Chapter Summaries

After the Dao Ancestor eliminated the Foul Spring, Li Changshou resumed traveling as Xu Bodhi and prepared to teach the Stone Monkey. He watched Laojun and Duobao establish Buddhism on Spirit Mountain, where Duobao claimed the Buddha title and denied other sects the right to call themselves Buddhist.

• The Dao Ancestor used the Power of Heavenly Dao to remove the Foul Spring and send its karmic obstruction into the Chaos Sea, removing one of Li Changshou's trump cards.
• Li Changshou investigated the Foul Spring's fate, then left Spiritual Platform Mountain as Xu Bodhi to recruit disciples and prepare for the Stone Monkey's instruction.
• Laojun left the Classic of Morality with Yin Xi at Hangu Pass, then traveled with Azure Ox to a mountain facing Spirit Mountain.
• Laojun and Venerable Celestial of Primordial Beginning blocked Jieyin as Duobao recited his doctrines and established Buddhism on Spirit Mountain.
• Duobao honored Jieyin as the Ancient Buddha but declared his own Great Vehicle Buddhism the true Buddhism, then received Heavenly Dao merit and became the Buddha Ancestor.

Li Changshou’s years-long scheme helped Duobao seize Spirit Mountain and establish Buddhism, while Jieyin was forced into retirement. The chapter ended with Buddhism beginning its rise, Ksitigarbha refusing Duobao’s authority, and Li Changshou discovering a heartbeat in the Spirit Fetus in Stone.

• Li Changshou reflected on how Grand Pure Sage, Laojun, Wen Jing, and others had prepared the way for Duobao to take over the Western Teachings’ fate and establish Buddhism.
• As Duobao approached Spirit Mountain with Venerable Celestial of Primordial Beginning behind him, Xu Bodhi left the mountain while its disciples prepared to accept the new order.
• Duobao declared Jieyin the Buddha of Ten Thousand Generations, named him Amitabha, and established Buddhism’s rules as the Western Teachings’ disciples pledged allegiance.
• Duobao became Buddha Tathagata and appointed Ksitigarbha a Buddha, but Ksitigarbha destroyed the edict and vowed not to become Buddha until hell was empty.
• Jieyin withdrew into seclusion, and Li Changshou visited Flower-Fruit Mountain, where he sensed a heartbeat from the Spirit Fetus in Stone.

Li Changshou received three cultivation jade talismans from the Dao Ancestor to prepare for teaching the Stone Monkey, while Flower-Fruit Mountain’s spiritual womb neared its birth. The Jade Emperor promoted Youqin Xuanya and learned that the Eastern Sea’s rosy clouds had shaken the Heavenly Court and Netherworld.

• Li Changshou asked the Heavenly Dao how to teach the Stone Monkey, and the Dao Ancestor sent him three jade talismans containing cultivation arts and combat abilities.
• Li Changshou studied the Great Grade Heavenly Immortal Art, Seventy-two Transformations, and other divine abilities, noticing that the transformation art copied his own work.
• Rosy light surrounded Flower-Fruit Mountain for 179 days as demons investigated the forbidden region and vanished; a warning told the Demon Race not to provoke the spiritual womb.
• The Jade Emperor promoted Youqin Xuanya, granted her rewards, and rebuked officials who questioned his decision.
• Seven-colored rosy clouds erupted from the Eastern Sea and shook the Heavenly Court and Netherworld, so the Jade Emperor ordered an investigation.

After the Stone Monkey was born, Li Changshou secretly watched over it and decided to teach it without burdening it with a mission. More than sixty years later, the monkey set out to seek immortality and arrived at Patriarch Bodhi’s cave, where it eagerly called for a master.

• Gao Jue reported that the Stone Monkey’s birth on Flower-Fruit Mountain had stirred spiritual energy, and the Jade Emperor dismissed the matter as harmless.
• Li Changshou watched the newborn Stone Monkey spend its first night alone and resolved to guide it without binding it to Heaven’s plans.
• Li Changshou returned to Square Inch Mountain, gathered twenty-seven child disciples, and taught them for more than sixty years as his reputation spread.
• After an old monkey died, the Stone Monkey learned about death and immortality from a Great Horse Monkey, then left Flower-Fruit Mountain to seek an immortal master.
• The Stone Monkey traveled through the mortal world for more than ten years before a woodcutter directed it to Slanting Moon, Three Stars Cave.
• The Stone Monkey read the promise of eternal life carved on the cave’s doorframe, knocked, and called out to Patriarch Bodhi to accept it as a disciple.

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.