Chapter Summaries

Chu Yang and Sun Wukong forced Samantabhadra Bodhisattva to compensate Chu Yang and accompany them to Lion Camel Ridge. There, they confronted the three monsters with Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Chu Yang exposed the monsters’ crimes as the two Bodhisattvas faced their kneeling mounts.

• Chu Yang threatened to reveal the Image Recording Stone unless Samantabhadra Bodhisattva compensated him for his ruined sword and injured source fire.
• Samantabhadra Bodhisattva gave Chu Yang the Karma-Severing Ignorance Sword and the Eight-Treasure Glazed Red Lotus Lamp, but Chu Yang kept the recording as evidence against the monsters.
• Sun Wukong and Chu Yang escorted Samantabhadra Bodhisattva to Lion Camel Ridge, where they found the Yellow Tusk Elephant Monster, the Green Mane Lion Monster, and the Golden Winged Great Peng causing destruction.
• The three monsters were shocked to see Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Chu Yang threatened to play the recording of their plans to eat Tang Monk and Lion Camel Kingdom’s people.
• Chu Yang and Sun Wukong accused the monsters of massacring the people of Lion Camel Kingdom, while the Yellow Tusk Elephant Monster and the Green Mane Lion Monster knelt and begged their Bodhisattvas for mercy.

Chu Yang and Sun Wukong forced Manjushri and Samantabhadra to confront the slaughter committed by their three mounts at Lion Camel Ridge. The Bodhisattvas ordered the demons to surrender their treasures and repair the harm they had caused, while the demons ended the chapter serving Tang Monk and the pilgrims.

• Chu Yang and Sun Wukong demanded that the three Demon Kings account for their crimes and compensate the victims of Lion Camel Kingdom.
• The Green Mane Lion Monster, Yellow Tusk Elephant Monster, and Golden Winged Great Peng admitted to killing and eating hundreds of thousands of people and offered up their treasures and weapons.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva ordered the demons to face the wall for three thousand years and confiscated their palace treasures.
• Chu Yang and Sun Wukong insisted that the demons apologize to Tang Monk and clean up Lion Camel Ridge, and the Bodhisattvas agreed.
• The three Demon Kings kowtowed to Tang Monk, began carrying out their treasures and clearing the blood and bones, and agreed to serve as his attendants.

After forcing the three demon kings to clean Lion Camel Ridge and carry Tang Monk out, Sun Wukong and Chu Yang continued west and stopped at Qingfeng Town to rest. At the inn, Tang Monk resisted bathing and eating meat, and Chu Yang and Sun Wukong challenged his objections until he worried that they had lost sight of their true hearts.

• Sun Wukong and Chu Yang made the three demon kings clean the palace and gather the treasures while Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva watched.
• At dawn, Sun Wukong and Chu Yang had the demon kings carry Tang Monk out of Lion Camel Ridge, then continued west with him.
• Sun Wukong and Chu Yang reached Qingfeng Town with Tang Monk and booked rooms at the Fulai Inn.
• Sun Wukong and Chu Yang bathed in the inn's hot pools and persuaded Tang Monk to soak his feet, though he kept his monk's garments on.
• At dinner, Tang Monk refused the meat and wine, and Chu Yang and Sun Wukong questioned his strict objections by pointing to the Bodhisattvas' mounts and their own need to rest.
• Tang Monk could not answer their arguments and said he feared they had lost sight of their true hearts.

Chu Yang persuaded Tang Monk to relax his strict observance of Buddhist precepts in Qingfeng Town, and the pilgrims resumed their journey with Tang Monk more willing to enjoy ordinary comforts. At the Great Thunderclap Monastery, Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva complained to Buddha Tathagata about Chu Yang’s influence.

• Chu Yang argued that Tang Monk and his companions could enjoy food, wine, and a bath after their hardships at Lion Camel Ridge, and Tang Monk reluctantly drank wine and ate meat.
• Sun Wukong encouraged Tang Monk to join the meal, and Tang Monk admitted that Buddhist teachings might allow moments of rest and moderation.
• After sleeping, Tang Monk ate a meat bun at breakfast and agreed that the pilgrims could occasionally stop and enjoy themselves while continuing westward.
• Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Monk left Qingfeng Town and continued along the road, with Tang Monk remembering Chu Yang’s question, “why can’t we?”
• At the Great Thunderclap Monastery, Buddha Tathagata observed the pilgrimage party while Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva complained about Chu Yang’s actions.

