Chapter Summaries

Lin Tian treated Bai Jingjing to an extravagant meal, offered her a post in Spirit Vine City, and took her east toward Zhen Yuanzi’s Five Villages Temple. Meanwhile, Tang Monk’s pilgrimage party arrived at the temple, where Sun Wukong mocked its boastful couplet.

• Lin Tian spent forty million Spirit Stones at the Ninefold Heavenly Tower and offered Bai Jingjing an official post in Spirit Vine City.
• Lin Tian and Bai Jingjing flew east toward Five Villages Temple so he could visit Zhen Yuanzi and see whether he would spare the Buddhist Sect.
• Tang Monk, Sun Wukong, and Zhu Bajie reached the Five Villages Temple and met Zhen Yuanzi at the gate.
• Sun Wukong read the temple’s couplet and laughed at its claims of ageless life, leaving Qingfeng and Mingyue bewildered.

Sun Wukong mocked Zhen Yuanzi and dismissed his account of Yuqing Heaven, while Lin Tian joined Zhen Yuanzi in laughing at the monkey’s ignorance. At the Five Villages Temple, Sun Wukong also ridiculed Qingfeng’s explanation of why Zhen Yuanzi worshipped Heaven and Earth.

• Sun Wukong rudely challenged Zhen Yuanzi and bragged about being the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
• Zhen Yuanzi recalled rumors that powerful beings planned to intercept Tang Monk’s group and seize the Great Dao Laws.
• Lin Tian arrived at the Five Villages Temple, and Zhen Yuanzi welcomed him inside for a drink.
• Sun Wukong mocked Zhen Yuanzi for mentioning Yuqing Heaven, and Lin Tian and Zhen Yuanzi laughed at his misunderstanding.
• Tang Monk asked why Zhen Yuanzi enshrined Heaven and Earth, and Qingfeng explained that the Three Pure Ones and other powers were his master’s peers and acquaintances.
• Sun Wukong laughed at Qingfeng’s explanation and called the priests boastful, leaving Qingfeng and Bright Moon baffled.

Lin Tian hosted Zhen Yuanzi with wine made from ginseng fruit while Zhu Bajie and the others watched Sun Wukong expose his ignorance. Zhen Yuanzi’s attempt to discuss the Dao with Lin Tian was derailed by Sun Wukong’s questions, leaving Zhu Bajie amused and anticipating more trouble.

• Zhu Bajie left the hall to laugh at Sun Wukong after the monkey called Zhen Yuanzi an idiot.
• Lin Tian served Zhen Yuanzi ginseng fruit wine and explained how his bulk purchases had helped drive up the fruit’s price.
• Zhen Yuanzi praised Lin Tian’s understanding of the Heavenly Dao and invited him to discuss the Dao, but Sun Wukong interrupted to ask to join.
• Zhu Bajie repeatedly stepped outside to laugh as Sun Wukong bragged about discussing the Dao with various immortals.
• Sun Wukong asked Zhen Yuanzi which sect he belonged to, leaving Zhen Yuanzi frozen and Zhu Bajie silently anticipating an ordeal.

Lin Tian urged Zhen Yuanzi to stop hesitating and contend for the Dao, prompting the Great Immortal to gain a new insight. Sun Wukong then earnestly tried to recruit Zhen Yuanzi into Buddhism before asking whether Tathagata was the strongest in the Three Realms.

• Zhu Bajie fled the hall laughing after Sun Wukong wondered why his stomach kept hurting.
• Lin Tian told Zhen Yuanzi that refusing to contend had caused Red Cloud and other powerful beings to fall.
• Zhen Yuanzi thanked Lin Tian for awakening him and appeared to make up his mind to contend.
• Sun Wukong urged Zhen Yuanzi to join Buddhism, but Zhen Yuanzi declined.
• Sun Wukong asked Zhen Yuanzi whether Tathagata was the greatest expert in the Three Realms.

Lin Tian persuaded Zhen Yuanzi to let him set up Sun Wukong after the monkey mocked Zhen Yuanzi’s claims about Tathagata. Lin Tian arranged for ginseng fruits to be sent to Tang Monk and predicted that Sun Wukong would steal them, but Zhen Yuanzi panicked at the thought of his treasured fruit tree being damaged.

