe and tin staff to Xuanzang for free.
• Xuanzang changed into the daoist robe and listened as Guanyin explained that India held the Greater Vehicle Buddhist Law at Great Thunderclap Temple.
• Xuanzang recognized Verdant Green Maiden as Master Xuanji and agreed to travel to Great Thunderclap Temple.

Xuanzang agreed to journey west for the Mahayana Buddhist Law, and Guanyin Bodhisattva appeared before the gathered believers. Li Shimin recognized Verdant Green Maiden in the crowd, but she escaped with Saro to the Shunde Heavenly Maiden Temple.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva warned Xuanzang about the dangers of the journey, and Xuanzang accepted despite Li Shimin's concerns.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva revealed her true form, blessed Xuanzang's mission, and departed after addressing the believers.
• Verdant Green Maiden prayed for Guanyin Bodhisattva to help her earn gold, and Li Shimin recognized her as his Master.
• Verdant Green Maiden fled into the crowd, leaving Li Shimin to ask Xuanzang and Li Jiancheng if they had seen her.
• Verdant Green Maiden brought Saro to the Shunde Heavenly Maiden Temple and defended calling it a hideout.

Guanyin asked Verdant Green Maiden to arrange guards for Xuanzang, and she agreed to recruit her disciples. After Saro carried her to Dantu County, Verdant Green Maiden found a way to enlist Sun Huo Wang in the task.

• Guanyin asked Verdant Green Maiden to have her disciples help protect Xuanzang and share in the merit, and she agreed.
• Verdant Green Maiden claimed she was too weak to walk, so Saro carried her to Dantu County.
• Verdant Green Maiden told Sun Huo Wang and Yang Chan that Xuanji had gone to Mount Tai and explained what had happened.
• Verdant Green Maiden introduced Saro as her attendant, while Sun Huo Wang enthusiastically greeted her.
• Verdant Green Maiden used Sun Huo Wang's remark about Xuanji to declare that she had found a way to make him help Xuanzang.

Saro told Yang Chan that her mother, Female Immortal Yunhua, had been punished because of her children, and Yang Chan said she would give up becoming a god if it meant her mother could be safe. Meanwhile, Verdant Green Maiden pinned Sun Huo Wang beneath Mount Tai and tasked him with waiting for Xuanzang so he could join the journey to obtain the scriptures.

• Verdant Green Maiden left Saro behind with Yang Chan and took Sun Huo Wang away.
• Saro told Yang Chan that Female Immortal Yunhua had been questioned and censured in Heaven because of Yang Chan and her Second Brother.
• Yang Chan grieved for her mother and said she did not care if she never became the Third Holy Mother, as long as her mother was safe.
• Verdant Green Maiden carried Sun Huo Wang west beyond the Hexi Corridor and dropped Mount Tai onto him.
• Verdant Green Maiden told Sun Huo Wang to wait for Xuanzang and join his journey to obtain the scriptures, then added a talismanic seal to Mount Tai.

After leaving Sun Huo Wang hungry, Verdant Green Maiden returned to Dantu County and found Yang Chan upset after Saro told her about her mother’s plight. Hong Luan interrupted Verdant Green Maiden and Saro’s tense, intimate exchange, then confronted Verdant Green Maiden over keeping Saro close and worried that Heaven’s people might deceive her again.

• Verdant Green Maiden left Sun Huo Wang alone, and he complained that he was hungry while waiting for Xuanzang.
• Back in Dantu County, Verdant Green Maiden noticed Yang Chan’s tear marks and learned that Saro had told her about her mother’s suffering.
• Verdant Green Maiden reproached Saro for upsetting Yang Chan, then told her that she had to follow Verdant Green Maiden’s rules.
• Hong Luan arrived and interrupted Verdant Green Maiden as she leaned close to Saro, then questioned Saro’s identity and challenged Verdant Green Maiden for keeping her as a helper.
• Hong Luan admitted she feared Heaven’s people might deceive Verdant Green Maiden again, despite her earlier anger that Verdant Green Maiden had not told her she had awakened.

Qing Nü apologized to Yang Chan for hiding the truth about her mother and urged her to resist Heaven rather than submit. The next day, Qing Nü took Saro to Dujiangyan while Hong Luan left to search for Qing Nü’s missing soul and spirit, and Yang Chan visited the trapped Sun Huo Wang.

• Qing Nü told Yang Chan that Saro had spoken truthfully about her mother, apologized for concealing the situation, and urged Yang Chan to keep fighting instead of begging Heaven for mercy.
• Qing Nü planned to take Saro to Dujiangyan, and Hong Luan agreed to search for Qing Nü’s missing soul and spirit instead of accompanying them.
• The next day, Hong Luan warned Saro not to cause trouble before Qing Nü took her away, while Hong Luan departed Dantu County and Yang Chan set out for Five Finger Mountain.
• Yang Chan brought food to the imprisoned Sun Huo Wang, who complained about being pinned down and joked that his learning came from Qing Nü’s advice to live freely.
• Yang Chan promised to visit Sun Huo Wang every day until Xuanzang arrived, and Verdant Green Maiden sneezed as Saro watched in confusion.

Verdant Green Maiden and Saro visited Guan County and reunited with Yang Jian and Bai Susu at the Temple of the Illustrious Sage True Lord Erlang. Verdant Green Maiden asked Yang Jian to protect Xuanzang on his journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures, and Bai Susu agreed to remain behind and guard Dujiangyan.

• Verdant Green Maiden and Saro arrived in Guan County and heard locals praise Yang Jian and the prosperous region.
• Verdant Green Maiden searched the True Lord Temple with Saro until Yang Jian and Bai Susu arrived and greeted her as their master.
• Verdant Green Maiden explained Xuanzang's scripture-seeking journey and asked Yang Jian and Bai Susu to help protect him.
• Yang Jian immediately agreed to go, and Bai Susu supported him while promising to watch over Dujiangyan.
• Verdant Green Maiden and Saro awkwardly watched Yang Jian and Bai Susu clasp hands and exchange heartfelt farewells.