Buddha Tathagata ordered Guanyin Bodhisattva to create a city of absolute rules to test Tang Monk and Chu Yang after their recent defiance of Buddhist tribulations. As the group approached an unnaturally orderly landscape, Sun Wukong and Chu Yang recognized that another trap had been set, while Tang Monk vowed to hold fast to his faith.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva warned Buddha Tathagata that Chu Yang was weakening Golden Cicada's devotion and that ordinary demons could not stop the group.
• Buddha Tathagata ordered Guanyin Bodhisattva to conjure an unavoidable city governed by strict laws based on the Five Poisons, with heavenly punishment for anyone who broke its rules.
• While traveling from Qingfeng Town, Sun Wukong suggested catching a black fish, but Tang Monk refused and insisted they eat vegetarian food.
• Chu Yang warned Tang Monk and Sun Wukong that the Buddhist powers would likely set another trap, and Tang Monk vowed to keep his resolve.
• Sun Wukong noticed the orderly scenery had no insects or signs of life, and Chu Yang recognized that the group had entered the setting of a new scheme.

Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Monk were forced into Immaculate City, where an array suppressed anyone judged impure and strict rules governed every action. When Sun Wukong was sentenced to brutal punishment for cursing, Chu Yang exploited a loophole by making him laugh, and the city’s enforcement hesitated.

• Chu Yang warned Tang Monk and Sun Wukong that Immaculate City was a trap, but the road behind them closed and forced them toward its gates.
• Inside the city, the array weighed on Chu Yang and Sun Wukong, while Tang Monk moved freely; Chu Yang deduced that it suppressed hostility and distracting thoughts.
• Chu Yang found the city’s many rules, and Sun Wukong was struck by lightning after loudly cursing them.
• The city restrained Sun Wukong and prepared to pierce his heart and extract his tongue, while Tang Monk pleaded and Chu Yang’s sword failed to break the punishment.
• Chu Yang ordered Sun Wukong to laugh, causing the city’s punishments to freeze when its rules could not classify his apparent happiness as anger or abusive clamor.
• Chu Yang challenged the city’s authority to identify a loophole in its rules, leaving the enforcement system hesitating.

Chu Yang defied Immaculate City’s rules to save Tang Monk and expose its citizens as faceless puppets, then led the group in attacking the city’s ruling force. Sun Wukong charged at the White Tower, the city’s Array Eye, as a Thousand-Armed Guanyin apparition blocked his way.

• Chu Yang argued that Sun Wukong had not violated the city’s rule against killing, and the sky revoked his punishment.
• Chu Yang warned Tang Monk and Sun Wukong about the city’s traps, but Tang Monk reached to help a woman and was sentenced to have his fingers severed.
• Chu Yang used Red Lotus Karma Fire to stop the Lightning Ruler and attack the sky, prompting the city to summon Annihilation Divine Thunder.
• Sun Wukong broke the White Chains and shattered the tribulation clouds, while the city’s citizens revealed themselves as faceless stone puppets and swarmed Chu Yang and Tang Monk.
• Chu Yang fought off the puppets and identified the White Tower as the Array Eye, then Sun Wukong flew toward it as a Thousand-Armed Guanyin apparition attacked him.

Sun Wukong, Chu Yang, and Tang Monk destroyed Immaculate City and confronted Guanyin Bodhisattva over her attempt to impose Buddhist rules on them. Tang Monk rejected her teachings and chose to continue the journey on their own terms, leaving the group to camp for the night.

• Sun Wukong shattered the White Tower while Chu Yang fought the stone puppets, and Tang Monk awakened the Brocade Kasaya's protective power by rejecting Immaculate City's rules.
• The destruction of the Array Eye collapsed Immaculate City and returned Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Monk to the official road.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva accused the group of destroying her pure land, but Tang Monk challenged her and declared that he would rather remain an ordinary man than accept the Mahayana True Scriptures under those rules.
• Sun Wukong and Chu Yang stood with Tang Monk, and Guanyin Bodhisattva withdrew rather than risk worsening Buddhism's reputation.
• Chu Yang recovered while Sun Wukong praised Tang Monk, who then agreed to camp in the valley for the night.

