Chapter Summaries

With Tang Monk’s journey to obtain the scriptures approaching, Chu Yang took Liu Ruyan from Chang’an to safety at Qingxin Nunnery on Mount Wutai. There, he met Taibai Jinxing, received the Taiyi Qi Cultivation Art, and bought a secluded valley as a place to cultivate.

• Chu Yang returned to Chang’an, persuaded Liu Ruyan and her parents to let her leave, and took her to Mount Wutai.
• Chu Yang settled Liu Ruyan at Qingxin Nunnery under Master Jingci’s protection.
• After searching Mount Wutai for three days, Chu Yang followed flute music and met Taibai Jinxing.
• Chu Yang asked to cultivate immortality, and Taibai Jinxing gave him the Taiyi Qi Cultivation Art.
• Chu Yang bought Qingyun Valley and its thatched cottage for sixty taels of silver to use as a cultivation retreat.

Chu Yang and Liu Ruyan settled into a peaceful life in Qingyun Valley while Chu Yang cultivated the Taiyi Qi Cultivation Art. After he reached the Qi Refining Stage, he shared stories from his dreams of other worlds with Liu Ruyan, while Cui Yuanlang continued searching for the pair in vain.

• Chu Yang brought Liu Ruyan to their cottage in Qingyun Valley, where they began living together away from the Cui Family.
• Chu Yang told Liu Ruyan that he was cultivating immortality, and she promised to support him despite the dangers.
• Cui Yuanlang ordered his servants to search for Chu Yang and Liu Ruyan, unaware that they were a thousand miles away near Mount Wutai.
• After a month of cultivation, Chu Yang condensed a qi sea and entered the first level of the Qi Refining Stage.
• Chu Yang told Liu Ruyan stories from the lives of his counterparts in other worlds, saying he had seen them in dreams.

After three months of cultivation in Qingyun Valley, Chu Yang took Liu Ruyan back to Chang'an City to visit her parents and confront the Cui Family. When Cui Yuanlang stormed the Liu residence and his guards attacked the family, Chu Yang revealed his power by striking two guards down with Palm Thunder.

• Chu Yang promised Liu Ruyan a grand wedding and a chance to reunite with her parents, while vowing to make the Cui Family pay.
• Over three months, Chu Yang advanced to the fifth level of the Qi Refining Stage and mastered several basic spells.
• Chu Yang and Liu Ruyan flew to Chang'an City, where Cui Family watchers spotted them and sent word to Cui Yuanlang.
• Liu Ruyan reunited with her parents at the Liu residence, and Chu Yang said he intended to settle matters with the Cui Family.
• Cui Yuanlang barged into the Liu residence, claimed Chu Yang was a fugitive, and ordered his guards to arrest Chu Yang and Liu Ruyan.
• When guards knocked Steward Liu to the ground, Chu Yang used Palm Thunder to blast two of them unconscious.

Chu Yang defeated Cui Yuanlang’s guards, spared him at Steward Liu’s urging, and revealed that he was cultivating immortality, winning the Liu Family’s trust. Seeking protection for the family before leaving to find Sun Wukong, Chu Yang seized on a demonic crisis in Hedong Commandery as a chance to gain Wei Zheng’s favor and met with the chancellor.

• Chu Yang incapacitated Cui Yuanlang’s guards and released Cui Yuanlang after Steward Liu warned that killing him would provoke the Cui Family.
• Chu Yang told Steward Liu that an immortal had taught him a cultivation technique and promised to protect Liu Ruyan and her family.
• The Liu Family welcomed Chu Yang and Liu Ruyan with a banquet, and Chu Yang and Liu Ruyan affirmed their commitment to each other.
• Chu Yang decided the Liu Family needed a powerful backer before he left to find Sun Wukong, and considered asking Wei Zheng for help.
• At a tea stall, Chu Yang heard that a man-eating giant python had devastated Hedong Commandery and that Wei Zheng was struggling to address the crisis.
• Chu Yang went to Wei Zheng’s residence, gained an audience, and asked the chancellor what had happened in Hedong Commandery.

Chu Yang accepted Wei Zheng’s request to slay the demon python at Yuntai Mountain in exchange for protection for the Liu Family, then defeated the beast with a Lightning Gathering Array and Palm Thunder. After retrieving its Demon Core, he returned toward Chang'an with Wei Zheng’s guards to report back.

• Wei Zheng told Chu Yang that a demon python at Yuntai Mountain had devastated Hedong Commandery, and Chu Yang agreed to confront it in return for Wei Zheng protecting the Liu Family from the Cui Family.
• Chu Yang reassured Steward Liu and Liu Ruyan, then left Chang'an with more than twenty guards sent by Wei Zheng.
• At Yuntai Mountain, Chu Yang sent the guards to wait below and prepared a Lightning Gathering Array beside the python’s cave.
• Chu Yang lured out the black demon python and struck it repeatedly with lightning, killing it after the seventh bolt.
• Chu Yang recovered the python’s Demon Core and rode back toward Chang'an with the guards to report to Wei Zheng.

