Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Peacock Princess”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Peacock Princess approaches Tang Sanzang and Sha Wujing, pretending to be a helpful immortal offering mountain fruit and inviting them to her residence for food and shelter.
• Sha Wujing remains suspicious and blocks her repeatedly. When she tries to move closer to Tang Sanzang, he angrily shoves her into a rock, exposing her supernatural identity.
• Revealing herself as a powerful peacock spirit, the Peacock Princess uses the Five-Colored Peacock Feather Fan to defeat Sha Wujing instantly, despite his Early-Stage Daluo Golden Immortal cultivation.
• The White Dragon Horse deliberately avoids intervening, recognizing that he is far weaker than the Peacock Princess.
• The Peacock Princess abducts Tang Sanzang and carries him to Peacock Lake. She assures him that Sha Wujing is unharmed and claims that their meeting is fated.
• At her lakeside pavilion, she surrounds Tang Sanzang with bird demons, provides food and entertainment, changes into alluring clothing, and performs an elaborate dance to seduce him.
• Rather than resisting or reacting fearfully, Tang Sanzang responds by singing a romantic song, “A Flower Always Blooming by Your Side,” apparently surprising and captivating the Peacock Princess.
• He then plays the flute while she sings and dances, creating a moment of mutual artistic appreciation and emotional intimacy.
• The Peacock Princess praises Tang Sanzang’s talents and asks him to remain with her in her secluded paradise instead of continuing the pilgrimage.
• She warns that the demons of Lion-Camel Ridge are overwhelmingly powerful and possess formidable treasures, claiming that even she avoids confronting them.
• The chapter ends with the Peacock Princess openly confessing love at first sight and urging Tang Sanzang to abandon the pilgrimage and stay with her.

Character Developments

• Tang Sanzang/Jiang Ming: Demonstrates unusual composure, confidence, and social skill after being captured. Instead of acting helpless or panicked, he uses poetry, music, and charm to influence the Peacock Princess while maintaining that he cannot abandon his mission.
• Peacock Princess: Moves from deceptive hospitality to openly revealing her identity and romantic intentions. She is shown to be powerful, confident, sophisticated, and genuinely attracted to Tang Sanzang, though her methods involve force, manipulation, and seduction.
• Sha Wujing: Acts protectively and suspiciously toward his master. His aggressive defense of Tang Sanzang results in his immediate defeat, emphasizing the Peacock Princess’s superior strength.
• White Dragon Horse: Reveals a cautious and self-preserving side by pretending not to notice Sha Wujing’s defeat. His reaction underscores the overwhelming danger posed by the Peacock Princess.
• Bird Demons: Serve the Peacock Princess and help escort Tang Sanzang into her pavilion, reinforcing her authority over the area.

Significant Themes

• Seduction versus duty: The Peacock Princess offers beauty, comfort, love, and a peaceful life, while Tang Sanzang remains committed to the Western pilgrimage.
• Power and vulnerability: Sha Wujing’s effortless defeat establishes the Peacock Princess as an exceptionally dangerous opponent. Tang Sanzang’s apparent helplessness contrasts with his mental composure and emotional control.
• Fate and free will: The Peacock Princess repeatedly describes their meeting as destined, attempting to frame her desire as heavenly inevitability. Tang Sanzang rejects this reasoning by prioritizing his promise to the Tang Emperor.
• Art as emotional communication: Dance, song, poetry, and music become the main means through which the Peacock Princess and Tang Sanzang express attraction and admiration.
• Appearance versus identity: The Peacock Princess first appears as a benevolent woman, then reveals herself as a powerful supernatural being. Her elegance and beauty coexist with her capacity for violence and coercion.

Important Character Interactions

• Sha Wujing and the Peacock Princess: Their confrontation establishes immediate hostility. Sha Wujing tries to protect Tang Sanzang but is defeated by the Five-Colored Peacock Feather Fan.
• Tang Sanzang and the Peacock Princess: Their relationship shifts from suspicion and abduction to artistic exchange and romantic tension. She tries to persuade him to stay, while he responds courteously but refuses to surrender his mission.
• Tang Sanzang and Sha Wujing: Tang Sanzang briefly reprimands Sha Wujing for being rude, showing his continued preference for restraint and civility even when faced with danger.
• Tang Sanzang and the White Dragon Horse: The horse’s silent withdrawal highlights the disciples’ inability to protect their master in this encounter.
• Tang Sanzang and the bird demons: They physically escort him to the pavilion, demonstrating that he is being treated as both a captive and an honored guest.

