Chapter Summaries

Li Changshou accepted the Stone Monkey as his disciple and named him Sun Wukong while considering how to alter the monkey’s fate without alerting the Heavenly Dao. Elsewhere, Ao Yi’s transfer and Nezha’s emerging Killing Intent raised suspicions, and Yang Jian recognized a forbidden presence within Nezha and rushed to seek help.

• Li Changshou tested the Stone Monkey with three questions, accepted him as a disciple, and named him Sun Wukong.
• Sun Wukong fell asleep during Li Changshou’s scripture lecture and later escaped a prank that left him tied near a beehive.
• Ao Yi discussed replacing Jin Peng as Commander of Heavenly Soldiers for the Three Thousand Worlds, while recalling that his father had refused to answer his questions about the past.
• Nezha told Yang Jian that a phantom and strange words had appeared in his heart, as though the Devil Ancestor were calling to him.
• Yang Jian used his Heavenly Eye to examine Nezha, recognized a forbidden presence in his heart, and took him toward Qianyuan Mountain to find their master and Martial Uncle.

True Lord Yu Ding revealed to Yang Jian how Uncle Chang'an had shaped his life, while Duobao and Cihang arranged for Golden Cicada to become a Buddhist pilgrim who would carry Mahayana Buddhism east. Li Changshou sensed that Golden Cicada’s birth was planned for three hundred years later and wondered whether his old rumors would matter.

• True Lord Taiyi and True Lord Yu Ding resealed Nezha’s memories of Uncle Chang'an, but Yang Jian persuaded Yuding to explain the hidden history to him.
• True Lord Yu Ding told Yang Jian that Uncle Chang'an had influenced his origins and Heavenly Court career and had joined Zhao Gongming in slaying a Saint.
• Manjushri and Cihang presented new Buddhist precepts to Duobao, and Duobao assigned Cihang to spread Mahayana Buddhism in the Southern Jambu Continent.
• Duobao, Cihang, and Manjushri found the sealed Six-winged Golden Cicada and agreed to restore it, make it Duobao’s disciple, and send it east in a future life to spread Buddhist Dharma.
• Li Changshou calculated that Golden Cicada would be born three hundred years later and wondered whether the rumors he had once spread about it still had an effect.

Li Changshou formally accepted Sun Wukong as his disciple, secretly taught him a powerful cultivation method, and guided his rapid progress over the next sixty years. As the monkey neared the Eternal Life Realm, Li Changshou began preparing for the final challenge in his plans.

• Sun Wukong asked whether his cultivation could grant eternal life, and Li Changshou formally acknowledged him as a disciple after warning him against impatience.
• Li Changshou secretly taught Sun Wukong a powerful method and set rules against harming fellow disciples, flaunting his abilities, or revealing his cultivation.
• Sun Wukong visited Li Changshou at night for special instruction, and his cultivation advanced rapidly while he kept the method secret.
• Over sixty years, Li Changshou planted several dozen hidden agents abroad as the mortal lands, Heavenly Court, and Three Thousand Worlds remained stable.
• Sun Wukong reached the late stage of the True Immortal Realm, mastered new combat abilities, and continued to keep his monkey form.
• After a disciple complained that Sun Wukong refused to assume an Innate Dao Body, Li Changshou defended the monkey's freedom and decided to send the complaining disciple away.

Dao Ancestor Hongjun and a gray-robed elder watched Li Chang Geng and prepared to devour the Heavenly Dao, while Hongjun worried that Li Chang Geng concealed more power than he showed. At Slanting Moon, Three Stars Cave, Li Changshou trained Sun Wukong until the monkey reached Golden Immortal, then sent him away to set the next phase of his plan in motion.

• Hongjun reviewed Sun Wukong’s progress and discussed with the gray-robed elder how they would monitor Li Chang Geng, manage the Journey to the West, and prepare to devour the Heavenly Dao.
• Hongjun reflected on his hidden trump cards and revealed that he intended to make the Primordial World his Dao body and pursue his own path to transcendence.
• Li Changshou watched Sun Wukong thrive among the disciples and continued secretly teaching him for another two hundred and thirty-six years, until Wukong passed his Golden Immortal tribulation.
• Li Changshou rebuked Sun Wukong for showing off and expelled him from Slanting Moon, Three Stars Cave, telling him their master-disciple karma had ended and ordering him to conceal their relationship.
• Sun Wukong returned that night to plead with Li Changshou, then bowed farewell and rode away toward the path where he had once sought immortality.
• Li Changshou resolved to begin the next phase of his plan as soon as Hongjun made his move.