Chu Yang secured Wei Zheng’s protection for the Liu Family, promised to marry Liu Ruyan after returning, and left Chang’an City for Five Elements Mountain to seek Sun Wukong. After Cui Yuanlang tried to seize Liu Ruyan, Wei Zheng’s order led to his arrest, leaving the Liu Family safe as Chu Yang rode west.

• Wei Zheng praised Chu Yang for eliminating the demon python, promised to protect the Liu Family, and gave him a token.
• Chu Yang told the Liu Family he was leaving for Five Elements Mountain, promised Liu Ruyan they would marry when he returned, and departed Chang’an City.
• Cui Yuanlang learned Chu Yang had left and led elite guards to seize Liu Ruyan, but Zhao Wu arrested him and his men under Wei Zheng’s order.
• Uncle Zhang told the Liu Family that Cui Yuanlang had been arrested, and Liu Ruyan thanked Chu Yang and waited for his safe return.
• Chu Yang rode west along the official road toward Five Elements Mountain to find Sun Wukong.

Chu Yang traveled to Five Elements Mountain, hoping to befriend Sun Wukong through companionship, wine, and food. Sun Wukong welcomed him as Chu Yang began serving a lavish meal, leaving their new friendship poised to begin.

• Chu Yang decided that Sun Wukong’s long solitude could be eased with companionship and that fine food and wine would help win his trust.
• Chu Yang bought wine and ingredients in Qingfeng Town and other places on his journey west.
• After half a month, Chu Yang reached Five Elements Mountain and introduced himself to Sun Wukong, who was curious about his visit.
• Chu Yang gave Sun Wukong Daughter Red, and Sun Wukong eagerly drank it and agreed to recognize Chu Yang as a friend if he cooked for him.
• Chu Yang prepared a lavish spread of dishes and brought it to Sun Wukong.

Chu Yang befriended Sun Wukong through daily visits, meals, and conversation, then admitted he hoped to join him on the journey to Western Heaven; Sun Wukong agreed. Guanyin arrived at Five Elements Mountain and offered Sun Wukong a chance to atone by escorting Xuanzang west, and Sun Wukong accepted before stopping her as she prepared to leave.

• Chu Yang began visiting Sun Wukong every day with food and wine, and the two became close friends over the following month.
• Chu Yang told Sun Wukong he wanted to accompany him to Western Heaven, and Sun Wukong agreed.
• Sun Wukong sensed a powerful presence as dark clouds gathered over Five Elements Mountain.
• Guanyin descended and told Sun Wukong that escorting Xuanzang to obtain the scriptures would give him a chance to atone and attain Buddhahood.
• Sun Wukong agreed to escort Xuanzang so he could escape the mountain, then called out to Guanyin before she left.

Chu Yang joined the pilgrimage party after agreeing not to interfere with Xuanzang’s trials, and he witnessed Xuanzang free Sun Wukong from Five Elements Mountain and accept him as a disciple. When Guanyin offered Sun Wukong a floral cap, Chu Yang warned that it concealed a Golden Headband.

• Chu Yang asked Guanyin to let him accompany the pilgrimage party, and she agreed on the condition that he not intervene in Xuanzang’s trials.
• Xuanzang arrived at Five Elements Mountain, removed Buddha Tathagata’s seal, and freed Sun Wukong.
• Xuanzang accepted Sun Wukong as his disciple and gave him the name Sun Wukong.
• Guanyin arrived in an old woman’s disguise and offered Sun Wukong a floral cap.
• As Sun Wukong prepared to take the cap, Chu Yang stopped him and revealed that it concealed a Golden Headband.

Chu Yang warned Sun Wukong that the flowered cap contained a Golden Headband and Golden Fillet Spell, so Sun Wukong destroyed it and befriended him. As the pilgrimage party set out west, Chu Yang began trying to loosen Xuanzang’s rigid views by serving him convincing vegetarian braised pork.

• Chu Yang exposed Guanyin’s plan to control Sun Wukong with the Golden Fillet Spell, and Sun Wukong crushed the flowered cap and thanked Chu Yang.
• Guanyin and Tathagata discussed Chu Yang’s knowledge and agreed to observe him while allowing him to travel with the pilgrimage party.
• Chu Yang joined Xuanzang and Sun Wukong on their journey west and resolved to challenge Xuanzang’s rigid beliefs without interfering with the pilgrims’ trials.
• At camp, Chu Yang cooked vegetarian braised pork from tofu and wheat gluten, and Sun Wukong praised it.
• Xuanzang tasted the imitation meat, enjoyed it, and admired Chu Yang’s cooking.