Chapter Summary: “Destroying Lion-Camel Ridge in Secret”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Peacock Princess continues trying to seduce Jiang Ming, insisting that she is different from the temptations he has resisted on the scripture-seeking journey.
• She lures him to a lakeside with a staged pursuit and performs an enchanting dance while singing a song he taught her. Jiang Ming ultimately pretends to reciprocate her feelings, using the situation to maintain his cover.
• While Jiang Ming’s true body is occupied, his clone secretly attacks Lion-Camel Ridge. He kills the Golden-Winged Roc Eagle with the Five-Colored Divine Light, Universe in the Sleeve, and the Thirty-Six-Petaled World-Destroying Dao Lotus.
• Jiang Ming takes the Yin-Yang Qi Bottle and frees the severely injured Six-Eared Macaque. The macque kills the two remaining demons, while Jiang Ming’s Karmic Fire Red Lotuses annihilate the tens of thousands of other demons on the mountain.
• Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing discover the destruction and find the wounded Six-Eared Macaque. They assume Jiang Ming may have been responsible, but he denies knowing what happened.
• After recovering, the Six-Eared Macaque discovers that all the demons—including the Golden-Winged Roc Eagle—are dead. The event becomes an unsolved mystery and is reported to Kong Xuan. Jiang Ming’s clone, posing as Tathagata, blames Demon Ancestor Luo Hou, causing the investigation to end.
• Jiang Ming persuades the Peacock Princess to remain behind while the scripture-seeking party resumes its journey.
• At Black Water River, Jiang Ming secretly weakens the local dragon demon and transfers much of his vital blood to the oppressed female river god. This enables both the river god and his daughter to advance into the Golden Immortal Realm.
• The party later encounters the powerful demonized ox belonging to Taishang Laojun, who possesses the Vajra Bracelet. Jiang Ming continues pretending to be helpless while the disciples struggle for half a month before inviting Taishang Laojun to retrieve the ox.
• At Fengxian Prefecture, the party resolves a drought caused by the Jade Emperor’s displeasure. After three days, rain falls and the crisis ends.
• Months later, they reach Seven Extremes Mountain, an enormous, foul-smelling region covered by decaying persimmon trees. The chapter ends as the party approaches the area, whose formation is linked to a python demon.

Character Development

• Jiang Ming: Demonstrates his ability to operate through clones and manipulate events without revealing his true strength. He becomes increasingly ruthless toward powerful demons while maintaining the appearance of a weak, virtuous Tang monk. He also shows selective compassion by aiding the river god and her daughter.
• Peacock Princess: Grows bolder and more persistent in pursuing Jiang Ming. Her seductive performance reveals both romantic determination and growing confidence in manipulating circumstances.
• Six-Eared Macaque: Suffers severe injuries but survives and recovers. His uncertainty about the mysterious rescuer—possibly the true Son Goku—adds to his confusion about Jiang Ming’s hidden actions.
• Son Goku: Remains suspicious and practical, healing from his injuries and rebuking Zhu Bajie when he makes inappropriate assumptions.
• Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing: Continue serving as the more openly reactive members of the group. Zhu Bajie jokes about Jiang Ming’s romantic entanglements and initially misunderstands the Black Water River.
• The River God and His Daughter: Receive Jiang Ming’s help and experience major breakthroughs, showing the broader positive effects of his hidden interventions.

Significant Themes

• Hidden power and deception: Jiang Ming repeatedly conceals his overwhelming abilities behind the identity of a frail, powerless monk.
• Secret intervention: Major calamities are resolved outside the disciples’ knowledge, allowing Jiang Ming to alter destiny while preserving the outward course of the pilgrimage.
• Justice and retribution: The brutal demons of Lion-Camel Ridge are completely destroyed, particularly the Golden-Winged Roc Eagle, whose crimes had made him widely feared.
• Romantic temptation and emotional manipulation: The Peacock Princess’s pursuit contrasts with Jiang Ming’s claimed spiritual steadfastness, though he increasingly treats the situation as something he can exploit.
• Fate and unsolved mysteries: The unexplained destruction of Lion-Camel Ridge leaves heaven and the scripture-seeking party unable to identify the true culprit.
• Compassion amid manipulation: Although Jiang Ming often acts strategically, his aid to the river god’s family demonstrates genuine sympathy for those oppressed by stronger beings.

Character Interactions

• The Peacock Princess repeatedly presses Jiang Ming for affection, while he outwardly rejects her and inwardly uses the situation to protect his plans.
• Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the injured Six-Eared Macaque discuss the destruction of Lion-Camel Ridge, with Zhu Bajie suggesting that Jiang Ming is enjoying another romantic encounter.
• Son Goku criticizes Zhu Bajie’s foolish remarks and remains focused on the group’s situation.
• Jiang Ming’s clone deceives Tathagata and Kong Xuan by attributing the massacre to Demon Ancestor Luo Hou.
• Jiang Ming quietly aids the female river god, establishing a benevolent relationship that leads to her family’s advancement.
• The disciples struggle against Taishang Laojun’s ox while Jiang Ming deliberately avoids revealing his true strength.

Chapter Summary: Slaying the Five-Colored Deer of Little Children City

Key Plot Points and Events

• The scripture-seeking party passes through several trials with little difficulty:
  • At Seven Extremes Mountain, they follow the original route.
  • Zhu Bajie clears the eight-hundred-li stinking ditch by transforming into a giant boar.
  • In a small Lion Realm, illusion-wielding demons briefly fool the Six-Eared Macaque’s Fiery Golden Eyes, but the realm is eventually destroyed.
• After reaching Little Children City, Jiang Ming recognizes the danger posed by the Five-Colored Deer, a mount belonging to Southern Extreme Immortal Elder. The deer had descended into the mortal world, manipulated a Qingqiu fox demon into seducing the king, and plotted to consume children’s hearts and livers.
• To prevent the original tragedy, Jiang Ming’s avatar, acting as the Monkey King, secretly kills the Five-Colored Deer with one blow before Southern Extreme Immortal Elder can intervene.
• The party later reaches the Tianzhu Kingdom’s capital and stays with a charitable household. They help expose family wrongdoing, including the stepmother’s misconduct and the steward’s affair. The daughter’s relationship with her lover is left alone because neither party is entirely wicked.
• Two months later, the party arrives at Ciyun Temple in Jinping Prefecture. They are warmly received by the abbot and decide to remain until the Lantern Festival.
• During the festival, the city celebrates with lanterns, music, carriages, and crowds. The group separates to enjoy the festivities.
• Jiang Ming learns that three rhinoceros demons secretly impersonate Buddhas during the festival to receive fragrant-oil offerings. Though their deception is wrong, their greater offense will be abducting Tang Sanzang and provoking the scripture-seeking party, making their coming trial inevitable.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming becomes increasingly proactive in altering the scripture-seeking journey. Rather than waiting for disasters to unfold, he eliminates the Five-Colored Deer immediately and prevents the Little Children City calamity.
• His cultivation advances to the level of a Quasi-Saint who has severed the Three Corpses. He is now close to achieving the Great Dao of Creation Saint, completing his Pangu Dao and perfecting his Merit.
• The Six-Eared Macaque remains confident and energetic, aware that the journey is nearing its end. His Fiery Golden Eyes are shown to have limits when faced with powerful illusions.
• Zhu Bajie continues providing practical assistance and comic relief, especially through his appetite and his willingness to solve physical obstacles.
• Little White Dragon disguises himself as a bald young monk to accompany the group into Ciyun Temple.
• The scripture-seeking party has become more relaxed and optimistic as they approach Spirit Mountain, lowering their guard during the Lantern Festival.