• Zhen Yuanzi explained that Tathagata was stronger than him, while Sun Wukong dismissed his claims as boasting.
• After Tang Monk and his disciples left, Lin Tian urged Zhen Yuanzi to seize the chance to attain the Dao of primordial unity and offered to handle the plan.
• Lin Tian ordered Qingfeng and Mingyue to take two ginseng fruits to Tang Monk and make sure Zhu Bajie overheard details about the fruits and how they were picked.
• Lin Tian predicted that Sun Wukong would steal the ginseng fruits and might knock down the tree, alarming Zhen Yuanzi.

Lin Tian and Zhen Yuanzi arranged to use the Ginseng Fruit Tree and Three Lights Divine Water to force the Buddhist Sect into costly compensation. Meanwhile, Zhu Bajie tricked Sun Wukong into stealing ginseng fruits, and Sun Wukong headed to the Great Hall as Lin Tian and Zhen Yuanzi pretended not to notice him.

• Lin Tian gave Zhen Yuanzi a gourd of Three Lights Divine Water and proposed using it to demand compensation from the Buddhist Sect.
• Qingfeng and Mingyue carried ginseng fruits toward the Main Hall, and Zhu Bajie overheard them discussing the fruit and its protective rules.
• Zhu Bajie told Sun Wukong about the ginseng fruits and suggested that he steal some.
• Sun Wukong transformed into a fly and watched Qingfeng and Mingyue eat fruits after Tang Monk refused them.
• Sun Wukong flew to the Great Hall, where Lin Tian ate ginseng fruit while Zhen Yuanzi acted as though he had not noticed the intruder.

Angered that Zhen Yuanzi withheld Ginseng Fruit from him, Sun Wukong stole and ate the remaining fruits, then toppled the tree and attacked Zhen Yuanzi. Zhen Yuanzi captured him with Universe in the Sleeve, and Sun Wukong was swallowed again after failing to outrun it, while Tathagata asked Guanyin where Wukong had gone.

• Sun Wukong secretly took the Golden Striker, knocked down all twenty-six Ginseng Fruits, and threw two at Qingfeng and Mingyue when they confronted him.
• Sun Wukong battered the Ginseng Fruit Tree with the Golden Cudgel and pushed it over, drawing Zhen Yuanzi, Lin Tian, Tang Monk, Zhu Bajie, and Sandy to the courtyard.
• Lin Tian questioned Tang Monk about theft and a host's right to withhold his belongings, and Tang Monk ordered Sun Wukong to apologize to Zhen Yuanzi.
• Sun Wukong attacked Zhen Yuanzi after he called him Protector of the Imperial Horses, and Zhen Yuanzi trapped him with Universe in the Sleeve.
• Zhen Yuanzi let Sun Wukong attempt ten somersaults westward, but his sleeve caught up and swallowed him again as Tathagata asked Guanyin where Wukong had gone.

Sun Wukong’s destruction of the Ginseng Fruit Tree brought Zhen Yuanzi, Tathagata, and Guanyin into a dispute over compensation. As Lin Tian pushed for Buddhism to surrender its great Dao laws, Sun Wukong blamed Zhu Bajie for telling him about the Ginseng Fruits.

• Zhen Yuanzi captured Sun Wukong, then released him and demanded that Tang Monk answer for his disciple’s destruction of the Ginseng Fruit Tree.
• Tang Monk punished Sun Wukong with the Tight-Fillet Spell, while Zhen Yuanzi insisted that the stolen fruits and ruined tree still required compensation.
• Tathagata and Guanyin arrived, and Tathagata acknowledged that Sun Wukong was at fault and Zhen Yuanzi’s demands were fair.
• Lin Tian proposed that Buddhism surrender its great Dao laws if it could not compensate Zhen Yuanzi, who agreed to the bargain.
• Guanyin asked whether Lin Tian had provoked Sun Wukong, but Sun Wukong blamed Zhu Bajie for telling him about the Ginseng Fruits.