Chu Yang secretly fed Tang Monk real meat disguised as vegetarian food while the pilgrims continued west and recovered the kasaya from the Black Wind Monster. At a remote cottage, Sun Wukong detected demonic energy and stopped Tang Monk from eating the woman’s Bewitching Rice.

• Chu Yang gradually introduced real meat into Tang Monk’s meals, and Tang Monk ate it without realizing he had broken his precepts.
• At Guanyin Temple, Jin Chi tried to burn Tang Monk alive to steal his kasaya, but Sun Wukong protected him; the Black Wind Monster stole the kasaya during the fire.
• Sun Wukong defeated the Black Wind Monster, recovered the kasaya, and returned it to Tang Monk before the pilgrims resumed their journey.
• The pilgrims reached a desolate mountain cottage, where a young woman invited them inside and offered them food.
• Sun Wukong sensed demonic energy, warned that the food was Bewitching Rice, and confronted the woman before Tang Monk could eat.

Chu Yang exposed the White Bone Demoness and helped Tang Monk and Sun Wukong reconcile, while Tathagata and Guanyin discussed Chu Yang’s growing influence on the pilgrimage. As the party traveled toward Gao Village, Chu Yang urged Tang Monk to stay at an inn, and Sun Wukong supported him.

• Sun Wukong attacked Lady Bai Gu, but Tang Monk nearly stopped him until Chu Yang revealed that her shadow had the shape of a skeleton; the White Bone Demoness then exposed herself and Sun Wukong smashed her apart.
• Tang Monk apologized to Sun Wukong for doubting him and promised to trust him more, strengthening their bond.
• Tathagata told Guanyin that Chu Yang’s changes were improving Tang Monk and Sun Wukong’s relationship, then dismissed concerns that Tang Monk had unknowingly eaten meat.
• Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Monk continued west toward Gao Village, where Chu Yang expected them to meet Zhu Bajie.
• When Tang Monk proposed begging for lodging in a village, Chu Yang offered to pay for an inn, and Sun Wukong agreed that it would be more comfortable.

Chu Yang, Tang Monk, and Sun Wukong reached Gao Village, where they confronted Zhu Bajie after hearing he had been harassing Elder Gao’s daughter. Zhu Bajie revealed that Guanyin had told him to join Tang Monk’s journey, and Tang Monk accepted him as a disciple named Wuneng.

• Chu Yang, Tang Monk, and Sun Wukong stopped at Qingshi Town before continuing west toward Gao Village.
• At Gao Mansion, Elder Gao asked the travelers to subdue the pig-faced demon who had frightened his daughter and caused trouble for the household.
• Sun Wukong disguised himself as Miss Gao and lured Zhu Bajie into a fight, while Chu Yang and Tang Monk watched from hiding.
• Zhu Bajie stopped fighting when he learned Sun Wukong was protecting Tang Monk, and explained that Guanyin had instructed him to join the scripture-seeking journey.
• Tang Monk accepted Zhu Bajie as a disciple and gave him the Dharma name Wuneng.

Tang Monk and his companions reached Willow Creek Village, where Old Chen welcomed them and offered them food and lodging. Zhu Bajie became smitten with Old Chen’s daughter, Chen Cui'er, and the group settled in for the night.

• After several days of travel in the heat, Zhu Bajie grew exhausted, and Sun Wukong spotted Willow Creek Village ahead.
• The group entered the village, where Old Chen invited Tang Monk and his companions into his home to rest and share tea.
• Old Chen invited the travelers to dinner, and Zhu Bajie eagerly devoured the village’s fragrant rice and home-cooked dishes.
• Chen Cui'er returned from picking mulberry leaves, and Zhu Bajie stared at her and tried to impress her with tales of his hard work.
• Sun Wukong teased Zhu Bajie about feeding pigs, prompting laughter from the group and making Chen Cui'er smile.
• Old Chen arranged lodging for the travelers, with Tang Monk taking one guest room and Chu Yang and Zhu Bajie sharing the other.

Zhu Bajie became infatuated with Chen Cui'er and wanted to remain in Willow Creek Village, but Chu Yang revealed that she had a fiancé and urged him to continue the scripture journey. Zhu Bajie remained troubled by his longing for a peaceful life, while Chu Yang promised he could choose his future after obtaining the scriptures.

• Zhu Bajie told Chu Yang he found Chen Cui'er beautiful and warm, then asked to stay in Willow Creek Village an extra day to see her.
• Zhu Bajie spent the day helping Old Chen, giving flowers to Chen Cui'er, and repairing the silkworm house roof to impress her.
• Chu Yang asked Zhu Bajie whether he liked Chen Cui'er herself or the comfort of being treated kindly, and Zhu Bajie admitted he wanted the peaceful life she seemed to offer.
• Chu Yang told Zhu Bajie that Chen Cui'er was waiting for her fiancé, Zhao Dazhu, and warned that the villagers might eventually reject a pig demon living among them.
• Chu Yang reminded Zhu Bajie that he was Marshal Tian Peng and promised he could live as he wished after they obtained the scriptures.