Significant Themes

• Changing fate and rewriting destiny: Jiang Ming actively prevents events that originally occurred in the canonical journey, demonstrating that the road is no longer bound to its former script.
• Justice and consequences: The Five-Colored Deer is punished for greed and cruelty, while the family’s immoral behavior is resolved through exposure and legal punishment.
• Deception and moral corruption: The fox demon, the Five-Colored Deer, the stepmother, the steward, and the rhinoceros demons all show how manipulation or dishonesty creates suffering.
• Destiny versus personal choice: Jiang Ming recognizes that the rhinoceros demons’ fate depends on whether they survive their destined trial, suggesting that calamity may be unavoidable but its outcome is not predetermined.
• Cultural continuity: The Lantern Festival connects Great Tang and Tianzhu, emphasizing shared traditions across distant lands.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming repeatedly questions the Ciyun Temple abbot about the temple’s location and the distance to Spirit Mountain, while the Six-Eared Macaque explains that the true Buddhist realm cannot be measured by ordinary geography.
• Zhu Bajie interrupts the discussion with complaints about hunger, prompting Jiang Ming to apologize for him.
• The abbot welcomes the travelers, offers them food, and invites them to remain for the Lantern Festival.
• The party divides during the festival: Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the Six-Eared Macaque go out to enjoy the celebrations, while Jiang Ming accompanies the abbot and learns about local customs.
• Beneath the festive atmosphere, the chapter sets up the next conflict involving the three rhinoceros demons and their fraudulent worship of the Buddha.

Chapter Summary: “The Bottomless Boat Can Ferry People”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Ming deliberately allows himself to be captured by the three rhinoceros demon kings near Golden Peace Bridge, recognizing that this capture is necessary to fulfill the scripture journey’s destined tribulations.
• The demons plan to cook Jiang Ming in the fragrant oil they have taken as offerings, but their actions attract the attention of the Western Teachings.
• The Six-Eared Macaque arrives to rescue him and summons several Interception Immortals, including Kui Wood Wolf. The three demons flee to the Dragon Palace, where the Dragon Girl shelters them, but they betray her. Son Goku eventually returns and kills all three demons.
• After the tribulation, the scripture-seeking party continues westward for another six months and finally reaches the Great Thunderclap Temple.
• Before arriving, they encounter an enormous, violent river crossed only by a dangerous single-plank bridge. A boatman appears with a “Bottomless Boat,” which initially seems unable to carry passengers.
• Despite the others’ doubts, Jiang Ming steps onto the boat and undergoes his final rebirth and transformation, symbolically completing his journey and its tribulations.
• At the Great Thunderclap Temple, Jiang Ming reveals that the Tathagata Buddha has already been replaced by one of his clones. The original Tathagata disappeared while pursuing the Six-Eared Macaque and can never return.
• The immense Merit and Fortune gained from completing the journey allow Jiang Ming to break through the Primordial Fortune Great Dao. His Great Freedom Dao Scripture evolves into the Great Freedom Pangu Realm.
• Just as he is about to fully enter this supreme realm, Jiang Ming remembers Heng’e, whom he had wronged in a previous incarnation as Hou Yi. He decides to travel to the Witch-Demon Era to resolve this remaining regret.
• Before leaving, he spends a thousand years with his beloved women, giving each thirty years, then explains that he must reclaim a regret from a former life.
• Jiang Ming plans to reconcile with Heng’e by changing the outcome of the story in which he supposedly killed her nine younger brothers: he will appear to shoot them, while secretly sparing and imprisoning them.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming: Remains fully aware that many events are arranged as part of the destined journey, even while pretending to be helpless or frightened. His completion of the Bottomless Boat crossing represents both spiritual transformation and the fulfillment of his long-term goals. Although he reaches an unprecedented level of cultivation, he realizes that personal emotional debts remain unresolved.
• Six-Eared Macaque: Shows significant growth and maturity. He understands that crossing the dangerous bridge is the correct path and is willing to act decisively, even when the others hesitate.
• The Three Rhinoceros Demons: Their greed and betrayal lead directly to their deaths. Their willingness to betray the Dragon Girl after receiving her protection emphasizes their moral corruption.
• Son Goku: Continues to act as a decisive protector, killing the demons after they abuse the Dragon Palace’s hospitality.
• Heng’e: Though absent from the main events, she becomes central to Jiang Ming’s next objective. Her refusal to forgive him represents the emotional regret he has not yet overcome.