After Chu Yang refined a fragment of Immaculate City's laws into a Sword Soul, he and Sun Wukong vowed to defy the Buddhist Sect openly. At Mount Ling, Tathagata ordered Bai Ling to punish them while keeping Golden Cicada and Sun Wukong alive.

• Chu Yang fused the law fragment, Red Lotus Karma Fire, Pure Yang True Fire, and sword intent to form a Sword Soul.
• Sun Wukong congratulated Chu Yang, and Chu Yang declared that they would kill demons and even Buddhas who opposed them.
• Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva reported Immaculate City's fall and Golden Cicada's rebellion to Tathagata.
• Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Manjushri Bodhisattva urged Tathagata to punish Chu Yang and Sun Wukong.
• Tathagata summoned Bai Ling and ordered him to break their rebellious spirit while sparing Golden Cicada and Sun Wukong's lives.

Buddha Tathagata sent Bai Ling to punish Tang Monk, Sun Wukong, and Chu Yang, equipping him with treasures to counter their strengths. Bai Ling ambushed them in Sorrowful Cloud Ravine, and as Sun Wukong attacked, Bai Ling unleashed the Brahma Soul-Suppressing Seal against him.

• Buddha Tathagata ordered Bai Ling to warn and torment Tang Monk, Sun Wukong, and Chu Yang, giving him the Brahma Soul-Suppressing Seal, Eight Wilderness Pure Water Bowl, and Universal Bodhi Net.
• Bai Ling flew down to the lower realm while Samantabhadra Bodhisattva anticipated that the seal would hurt Sun Wukong.
• In Sorrowful Cloud Ravine, Chu Yang and Sun Wukong sensed that the freezing fog was unnatural before white feathers began falling around them.
• Bai Ling appeared and declared that he had come under Buddha Tathagata's command to punish the travelers, while Tang Monk offered to bear the punishment alone.
• Chu Yang blocked Bai Ling's feather attack with the Red Lotus Sword Curtain, and Sun Wukong charged Bai Ling with his Golden Staff.
• Bai Ling cast the Brahma Soul-Suppressing Seal, which expanded into a vast golden mountain and struck directly at Sun Wukong's soul.

Bai Ling grievously wounded Sun Wukong and overpowered Chu Yang, forcing Sun Wukong to burn his life essence to hold him back while Chu Yang fled with Tang Monk. Chu Yang escaped the Universal Bodhi Net with a law-powered sword strike, and he and Tang Monk reached a black bamboo forest deep in Sorrowful Cloud Ravine while Sun Wukong remained behind fighting Bai Ling.

• Bai Ling used the Brahma Soul-Suppressing Seal to injure Sun Wukong's soul, then repelled Chu Yang's Karma Fire attack with the Eight Wilderness Pure Water Bowl and an ice tornado.
• Sun Wukong burned his life essence and transformed with Fatian Xiangdi, holding off Bai Ling and ordering Chu Yang to take Tang Monk and escape.
• Chu Yang exploded the Red Lotus Karma Fire in the ground to obscure Bai Ling's view, then fled with Tang Monk on White Dragon Horse.
• Bai Ling deployed the Universal Bodhi Net, but Chu Yang used law power with his sword to tear open a rift and escape with Tang Monk.
• Sun Wukong continued fighting Bai Ling, while Chu Yang, Tang Monk, and White Dragon Horse reached a black bamboo forest deep in Sorrowful Cloud Ravine.

After Sun Wukong returned gravely wounded from fighting Bai Ling, Chu Yang explained that the gods and Buddhas were punishing them for refusing to follow their script. Tang Monk rejected the scripture quest and called for them to return to Great Tang.

• Chu Yang and Tang Monk hid in a cave in the bamboo grove and waited for Sun Wukong to return.
• Sun Wukong collapsed outside the cave with severe wounds and a soul injured by the Brahma Soul-Suppressing Seal; he said he had broken one of Bai Ling's legs and damaged a wing.
• Chu Yang treated Sun Wukong and vowed to repay the debt, while Sun Wukong warned that they needed a way to destroy or seize the soul-striking seal.
• Tang Monk questioned why Buddhism's treasures had been used against them, and Chu Yang explained that the gods and Buddhas were punishing them for disrupting their planned performance.
• Sun Wukong said the seal was meant to cripple them and force them to crawl to Great Thunderclap Monastery, and Tang Monk's faith collapsed.
• Tang Monk tore apart his Brocade Kasaya and declared that he would abandon the scripture quest and return to Great Tang with Sun Wukong and Chu Yang.