Zhu Bajie accepted that he had to continue the journey and said farewell to Chen Cui'er before leaving Willow Creek Village with Tang Monk, Sun Wukong, and Chu Yang. On the road, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie killed nine earth demons who attacked Tang Monk, leaving Tang Monk troubled by their deaths.

• Chu Yang reminded Zhu Bajie that abandoning the journey would cost him his freedom and leave Tang Monk and Sun Wukong without his help, so Zhu Bajie agreed to continue.
• Zhu Bajie watched Chen Cui'er from outside the silkworm house, then joined Chu Yang and the others as they departed Willow Creek Village.
• As the group traveled through the hot, desolate countryside, Chu Yang recalled that Yellow Wind Ridge lay ahead and noticed that something was moving underground.
• Nine earth demons emerged and charged at Tang Monk, and Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong killed them while Chu Yang held the White Dragon Horse.
• Tang Monk looked at the dead earth demons and questioned Sun Wukong, saying that they had been living beings too.

After Sun Wukong killed the earth demons, Chu Yang showed Tang Monk evidence that they had been eating travelers and helped him understand that killing could be compassionate when it protected others. Tang Monk apologized to Sun Wukong, and the group continued west before stopping by a stream to rest.

• Tang Monk criticized Sun Wukong for killing the earth demons, while Sun Wukong argued that they would have kept threatening travelers.
• Chu Yang uncovered human bones and belongings in the demons’ lair and asked Tang Monk to consider the people they would continue to harm.
• Sun Wukong rebuked Tang Monk, and Chu Yang explained that killing the demons had protected the travelers and everyone who would use the road.
• Tang Monk accepted Chu Yang’s reasoning, apologized to Sun Wukong, and reflected that compassion could involve killing while still feeling the weight of a life.
• The group left the corpses behind and traveled west; after about two hours, they stopped at a stream, where Zhu Bajie jumped in to cool off.

After defeating earth demons, Tang Monk reflected on the limits of his pacifist precepts and told Sun Wukong to act decisively when needed. The group camped by a stream, then continued west along a peaceful forest road, where Chu Yang spotted stone steps leading toward a building hidden in the mist.

• Chu Yang cooked noodle soup by the stream, and Tang Monk and his disciples shared a meal.
• Tang Monk told Chu Yang he had realized that refusing to kill could allow more people to die, and Chu Yang urged him not to let precepts become rigid restraints.
• Tang Monk told Sun Wukong he would not blame him for acting against threats in the future, and Sun Wukong accepted his trust.
• The group camped overnight, ate Chu Yang's breakfast the next morning, and set out westward.
• Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie bickered as the group traveled through a cool forest, while Chu Yang noticed stone steps ascending toward a building concealed by clouds.

Chu Yang and the others reached Guanyin Temple, where Elder Jin Chi became fixated on Tang Monk’s Brocade Kasaya. Chu Yang recognized the danger but waited until Jin Chi’s obsession surfaced before intervening.

• Tang Monk decided to visit the imposing Guanyin Temple, while Chu Yang recognized it as the place where Elder Jin Chi would covet the Brocade Kasaya.
• Guangzhi welcomed the travelers and brought them to the guest hall, where they met the abbot, Elder Jin Chi.
• Elder Jin Chi saw Tang Monk’s kasaya and concealed his greed while asking about its origins.
• Elder Jin Chi showed the group his collection of more than seven hundred kasayas and asked to examine Tang Monk’s.
• Tang Monk handed over the kasaya, and Elder Jin Chi’s admiration shifted into an intense obsession.
• Chu Yang noticed the change in Elder Jin Chi and spoke up.

Chu Yang challenged Elder Jin Chi’s attachment to his kasaya collection, helping him recognize that he had mistaken preserving garments for preserving the Dharma and that loneliness had fueled his hoarding. That night, Chu Yang stayed awake and spotted someone stealthily heading toward Tang Monk’s room.

• Chu Yang questioned whether the Buddhist spirit of a kasaya lay in the garment or in the wearer and challenged Elder Jin Chi to consider why he collected them.
• Chu Yang told a story about a monk who collected scriptures without reading them, prompting Elder Jin Chi and Tang Monk to reflect on the purpose of the kasayas.
• Elder Jin Chi admitted that he had held onto the kasayas as reminders of friends who had died over his 270 years of life.
• Chu Yang suggested that the departed monks would want their kasayas worn in continued cultivation, and Elder Jin Chi returned Tang Monk’s Brocade Kasaya.
• That night, Chu Yang kept watch and heard quiet footsteps heading toward Tang Monk’s room.