Significant Themes

• Destiny and performed tribulation: Jiang Ming knowingly permits himself to be captured because the journey requires specific trials. The chapter questions how much of a spiritual pilgrimage is genuine when its participants understand the predetermined script.
• Transformation and rebirth: The Bottomless Boat symbolizes salvation and spiritual passage. Boarding it completes Jiang Ming’s transformation and marks the end of one stage of his existence.
• Faith versus understanding: Ordinary people fear and worship immortals, while Jiang Ming and Tang Sanzang understand the supernatural world more clearly. The characters’ differing reactions show the gap between blind reverence and experienced knowledge.
• Merit, power, and fulfillment: Jiang Ming’s successful pilgrimage produces a major breakthrough, but ultimate power does not erase personal regrets or unfinished relationships.
• Redemption and unresolved love: The chapter ends by shifting from cosmic achievement to emotional responsibility. Jiang Ming’s next goal is not greater power, but repairing the damage caused by his former identity as Hou Yi.

Character Interactions

• The old monk urges Jiang Ming to flee from the approaching “Buddha Lords,” demonstrating ordinary fear of divine beings, while Jiang Ming ignores the danger and allows the demons to capture him.
• Jiang Ming argues with the rhinoceros demons, attempting to appeal to their Buddhist beliefs, but they respond only with greed and threats.
• The Six-Eared Macaque rescues Jiang Ming with the help of Interception Immortals, while the demons’ conflict with the Dragon Girl reveals their treachery.
• Jiang Ming tests Zhu Bajie by asking him to cross the bridge, but Zhu Bajie refuses. The Six-Eared Macaque instead accepts the danger and demonstrates his growth.
• Son Goku and Jiang Ming disagree over whether the Bottomless Boat is a demonic trap or the true means of salvation; Jiang Ming ultimately boards it despite continuing to act as though he doubts it.
• At the end, Jiang Ming’s relationship with his beloved women and his anticipated reunion with Heng’e reveal a more personal side of his otherwise cosmic journey.

Jiang Ming began a new life as Hou Yi, cultivated his Heaven and Earth Dark Yellow Arrow Scripture, and reached the heavenly witch realm by eighteen. Meanwhile, the ten Golden Crow princes gathered in the Demon-Sealing Forbidden Land with Jade Rabbit, leaving her in danger as Heng'e watched anxiously.

• Jiang Ming realized he had time to grow stronger and hoped to help his mother, Yue, before beginning his cultivation as Hou Yi.
• Jiang Ming created the Heaven and Earth Dark Yellow Arrow Scripture and, four years later, reached the heavenly witch realm.
• Jiang Ming was recognized as one of the Witch Race's leading young talents alongside Kua Fu and Xingtian, while Di Jun's children represented the Demon Race's strength.
• Jade Rabbit appeared in the Demon-Sealing Forbidden Land, where the ten Golden Crow princes gathered, and feared they would roast her.
• Heng'e saw Jade Rabbit through the Mingyue Mirror and worried that her younger brothers had gone too far.

The Great Golden Crow Emperor's Son used Little Jade Rabbit as bait to test the Three-Headed Flood Dragon, but Heng'e rescued her and the dragon escaped. Heng'e confronted her younger brothers, and the Great Golden Crow Emperor's Son blamed her for the escape.

• The Great Golden Crow Emperor's Son ordered Little Jade Rabbit tied up as bait, despite the Tenth Golden Crow Emperor's Son warning that the test was cruel and dangerous.
• The Golden Crow Emperor's Sons released the Three-Headed Flood Dragon, then fled as he nearly swallowed Little Jade Rabbit.
• Heng'e arrived in silver moonlight and rescued Little Jade Rabbit, then warned the Three-Headed Flood Dragon to submit to the Celestial Emperor.
• The Three-Headed Flood Dragon ignored Heng'e and escaped toward the sea, leaving the gathered demons stunned.
• Heng'e demanded that her younger brothers pursue the escaped dragon, and the Great Golden Crow Emperor's Son accused her of letting him go.