Li Changshou disguised as Xu Bodhi moved his disciples away and met with Dao Ancestor Hongjun, who revealed his plan to use Sun Wukong as a symbol before sealing Xu Bodhi's Dao realm. Li Changshou withdrew to prepare for his larger scheme, while Wukong's fame grew and he eventually took the Sea-Calming Divine Needle from the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.

• Li Changshou disguised the Slanting Moon, Three Stars Cave as an abandoned temple, gathered his twenty-seven disciples, and carried them toward the Western Sea.
• Dao Ancestor Hongjun praised Xu Bodhi for teaching Wukong and explained that he planned to make Wukong a symbol who would ultimately serve Heaven and return to Buddhism.
• Xu Bodhi concealed his objections, told Hongjun he intended to live in seclusion, and departed after refusing rewards and agreeing to worship heaven and earth.
• Hongjun struck Xu Bodhi with purple-black lightning that sealed his Dao realm, and Xu Bodhi fled with his disciples unharmed.
• Li Changshou watched Heavenly Dao's gaze fade and planned to wait until Wukong led the Demon Race against the Heavenly Court before acting.
• Thirty years later, Wukong's fame had spread, and he swindled the Sea-Calming Divine Needle from the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.

Li Changshou watched Sun Wukong’s growing fame while continuing his covert preparations against the Dao Ancestor, then the Netherworld sent Ox-Head and Horse-Face to reap Wukong’s soul. The soul capture instead brought Wukong’s indestructible golden spirit to the Hall of Yama, where a woman in white recognized the technique and connected it to Changshou.

• Li Changshou monitored Sun Wukong in the Water Curtain Cave and saw him feasting with the Demon Kings, including a bull who reminded him of Laojun’s Green Ox.
• Li Changshou assessed the strength of the Heavenly Court and continued placing Illusion Spirit Nails, estimating his chance of complete victory at ninety-two or ninety-three percent.
• Ox-Head and Horse-Face prepared to capture a Golden Immortal whose lifespan remained in the Book of Life and Death, then traveled to Flower-Fruit Mountain disguised as Black and White Impermanence.
• Ox-Head and Horse-Face extracted a phantom from Sun Wukong while he slept and rushed it to the Netherworld.
• Sun Wukong’s golden Primordial Spirit took physical form in the Hall of Yama, demanded the Book of Life and Death, and intimidated the Underworld Officials.
• The woman in white within the Six Paths Reincarnation Disk recognized Sun Wukong’s Indestructible Golden Soul and recalled sending Changshou a record of the technique.

Houtu considered whether Sun Wukong’s Indestructible Golden Soul was a signal from Li Changshou and prepared to help if needed, while Li Changshou continued laying Illusion Spirit Nails and watched the monkey’s troubles unfold. His plans took an unexpected turn when Laojun appeared and offered to trade pills for Xu Bodhi’s Spirit Herb.

• Houtu recognized the Indestructible Golden Soul in Sun Wukong and prepared to act cautiously in case Li Changshou needed her aid.
• Li Changshou reflected on his preparations against the Dao Ancestor and watched Sun Wukong’s monkeys celebrate after the Book of Life and Death was altered.
• A counterfeit Grand White Gold Star persuaded the Jade Emperor to appoint Sun Wukong to the Heavenly Court, and Sun Wukong eagerly agreed to go.
• Li Changshou waited until the Spirit Herb was ready to harvest, then encountered Laojun, who offered to trade pills for it.
• Li Changshou considered contacting Laojun and using Tushita Palace’s golden pills to help Sun Wukong create a crisis in the Heavenly Court.

Li Changshou used Xu Bodhi to contact Laojun, who confirmed that Taiqing knew of his return and would support his struggle against the Dao Ancestor. As Li Changshou continued meditating in the Kunpeng Secret Realm, Ling'e and Yunxiao discussed preparing for his victory, while Sun Wukong began his new post in the Heavenly Court's Imperial Horse Bureau.

• Xu Bodhi offered Laojun a spiritual herb and asked for a pill to stabilize his Dao foundation, but Laojun refused after sensing that the Heavenly Dao had sealed it.
• Laojun and Li Changshou secretly exchanged Spiritual Sense, and Laojun told him that Grand Pure was unharmed and urged him not to exhaust himself.
• Li Changshou realized that Taiqing and Laojun were two sides of one being, whose combined Great Dao could briefly reach the Primordial Limitless realm.
• Ling'e and Yunxiao discussed their hopes for Li Changshou's victory, their plans to prepare for his wedding, and the possibility that the Dao Ancestor had spies in the Kunpeng Secret Realm.
• Sun Wukong entered the Imperial Horse Bureau in his new official robe and ordered the stables opened, just as someone outside called for a horse for the Marshal.