After Chu Yang showed Tang Monk that turning back would expose Great Tang to the gods’ retaliation, he persuaded Tang Monk and Sun Wukong to continue the pilgrimage as open resistance against Heaven’s scheme. With Sun Wukong’s soul badly injured, the group set their sights on Wuzhuang Temple and Zhenyuanzi’s Ginseng Fruit as a possible cure.

• Tang Monk blamed himself for Sun Wukong’s suffering and declared that he wanted to return to Great Tang rather than serve the gods and Buddhas.
• Chu Yang warned Tang Monk that the Three Realms offered nowhere to hide and that abandoning the pilgrimage could bring divine punishment upon Great Tang.
• Chu Yang urged Tang Monk and Sun Wukong to continue westward, turning the trials into a challenge to the gods’ scheme rather than surrendering to it.
• Tang Monk renewed his resolve to travel onward, and Sun Wukong rose despite his injuries and vowed to confront Tathagata over the Soul-Suppressing Seal.
• Sun Wukong suggested that Zhenyuanzi’s Ginseng Fruit at Wuzhuang Temple could heal his soul, and Chu Yang cautioned that obtaining it might be dangerous.

Chu Yang led the injured Sun Wukong, Tang Monk, and the White Dragon Horse out of Sorrowful Cloud Ravine and reached Wuzhuang Temple to seek a Ginseng Fruit for Sun Wukong’s damaged soul. Qingfeng and Ming Yue insulted the travelers and refused their request, so Chu Yang offered the Eight-Treasure Glazed Red Lotus Lamp in negotiation.

• Chu Yang decided the group would travel to Wuzhuang Temple at dawn, concealed the White Dragon Horse with a talisman, and led everyone out of their cave.
• Chu Yang’s concealment and careful choice of paths helped the group evade Bai Ling’s repeated aerial searches as they crossed Sorrowful Cloud Ravine.
• Chu Yang and the others reached Longevity Mountain and struggled up the steps to Wuzhuang Temple while Sun Wukong and Chu Yang endured their injuries.
• Chu Yang knocked on the temple gate and introduced Tang Monk, Sun Wukong, and himself to Qingfeng and Ming Yue, asking for a Ginseng Fruit to heal Sun Wukong’s soul.
• Ming Yue mocked Sun Wukong, who collapsed in pain when he tried to reach for his staff, while Qingfeng refused to grant them a fruit.
• Chu Yang offered the Eight-Treasure Glazed Red Lotus Lamp to negotiate with the two Daoist children.

Chu Yang forced his way into Wuzhuang Temple after Qingfeng and Ming Yue demanded cruel prices for a Ginseng Fruit, while Tang Monk silently approved his decision to fight. Chu Yang stole three fruits and fed one to the gravely injured Sun Wukong, whose body erupted with green qi as the fruit took effect.

• Qingfeng and Ming Yue rejected Chu Yang's Buddhist treasures and demanded Sun Wukong's Fiery Eyes of Truth, Chu Yang's Sword Soul Qi, and Tang Monk's service in exchange for a Ginseng Fruit.
• Tang Monk turned away and told Chu Yang to act quickly, giving him permission to fight for Sun Wukong's life.
• Chu Yang broke into Wuzhuang Temple, burned through Qingfeng's Azure Wood Formation, and defeated Qingfeng and Ming Yue with the Karma-Severing Ignorance Sword.
• Chu Yang found the Golden Striker in the rear courtyard and knocked down three Ginseng Fruits from the Ginseng Fruit Tree.
• Chu Yang fed one Ginseng Fruit to Sun Wukong, and a surge of green qi burst from Sun Wukong's body.

Sun Wukong and Chu Yang used Ginseng Fruits to recover and grow stronger, then defeated Bai Ling at Longevity Mountain. After Bai Ling died, Buddha Tathagata learned of his death and reached toward the lower realm.