Chapter Summary: Yi Clan’s Young Patriarch

Key Plot Points and Events

• Heng’e leaves the Heavenly Realm with the Jade Rabbit, increasingly disgusted by the realm and preferring the solitude of the Moon Palace.
• The world remains dangerously unstable despite the emergence of six Saints. The Saints are consolidating their realms and avoid interfering in worldly conflicts.
• The Witch and Demon Races dominate the current age:
  • The Demon Race possesses the One Hundred and Eight Celestial Stars Formation, supported by the Demon Emperors’ powerful treasures.
  • The Witch Race possesses the Heavenly Gods and Fiends Formation, capable of manifesting Pangu’s physical body.
• Jiang Ming, currently only a small Heavenly Witch, decides to develop cautiously rather than become involved in major conflicts. His primary purpose is to protect Heng’e and avoid repeating past mistakes.
• A Golden Crocodile Dragon, a ferocious beast nearing Golden Demon strength, appears in the Yi Clan’s Eastern Mountain Marsh. The clan organizes a divine archery competition to hunt it, with Ancestral Witch Blood Essence as the prize.
• Jiang Ming has become the leading figure among the Yi Clan’s younger generation and is effectively recognized as its young patriarch.
• The competition will include several talented youths, including Lei Yi, the publicly acknowledged strongest young clansman, and Jiang Ming’s fellow geniuses Feng Yi, Jin Yi, Bing Yi, and Yan Yi.
• Jiang Ming encourages Feng Yi to compete seriously rather than underestimate himself.
• The chapter also establishes that the Yi Clan supports dependent Human Race tribes. Jiang Ming created a cultivation method that helps Witch men strengthen their Human wives’ bodies, improve fertility, and reduce the dangers of childbirth.
• Jin Yi returns from a hunt riding a powerful One-Horned Golden Wolf and reveals that he and the others gained strength from an Innate Blood Lingzhi. He is shocked that Jiang Ming has still caught up to him despite his lucky breakthrough.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming/Hou Yi: Continues growing into the role of young patriarch. He is cautious, politically aware, and focused on long-term development rather than reckless heroics. He also demonstrates compassion and responsibility toward both the Witch and Human Races.
• Heng’e: Becomes increasingly alienated from the Heavenly Realm, showing strong disgust and withdrawal from its affairs.
• Feng Yi: Presented as talented but modest. He possesses a Wind Bloodline and is encouraged by Jiang Ming to challenge for first place.
• Jin Yi: A confident rival and gifted fighter who has recently advanced rapidly after consuming an Innate Blood Lingzhi. He rides and has bonded with a powerful golden wolf.
• Lei Yi: The clan’s publicly recognized strongest young genius, possessing a Thunder Bloodline and terrifying Thunder Arrow techniques.
• Bing Yi, Jin Yi, and Yan Yi: Their relationships with one another are introduced. Bing Yi is liked by Jin Yi and Yan Yi, but Jiang Ming regards her only as a younger sister, while clan customs discourage same-clan marriage.
• Feng Yi: Unlike the others, he is emotionally clearheaded and already intends to marry a Human Race woman he loves.

Significant Themes

• Power and restraint: The Witch and Demon Races possess terrifying power, but the presence of Saints, Quasi-Saints, and ancient monsters makes reckless action dangerous. Jiang Ming chooses patience and concealment.
• The coming Karmic Tribulation: The appearance of five exceptional geniuses in one generation is interpreted as a sign that prosperity is reaching an extreme and a catastrophe is approaching.
• Leadership and responsibility: Jiang Ming’s role extends beyond personal cultivation. He works to improve relations between the Witch and Human Races and protect his clan’s future.
• Interracial cooperation: The cultivation method for Witch-Human couples reflects an effort to improve survival, fertility, and family stability between the two races.
• Competition and succession: The archery contest is both a test of skill and a contest over precious resources, especially the Ancestral Witch Blood Essence.
• Scarcity of innate treasures: The rarity of treasures after the destruction caused by the Ancestral Dragon, Primordial Qilin, and Origin Phoenix emphasizes the value of Jin Yi’s lucky discovery.

Character Interactions

• Heng’e silently departs with the Jade Rabbit, revealing her emotional distance from the Heavenly Realm.
• Jiang Ming encourages Feng Yi, treating him as a worthy competitor rather than dismissing him.
• He maintains a protective, sibling-like relationship with Bing Yi while refusing to encourage romantic expectations.
• Jin Yi returns boastfully and challenges Jiang Ming before being stunned that Jiang Ming has matched his cultivation despite Jin Yi’s recent breakthrough.
• Jiang Ming’s interactions with the young clansmen reinforce his authority as a respected but approachable young patriarch.

Bing Yi and Yan Yi broke through to the high heavenly witch realm, and the younger generation's hunting tournament began with Hou Yi demonstrating his growing mastery of archery. After he killed the Golden Crocodile Dragon with one arrow, the Yi Tribe leaders praised his skill and wondered when he would reach the golden witch realm.

• Bing Yi and Yan Yi broke through to the high heavenly witch realm, while Feng Yi remained at the low heavenly witch realm and felt left behind.
• Jiang Ming announced a contest for three days later, and more than four thousand Witch Race youths and over three hundred human youths joined the hunting tournament.
• Jiang Ming rode out with Xiaocai, the Bifang, and promised her a feast after he shot down the Golden Crocodile Dragon.
• Jiang Ming used his treasured bow and an arrow made from golden demon bones to kill the wounded Golden Crocodile Dragon with a single shot that pierced its eye and destroyed its primordial spirit.
• The young hunters found the Golden Crocodile Dragon dead, so the Yi Tribe leaders released a hundred heavenly demon prey beasts to keep the tournament going.
• The tribe's commander-in-chief and grand elder praised Hou Yi's archery and discussed how soon he might enter the golden witch realm.

Xu Zhaoting relived the memory of becoming a Cursed Beast Demon and killing Zhang Lulu before Mo Fan arrived, then woke in the past after transmigrating into the world of Versatile Mage. He gained a system, a Swallowed Star cultivation manual, and an enhanced-senses trait, and set out to test his new abilities before school began.

• The enslaved Xu Zhaoting tore off one arm rather than kill Zhang Lulu, but his other claw pierced her chest as Mo Fan arrived too late to save her.
• Xu Zhaoting remembered that Mo Fan had killed him and cremated him after he became a Cursed Beast Demon, then realized he had transmigrated and been reborn as his younger self.
• Xu Zhaoting activated his system and received the Complete Cosmic Apprentice Cultivation Manual from the Swallowed Star World.
• Xu Zhaoting gained the orange-grade Keen Ears and Sharp Eyes trait, which gave him hearing and eyesight ten times greater than an ordinary person's.
• Xu Zhaoting learned that he could level up by killing monsters and decided to test the system before school started, while cultivating both magic and martial arts.