Sun Wukong rebelled against the Heavenly Court after leaving his post as Bimawen and defeated the generals sent to capture him. As the Heavenly Court’s forces gathered against Flower-Fruit Mountain, Nezha arrived to challenge him.

• Grand White Gold Star accused Sun Wukong of betraying the Heavenly Court, and the Jade Emperor ordered Li Jing to capture him.
• Sun Wukong returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain, where he explained his departure and celebrated with the monkeys as several Demon Kings fled.
• Giant Spirit God led Heavenly Soldiers against Sun Wukong, but Sun Wukong threw him toward the Eastern Sea and won their battle.
• Li Jing delayed a full assault while successive Heavenly Generals challenged Sun Wukong and were quickly defeated, drawing Demon Kings back to Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Nezha descended to challenge Sun Wukong, taunted him, and readied his Fire-Tipped Spear for battle.

Li Changshou learned that Sun Wukong and Nezha had fought twelve stalemates as the Dao Ancestor used Flower-Fruit Mountain to draw in the Demon Race. He set three Fake Bodies in motion while the Dao Ancestor pushed Wukong toward open rebellion, leaving Li Changshou poised to disrupt the Journey to the West Calamity when Wukong chose his next move.

• Li Changshou investigated reports of Nezha and Sun Wukong's twelve battles and realized they were bait to gather the Demon Race at Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Li Changshou prepared three Fake Bodies, sending Number Two to watch Flower-Fruit Mountain, Number Three to inspect the Wu Tribe, and Xu Bodhi toward Spirit Mountain and Golden Cicada.
• The Dao Ancestor confirmed that Li Changshou's wedding preparations were underway, then decided Sun Wukong should raise the banner of rebellion against Heaven that day.
• Sun Wukong's sworn brothers and the other demon kings urged him to choose a grand title, and he declared himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven as seven banners rose above Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Li Changshou watched from Number Two's hiding place and resolved to act depending on whether Wukong would uphold righteousness when the Heavenly Court offered him amnesty.
• The Dao Ancestor discovered Xu Bodhi entering the Five Continents but chose to keep him under watch rather than erase him.

Li Changshou kept his three Fake Bodies in position while the Heavenly Court and the Demon Race fought an exhausting war at Flower-Fruit Mountain. When Saint Jieyin summoned Xu Bodhi to Spirit Mountain, he asked whether Xu Bodhi truly wanted his Dao realm restored.

• Li Changshou watched the Heavenly Court’s troops and the Demon Race face off at Flower-Fruit Mountain, while Sun Wukong drank and celebrated with his demon brothers.
• Li Changshou checked on the peaceful Wu Tribe settlements in the Northern Continent and confirmed that the Du Xian Sect remained much as he remembered it.
• For three months, Li Jing used repeated battles to wear down the demons, winning exchanges while making the Heavenly Soldiers appear to retreat.
• Saint Jieyin summoned Xu Bodhi to Spirit Mountain and said he could shield him somewhat from the Heavenly Dao’s watchfulness.
• Saint Jieyin asked Xu Bodhi whether he truly wished to restore his Dao realm.

Li Changshou watched Sun Wukong’s struggle against Nezha while Saint Jieyin reflected on Buddhism and searched for a way to help his disciple. Sun Wukong broke through his despair and fought Nezha to a standstill, but a Jade Emperor’s decree granting him the title Great Sage Equal to Heaven was met with anger from both fighters.

• Li Changshou asked Saint Jieyin whether he should undo his Heavenly Dao shackles, and Jieyin advised him not to.
• Jieyin explained that he had yielded control of Buddhism to preserve Western Teachings’ foundations, then watched Sun Wukong and worried over his disciple’s predicament.
• Nezha confronted Li Jing over the drawn-out campaign against Flower-Fruit Mountain, and Li Jing ordered him to stand down.
• Nezha attacked Sun Wukong with his Killing Intent Dharma Body, driving him into the earth as Wukong realized the Heavenly Court had used him to lure in the Demon Race.
• Sun Wukong overcame his fear, awakened his Indestructible Golden Soul, and exchanged devastating blows with Nezha until both were wounded.
• A white-robed immortal delivered the Jade Emperor’s decree naming Sun Wukong the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and Nezha and Sun Wukong both told him to get lost.

Sun Wukong accepted the Heavenly Court’s title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven after the fighting at Flower-Fruit Mountain and the Bull Devil King urged him to agree. Meanwhile, Li Changshou continued his disguise as Xu Bodhi and settled beside Jieyin’s Lotus Pond, keeping watch on Jin Chan.