• The first Ginseng Fruit broke Sun Wukong's Soul-Suppressing Seal and restored him, while Tang Monk refused the second fruit and Chu Yang ate it to strengthen his Sword Soul and divine sense.
• Chu Yang sensed Bai Ling approaching, and Sun Wukong and Chu Yang prepared to fight him while Tang Monk stayed behind.
• Bai Ling attacked Sun Wukong with the Brahma Soul-Suppressing Seal, but Sun Wukong knocked it away with the Golden Staff and shattered it.
• Sun Wukong broke through Bai Ling's water shield and sent him falling, allowing Chu Yang to kill him with Red Lotus Karma Severing.
• Bai Ling's life-bound jade plaque shattered at Great Thunderclap Monastery, and Buddha Tathagata learned of his death before reaching toward the lower realm.

After Bai Ling’s death, Buddha Tathagata’s attempt to divine Chu Yang’s origins triggered a backlash from a barrier beyond the Three Realms, forcing him to abandon revenge and order the gods to stop targeting Chu Yang. Meanwhile, Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Monk continued their relaxed pilgrimage and reached Tianfeng City, where Chu Yang eagerly proposed enjoying the city.

• Buddha Tathagata used the Great Thousand Brahma Array with Guanyin Bodhisattva to search the River of Heavenly Dao for Chu Yang’s fate.
• A higher-dimensional Void Barrier destroyed Tathagata’s golden hand and shattered the array, leaving Tathagata and Guanyin injured by the backlash.
• Tathagata concluded Chu Yang’s origins could not be probed, canceled covert suppression against Chu Yang and Monkey, and ordered the Buddhas not to provoke him.
• Chu Yang and the healed Sun Wukong celebrated their freedom on the road, while Tang Monk agreed to approach the pilgrimage with greater happiness.
• The pilgrimage party reached Tianfeng City, and Chu Yang proposed enjoying its food, drink, and entertainment.

Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Monk enjoyed Tianfeng City's food and night market before Chu Yang rescued a starving boy from a beating. The boy accepted food but saved the warm meat bun for his feverish little sister.

• Chu Yang led Sun Wukong and Tang Monk into Tianfeng City, where they ate and drank at the Drunken Immortal Tower.
• The three wandered through the night market, sampling its treats and watching the stalls.
• Chu Yang saw a bun shop owner beating a small boy for taking a ruined bun and stopped him.
• Chu Yang broke the owner's wrist and drove him away, then gently offered the frightened boy a warm meat bun.
• The boy thanked Chu Yang and explained that he was saving the bun for his little sister, who had a fever and had not eaten for days.

Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Monk followed Stone to his shack and discovered that his sister Xiao Cao was being drained by a Life-Devouring Gu placed in her heart meridian. They removed and destroyed the gu, leaving Xiao Cao breathing more steadily, while the identity of whoever planted it remained unknown.

• Chu Yang promised Stone he would save Xiao Cao and carried him through Tianfeng City's impoverished alleys to their shack.
• Chu Yang examined Xiao Cao and found her life force was being consumed by a Life-Devouring Gu made from resentful energy and corpse water.
• Sun Wukong sealed the shack, and Tang Monk used his compassion to soothe Xiao Cao while Chu Yang prepared to extract the gu.
• Chu Yang drove the Life-Devouring Gu out of Xiao Cao's body with his true fire, and Sun Wukong caught and ground it into ash.
• Xiao Cao's gray pallor and black veins faded as her breathing strengthened.

After saving Xiao Cao from the Life-Devouring Gu, Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Monk learned that Benevolence Hall’s Philanthropist Lin had used poisoned Holy Water to prey on poor children. They stormed the hall and found the Soul-Devouring Patriarch behind the scheme, while Chu Yang’s attack began burning through the guards.

• Chu Yang saved Xiao Cao, and Stone wept with relief as his sister woke and ate a meat bun.
• Stone told Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Monk that Benevolence Hall had given Xiao Cao Holy Water, then rejected her when she grew ill, and that many poor children had suffered the same fate.
• Tang Monk vowed to bring down Benevolence Hall, while Chu Yang put Stone to sleep behind a defensive formation and joined Tang Monk and Sun Wukong in heading east.
• At Benevolence Hall, Lin Wanguan reported to the Soul-Devouring Patriarch that the Gu insects were harvesting children’s vitality to fuel the patriarch’s cultivation.
• Chu Yang, Sun Wukong, and Tang Monk smashed through Benevolence Hall’s gates and confronted its guards, and Chu Yang’s Red Lotus Karma Fire burned the front ranks to ash.