After a year in seclusion, Jiang Ming passed the Golden Witch Tribulation and became the youngest golden witch at nineteen. He learned about the equally gifted Kua Fu and Xingtian and resolved to meet them, while planning to make up for his past regrets with Heng'e.

• Jiang Ming refined the Space Ancestral Wizard's blood essence in seclusion and emerged a year later to defeat the Myriad Spirits Tribulation with his fists.
• Jiang Ming entered the golden witch realm at nineteen, surpassing his peers and drawing speculation that he had merged with ancestral witch blood essence.
• Jiang Ming heard about Kua Fu, whose ancestral bloodline granted him the force dao, and Xingtian, who had been born holding an axe and shield.
• Jiang Ming recalled Kua Fu's and Xingtian's legendary futures and looked forward to meeting them.
• Jiang Ming remembered that Heng'e had avoided him after he killed her younger brothers and vowed to make up for his past regrets.

Di Jun visited Heng'e and planned to turn his sons into suns once they reached the Golden Demon Realm, while Heng'e wondered about the Earthly Realm and the Witch Race. On the ground, Jiang Ming shared a meal of Dragon Tortoise with his companions and learned that a Three-Headed Flood Dragon had escaped into the sea.

• Di Jun visited Heng'e and told her he would make his sons patrol the heavens as suns after they broke through to the Golden Demon Realm.
• Heng'e listened as Di Jun warned that the escaped Three-Headed Flood Dragon would be in danger if the Witch Race found him.
• Heng'e gazed down at the Earthly Realm and wished she could visit it, despite her mother's warning to stay away.
• Jiang Ming killed a Golden Demon Realm Dragon Tortoise from eight hundred li away and shared its meat and soup with his companions.
• Lei Yi told the group that the Three-Headed Flood Dragon had escaped into the sea and warned them to report any sighting to a Great Witch.
• Jiang Ming grew interested in the escaped dragon and recalled that Yang Jian was a human in this world's history.

Di Jun announced a Heaven-Earth Contest in Nuwa’s Mountains and Rivers State-Society Map, hoping his ten sons would distinguish themselves against the Witch Race’s rising talents. Jiang Ming anticipated the event, where he had first met Heng'e, as contestants from across both realms prepared to compete.

• Di Jun arranged a contest between ten thousand Golden Immortal Realm experts from each realm, offering treasures and blood essences as rewards.
• Nuwa agreed to host the contest in her Mountains and Rivers State-Society Map and arranged to remove contestants whose injuries threatened their lives.
• Jiang Ming recalled that Hou Yi, Kua Fu, and Xingtian had defeated the Demon Race in his previous life and remembered meeting Heng'e at the contest.
• The Witch Race reserved a thousand places for humans, and Yang Jian, Xuandu, and other prominent disciples entered as representatives of their groups.
• The Western Teachings, Dragon Clan, and Minghe Ancestor also sent contestants to the contest.

The tournament began inside Nuwa’s Mountains and Rivers State-Society Map, where Jiang Ming and the other contestants faced beasts and rivals. Jin Yi encountered Nine Infants, and their battle continued as the demon used water and fire abilities to keep the Yi Clan archer at a distance.

• Nuwa’s map opened as a dangerous tournament ground, and the contestants entered under rules that ranked them by elimination.
• Jiang Ming entered with five Golden Immortals from his Yi Tribe, then was separated from them and pursued the nearest ally using his Bloodline Jade Pendant.
• Jiang Ming killed ferocious beasts and demons in his path, collecting their dropped belongings.
• Jin Yi encountered a descendant of Nine Infants and attacked him with axes before switching to his bow and arrows.
• Nine Infants countered Jin Yi’s attacks with black water and fire, preventing the Golden Witch from closing in.

Jiang Ming rescued Jin Yi from Nine Infants, gathered all six Yi Tribe contestants, and helped them grow stronger inside the Mountains and Rivers State-Society Map. After two days of guiding them, he planned to search alone for Heng'e, who had disguised herself as an ordinary human woman.

• Jiang Ming shot an ice arrow from a thousand miles away, freezing Nine Infants and rescuing Jin Yi before Nine Infants was eliminated.
• Fire Ancestor Zhurong and the Gold Ancestral Witch praised Hou Yi's victory while the Demon Race's leaders watched in displeasure.
• Yan Yi survived a pursuit by the Flame Vermilion Bird Race and joined Hou Yi and Jin Yi, who fled the fire vein with him.
• Jiang Ming joined Lei Xi in ambushing and eliminating a Kui Ox, then gathered the remaining Yi Tribe contestants, including the ice user and Feng Yi.
• Jiang Ming led the six contestants to safety, and the other five advanced one minor realm over the next two days.
• Jiang Ming left the group and set out alone to find Heng'e, who had taken the appearance of an ordinary human woman.