• Nezha and Sun Wukong fought until Li Jing’s Heavenly Dipper Grand Array forced them apart, after which the Heavenly Soldiers withdrew toward the Eastern Heavenly Gate.
• Sun Wukong’s monkeys bound the false Grand White Gold Star and hung him from a tree, while the demon kings debated whether Sun Wukong should accept the Heavenly Court’s offer.
• Jieyin told Xu Bodhi that Sun Wukong faced a destined Disaster of Imprisonment and a Calamity of Life and Death, and Xu Bodhi explained the Heavenly Court’s likely motives for recruiting him.
• The false Grand White Gold Star promised Sun Wukong a Third-rank Orthodox God’s treatment and protection for Flower-Fruit Mountain; after consulting the Bull Devil King, Sun Wukong agreed to go to Heaven.
• Jieyin loosened the shackles on Xu Bodhi’s Dao realm, and Li Changshou chose to cultivate beside the Lotus Pond, where he watched Jin Chan.

Ao Yi and the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird questioned the Heavenly Court’s appointment of Sun Wukong as Great Sage Equal to Heaven, while Li Changshou watched the Heavenly Court’s plans unfold from Spirit Mountain. The chapter ended as Youqin Xuanya challenged Sun Wukong’s title before the Jade Emperor and Duobao prepared to intervene.

• Ao Yi and the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird speculated that the Heavenly Court was using Sun Wukong’s appointment to draw hidden Demon Race experts out of hiding, while Jin Peng admitted he still could not recover his lost memories.
• Li Changshou observed that Demon Race figures were gathering at Flower-Fruit Mountain in hopes of winning Heavenly Court favor, and suspected the Heavenly Dao was influencing them.
• Duobao visited Li Changshou at Spirit Mountain, discussed the Heavenly Dao Taboo and the possibility of a certain figure’s return, then sensed a change in the Heavenly Court.
• Youqin Xuanya petitioned the Jade Emperor to revoke Sun Wukong’s title, arguing that it insulted Heavenly Court soldiers and rewarded a former enemy without merit.
• Duobao watched Youqin Xuanya’s remonstrance through a Cloud Mirror and prepared to use Heaven and Earth Teleportation.

Youqin Xuanya challenged the Heavenly Court’s decision to make Sun Wukong the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, but the false Grand White Gold Star steered the debate toward a campaign against Flower-Fruit Mountain. Zhao Gongming intervened to take Youqin away before she could be assigned to the campaign, while Li Changshou waited for the Kunpeng Ship to near the Heavenly Dao’s boundary before making his move.

• Youqin Xuanya argued that Flower-Fruit Mountain’s demons could not be assimilated into the Heavenly Court and that calling Sun Wukong equal to Heaven insulted the Jade Emperor.
• The Jade Emperor’s officials debated how to handle Sun Wukong and Flower-Fruit Mountain, while the Dao Ancestor ordered Youqin Xuanya to be used to turn the emerging variable to his advantage.
• The false Grand White Gold Star proposed that Youqin Xuanya join Li Jing’s campaign against Flower-Fruit Mountain, prompting Li Changshou and Duobao Buddha to worry that she would be made a target of Sun Wukong’s anger.
• Zhao Gongming sealed Youqin Xuanya inside a giant gold ingot and carried her away, while the Jade Emperor ordered Li Jing to lead the campaign and spare Sun Wukong’s monkey descendants.
• The Dao Ancestor shattered the Heavenly Demon Venerable’s Spirit Core beneath the Reincarnation Pagoda, and Li Changshou resolved to wait for the Kunpeng Ship to approach the Heavenly Dao’s boundary.

Hongjun searched for Li Changshou and threatened Flower-Fruit Mountain, while Li Changshou prepared to intervene as the Heavenly Court attacked the demons. Youqin Xuanya began to remember a Human Race man she had forgotten, recognizing him as her Senior Brother.

• Hongjun ordered golden threads to pierce the necks of living beings below the Daluo Realm and sent demons with karmic obstruction toward Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Hongjun lured Sun Wukong into Tushita Palace, where the monkey ate Laozi’s pills and was strengthened before being sent back to Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• The Heavenly Court surrounded Flower-Fruit Mountain and began slaughtering its demons while protecting the monkey demons, but Grand White Gold Star relayed new orders to destroy the monkeys’ souls.
• Li Changshou revealed the Great Dao of Balance through Fake Body Number Three and sent Fake Body Number Two toward the Monkey Soldiers as a diversion.
• Holy Mother Jinling asked Youqin Xuanya about the Human Race man she had forgotten, and Youqin Xuanya remembered a figure she called Senior Brother.

Li Changshou intervened in the Flower-Fruit Mountain crisis while confronting the Dao Ancestor with a series of decoys, revealing that he had returned and was preparing for their decisive battle. He departed for Purple Cloud Palace with Jin Chan after revealing his identity to Saint Jieyin and advancing his Great Dao of Emptiness.

• Li Changshou teleported Sun Wukong’s monkey followers away from Flower-Fruit Mountain, but the fake Grand White Gold Star imprisoned Li Jing and began destroying the mountain with falling peaks.
• Li Changshou drew the Dao Ancestor’s attention with successive Fake Bodies, then used swarms of explosive Paper Daoists to disperse the tribulation clouds and announce that he had returned.
• The Dao Ancestor destroyed Li Changshou’s enormous Paper Daoist incarnation, but the Human Dao and living beings began stirring, while Yang Jian’s sealed treasure pouch opened.
• Li Changshou told Yunxiao and Ling'e that the decisive battle was approaching, and they agreed to join him as he prepared to travel to the Primordial Wilderness.
• At Spirit Mountain, Li Changshou revealed to Saint Jieyin that he had been posing as Xu Bodhi, took Jin Chan, and used the Great Dao of Emptiness to break the Dao Ancestor’s restriction.
• Li Changshou left for Purple Cloud Palace to continue his contest with the Dao Ancestor.

Li Changshou confronted Dao Ancestor Hongjun in the Purple Firmament Palace, challenged him to two more rounds, and debated why Hongjun had seized control of Heaven and Earth. He revealed that Hongjun was the false personality born from Senior Lang’s Dao Heart, and the two waited to see Sun Wukong’s next move.

• Duobao realized Li Changshou had disguised himself as Xu Bodhi and had secretly trained Sun Wukong for centuries.
• Li Changshou entered Hongjun’s Illusionary Realm, reached the bamboo house, and proposed two more rounds to decide their contest.
• Li Changshou explained how Ling'e’s Dao of Reading had helped him uncover hidden information, then debated with Hongjun over control of Heaven and Earth.
• Li Changshou argued that Hongjun had sought to use the Chaos Sea to prolong the Primordial World and that his assumptions about Earth’s universe were mistaken.
• Hongjun agreed to watch Sun Wukong wreak havoc in the Heavenly Court, while Li Changshou explained Senior Lang’s conflict with Hongjun.
• Li Changshou revealed that Hongjun was Senior Lang’s inner demon and false personality, the only other living being in the Chaos Sea with a Single True Spirit.

Li Changshou confronted Hongjun with his deduction that Hongjun was a split personality of Senior Lang, who had created the Primordial World through his subconscious. After Hongjun confirmed his origins, Li Changshou urged him to release the world from his control, while the two prepared for their eventual clash.

• Li Changshou accused Hongjun of being a false personality born from Senior Lang and challenged him to reveal the final page of Lang’s Chronicle of Years.
• Li Changshou explained how his investigation of the Chaos Sea led him to conclude that Senior Lang’s thoughts had shaped the Primordial World and that Hongjun had betrayed and eventually erased Lang’s main personality.
• Hongjun produced the Chronicle’s final page, which showed Senior Lang resolving to destroy the world he believed his own actions had shackled.
• Hongjun admitted his origins but defended his rule as protection of the Primordial World, while Li Changshou argued that the world should be freed from Hongjun and the Heavenly Dao’s control.
• Hongjun proposed that they duel after seeing how far Sun Wukong could go, and Li Changshou revealed that Hongjun was trying to devour the Heavenly Dao.
• Li Changshou watched Sun Wukong awaken and said he would wait for Hongjun to finish preparing, hinting that his trump card was not brute force.

The author clarified that Lang did not create the Primordial Wilderness; his early beliefs influenced the Chaos Sea to evolve into that world. The explanation detailed Hongjun’s long scheme against Lang and said the final battle and Grand Finale would follow within days.

• The author explained that Lang’s subconscious shaped the world’s development toward the Primordial Wilderness, while the world itself evolved rather than being imagined by him.
• The author recounted how Lang’s loneliness split his true spirit and how Hongjun and the Devil Ancestor emerged from his split personalities.
• Hongjun betrayed Lang, became Dao Ancestor, and manipulated the Primordial Wilderness’s conflicts and the Heavenly Dao to complete his scheme.
• Li Changshou distrusted Hongjun, deduced the hidden history, and used Ling'e’s Dao to uncover Lang’s murmurs in the Chaos Sea.
• The author announced that the final battle and Grand Finale would arrive in the next two or three days.