Chapter Summary: “Yi Shoots Ten Arrows”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Heng’e enters the Mountains and Rivers State-Society Map disguised as a Human Race woman under the alias Chang’e.
• She sympathizes with the struggling Human Race and begins protecting weaker human participants. Of the original thousand human entrants, roughly half have already been eliminated within two days.
• Heng’e’s immense power comes from her innate Supreme Yin heritage and exceptional comprehension. Although she appears human, she is actually the daughter of Di Jun and possesses strength approaching the Great Demon realm.
• By the tenth day, half of the twenty thousand Golden Immortal participants have been eliminated. The survivors begin forming alliances, including a powerful group of twenty late-stage Golden Demons descended from famous ferocious beasts.
• Heng’e and the more than thirty humans she has rescued encounter this elite Demon Race alliance. The demons mock the humans and offer to spare them temporarily if they become slaves.
• The human participants refuse, declaring that they would rather die than surrender or disgrace their race.
• Qiongqi claims Heng’e as his personal target. Heng’e responds by manifesting ten enormous golden suns, sending one toward each of the leading demons.
• While the demons attack the human survivors, ten mysterious icy arrows suddenly descend from a great distance and strike the ten most arrogant demons. They are instantly eliminated by the tournament’s golden light.
• The chapter ends by revealing that the arrows were fired by a distant, extraordinarily powerful archer—identified by the chapter title as Yi—who resolves half the crisis before even reaching the battlefield.

Character Developments

• Heng’e/Chang’e: Demonstrates compassion, courage, and leadership by gathering and defending vulnerable human participants. She also reveals overwhelming combat ability, combining Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang powers to create the ten suns.
• Human participants: Despite their weakness and near-certain elimination, they show unity, dignity, and resistance to oppression. They refuse the demons’ offer of enslavement.
• Qiongqi and the Demon alliance: Their arrogance and cruelty are exposed. They underestimate both Heng’e and the Human Race, choosing to torment rather than simply eliminate their opponents.
• Yi: Though he does not appear directly, his long-range archery and instant defeat of ten elite demons establish him as a highly dangerous and powerful figure.

Significant Themes

• Human dignity and racial unity: The humans’ refusal to surrender emphasizes that survival is not worth abandoning honor and collective identity.
• Oppression and arrogance: The demons’ desire to enslave and toy with the humans reflects their cruelty and shortsightedness.
• Hidden strength: Heng’e’s human disguise conceals her divine origins, while Yi’s distant attack suggests that the greatest powers may remain unseen until the decisive moment.
• The Human Race’s potential: Although humans are currently the weakest race, their courage and connection to Nuwa’s creation hint that they may eventually rise to greatness.
• Political consequences: The demons’ treatment of humans may damage their efforts to gain Nuwa’s support, showing that individual actions can affect the future standing of an entire race.

Important Character Interactions

• Heng’e protects and leads the human group, while the humans urge her to abandon them to preserve her own chances of survival.
• The demons attempt to intimidate the humans into servitude, but the humans collectively reject them.
• Qiongqi singles out Heng’e, leading to her direct counterattack with the ten suns.
• As the demons move to capture the humans, Yi intervenes from a thousand miles away and eliminates ten attackers with icy arrows, dramatically shifting the balance of power.

Jiang Ming, posing as Hou Yi, eliminated twenty Demon Race prodigies and made a strong impression on Heng'e. After inviting her group to rest, he cooked flatbreads for everyone, leaving the Twelve Ancestral Witches astonished.

• Jiang Ming shot down ten Demon Race prodigies in a single volley, prompting the gathered immortals and gods to notice Hou Yi’s power.
• Teng Snake urged the remaining ten Demon Race prodigies to flee, but Jiang Ming shot them down before they could escape.
• Jiang Ming introduced himself as Hou Yi to the Human Race talents and Heng'e, who was disguised as Chang'e, and invited them to rest for the night.
• Heng'e agreed to rest with Jiang Ming’s group, and he cooked flatbreads that she found delicious.
• Gonggong questioned why Hou Yi was making flatbreads, while Houtu praised his easygoing manner.

Summary of “Houtu and Xuanming”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Houtu appears in her powerful Ancestral Witch form, accompanied by her Earth Dharma Idol. Xuanming, the usually quiet Ancestral Witch of Darkness, unexpectedly praises Jiang Ming’s behavior.
• The Demon Race mocks Jiang Ming for bringing a wok to the grand competition, but Jiang Ming ignores the ridicule and continues cooking pancakes.
• Chang’e enthusiastically praises Jiang Ming’s cooking. He promises to make pancakes for her every day, delighting her despite her outwardly indifferent, tsundere response.
• After tasting Jiang Ming’s food, the others deliberately leave him and Chang’e alone, hoping the two might develop a relationship. They believe a union between a Human Race member and an exceptional Witch could benefit the future revival of the Human Race.
• Jiang Ming spends the night entertaining Chang’e with romantic stories from other worlds. Chang’e, lonely from her long isolation in the Lunar Palace, grows increasingly fond of his companionship and wishes she could bring him back with her.
• The next day, Chang’e invites Jiang Ming to join her temporary group as they travel toward the center of the battlefield.
• A new ranking appears, revealing that over two thousand more contestants have been eliminated.
• At the battlefield’s center, the ten Golden Crow Emperor’s Sons transform into ten blazing suns and form the Great Sun Furnace Formation. Their power boils seas, burns mountains, and forces Xingtian, Kua Fu, and the Witch forces to retreat.
• Jiang Ming warns the group that such power would devastate the outside world, though he claims the Heavenly Dao and karmic laws would prevent the Golden Crows from acting recklessly.
• His warning foreshadows the future tragedy of the Ten Suns Across the Sky, when the Golden Crows will devastate the Primordial Wilderness and Hou Yi will shoot down nine of them.

Character Developments

• Jiang Ming/Hou Yi: He is shown as compassionate, humorous, and attentive rather than solely a powerful warrior. His cooking and storytelling reveal a gentle side, while his knowledge of future events gives his words additional significance.
• Chang’e/Heng’e: She becomes visibly happy and emotionally comfortable around Jiang Ming. Though she maintains a proud, indifferent exterior, her affection and dependence on his companionship deepen.
• Houtu: Her presence reinforces her dignity and strength, while her association with Jiang Ming’s cooking adds humor to her otherwise imposing image.
• Xuanming: Normally silent and aloof, she speaks to defend or praise Jiang Ming, suggesting that she respects him and is more observant than she usually reveals.
• The Human Race: Its members remain focused on survival and revival. They see the possible relationship between Chang’e and Hou Yi as a way to secure future protection and perhaps produce powerful descendants.
• The Golden Crow princes: Their overwhelming strength and willingness to unleash destructive power establish them as dangerous, reckless figures, even before their future catastrophe.

Significant Themes

• Affection hidden beneath pride: Chang’e’s tsundere behavior contrasts with her genuine delight in Jiang Ming’s attention.
• Hope for the Human Race: The Human Race’s interest in Chang’e and Hou Yi’s potential relationship reflects its long-term hopes for reproduction, protection, and eventual resurgence.
• The contrast between violence and domestic warmth: While the battlefield is filled with brutal combat, Jiang Ming creates a temporary space of food, stories, and emotional comfort.
• Foreshadowing and fate: The Golden Crow formation directly anticipates the future Ten Suns catastrophe and Hou Yi’s legendary act of shooting down nine suns.
• Power and responsibility: The chapter questions whether beings with immense strength can restrain themselves and emphasizes the dangers of violating cosmic order and karmic law.
• Loneliness and companionship: Chang’e’s isolation in the Lunar Palace makes Jiang Ming’s presence especially meaningful, showing how companionship can be as valuable as power.

Important Character Interactions

• Jiang Ming and Chang’e: Their playful, affectionate exchange over pancakes develops into a deeper emotional bond through Jiang Ming’s stories and personal attention.
• Jiang Ming and the Human Race: His cooking strengthens his connection with the Human cultivators, who view him as both a powerful ally and a potential source of hope for their people.
• Xuanming and Jiang Ming: Xuanming’s rare verbal approval marks Jiang Ming as someone worthy of notice even among the Ancestral Witches.
• Jiang Ming and the Golden Crows: Although he does not confront them directly, Jiang Ming interprets their actions and subtly warns Chang’e about the danger they represent.
• Chang’e and the surrounding group: Her companions quietly support her relationship with Jiang Ming by withdrawing and giving them privacy, hoping their closeness will benefit both the Human and Witch races.

Jiang Ming hid underground to make wife cakes for Heng'e while the ten Golden Crow Emperor's Sons overwhelmed the contestants in the Mountains and Rivers State-Society Map. The chapter left the Golden Crow Emperor's Sons dominating the contest as Jiang Ming flirted with Heng'e and used their power to bake.

• The ten Golden Crow Emperor's Sons used the Ten Directions Heavenly Suns Formation to eliminate most contestants, leaving fewer than a thousand survivors.
• Kua Fu and Xingtian discussed how difficult it was to challenge the Golden Crow Emperor's Sons' formation and wondered where Hou Yi had gone.
• Jiang Ming baked wife cakes for Heng'e and explained their name, making her blush as she tried to deny that she had eaten many.
• The spectators discovered Jiang Ming was hiding underground and powering his oven with energy drawn from the Golden Crow Emperor's Sons.

Jiang Ming joined forces with Kua Fu and Xingtian to break the Ten Directions Heavenly Suns Formation and win the Heavenly Strife Competition, then claimed a branch of the Innate Fusang Divine Tree. Heng'e returned to the Heavenly Court but secretly watched Jiang Ming from the moon, unaware that a red thread of fate now bound her to him.

• Zhurong grew furious at Jiang Ming, while Di Jun praised him without knowing that Jiang Ming had been eating with his daughter Heng'e.
• Jiang Ming promised Heng'e he would defeat the ten Golden Crow Emperor's Sons and bet that she would make him a new kind of cake if he succeeded.
• Jiang Ming planned with Kua Fu and Xingtian, sending Kua Fu and Xingtian to attack together while he supported them with arrows.
• Xingtian rode Kua Fu to break open the formation, allowing Jiang Ming to eliminate four Golden Crow Emperor's Sons as Kua Fu and Xingtian defeated the rest.
• Jiang Ming won the competition and requested a branch of the Innate Fusang Divine Tree to make a Hou Yi Bow.
• Heng'e returned to the Heavenly Court and secretly watched Jiang Ming from the moon, while a red thread of fate appeared around her ankle and stretched toward him.

Jiang Ming spent five years wooing Heng'e with poems and music until she left the Lunar Palace and came to him, and they began living together. Over the following year, they grew closer as Jiang Ming helped Heng'e refine a moon-white immortal skirt.

• Jiang Ming painted Chang'e's portrait and wrote a poem that delighted Heng'e as she watched him from the Lunar Palace.
• Jiang Ming invented a dongxiao and played Lone Star Soliloquy, earning Merit that he infused into his bow and flute while Heng'e listened through the Bright Moon Water Mirror.
• Five years later, Jiang Ming entered the grand witch realm and played Melancholy Longing for You, moving Heng'e to descend from the Lunar Palace and embrace him.
• Heng'e settled with Jiang Ming, and they spent the next year together as he taught her to play the qin and Xiao duet Roaming Heaven and Earth.
• Jiang Ming gave Heng'e the Merit Power he earned and helped refine her clothes into a moon-white Wide-Sleeved Immortal Skirt, which she celebrated by kissing his cheek.