Lin Tian pressed Tathagata and the Buddhist Sect to compensate Zhen Yuanzi for the Ginseng Fruit Tree, which Zhen Yuanzi revived with Three Lights Divine Water. Tathagata balked at Lin Tian’s demand for ten billion Spirit Stones, and Lin Tian proposed Great Dao Laws or a Top-Grade Spirit Treasure instead.

• Tathagata attacked Lin Tian, but Zhen Yuanzi blocked his follow-up strike and demanded that the Buddhist Sect revive his tree and compensate him for its fruit.
• Guanyin warned that using her Three Lights Divine Water on the Ginseng Fruit Tree might fail, so Zhen Yuanzi offered his own gourd as a test.
• Zhen Yuanzi poured the gourd of Three Lights Divine Water onto the tree’s roots, restoring the Ginseng Fruit Tree to its finest condition.
• Tathagata refused to use Guanyin’s remaining bottle as compensation and asked Zhen Yuanzi to name a price.
• Lin Tian valued the lost Three Lights Divine Water at ten billion Spirit Stones, then suggested that Buddhism pay with Great Dao Laws or a Top-Grade Spirit Treasure.

Lin Tian and Zhen Yuanzi forced Tathagata and Guanyin to settle Buddhism’s debt for ten billion Spirit Stones, with half paid immediately and half due in five hundred years. After Buddhism resumed the journey west, Zhen Yuanzi warned Lin Tian that obstructing the Heavenly Dao’s ordained pilgrimage could turn the Three Realms against him.

• Lin Tian pressed Tathagata and Guanyin to compensate Zhen Yuanzi with ten billion Spirit Stones, and Zhen Yuanzi agreed to accept five billion immediately and the rest in five hundred years.
• Tathagata and Guanyin ordered the Tang Monk to discipline Wukong, then returned to Spirit Mountain as the Tang Monk and his three disciples continued west.
• Lin Tian told Zhen Yuanzi that Buddhism was the only major power in the Three Realms without ties to Spirit Vine City.
• Tathagata ordered Ananda and Kashyapa to deliver Buddhism’s five billion Spirit Stones to Zhen Yuanzi and warned Guanyin to watch for further traps along the route.
• Zhen Yuanzi explained that the journey west was ordained by the Heavenly Dao and warned Lin Tian that obstructing it could bring the Three Realms against him.

Lin Tian explained that he would let the Buddhist Sect’s Journey to the West succeed while using its trials to bury it in Spirit Stone debt. After Ananda and Kashyapa paid five billion Spirit Stones and promised another five billion, Lin Tian gave the first payment to Zhen Yuanzi, leaving the Buddhist Sect owing him in five hundred years.

• Lin Tian told Zhen Yuanzi that his conflict with Buddhism was unavoidable, so he would create trials and make the Buddhist Sect pay to resolve them.
• Lin Tian revealed his plan to saddle the Buddhist Sect with debt and mortgage away ten thousand years of its hopes.
• Ananda and Kashyapa handed Lin Tian five billion Spirit Stones, promised five billion more in five hundred years, and took the Three Lights Divine Water deal.
• Lin Tian gave the five billion Spirit Stones to Zhen Yuanzi as payment for their cooperation and for his losses and risks.
• Zhen Yuanzi accepted the arrangement, pleased that his Ginseng Fruit Tree had been restored and that he would receive another five billion Spirit Stones.

Lin Tian visited Bai Jingjing after earning ten billion Spirit Stones, ordered her to serve him, and shared costly Ginseng Fruit Wine with her. As he settled in at her cave, Bai Jingjing recounted how she had once been a Heavenly Court official before dying and eventually becoming a demon.

• Bai Jingjing reflected on her visit to Cloud City and how Lin Tian’s wealth and attention had left her flustered.
• Lin Tian arrived at Bai Jingjing’s cave, demanded that she massage him, and announced he would stay for a while.
• Lin Tian told Bai Jingjing he had earned ten billion Spirit Stones and poured them both Ginseng Fruit Wine.
• Lin Tian asked Bai Jingjing about her past, and she explained that she had been a Heavenly Court female official who died after defeating the White Tiger Spirit and later took form again as a demon.

Lin Tian stayed with Bai Jingjing, destroyed her old Twin Swords, and gave her a Dragon-Slaying Sword before warning her that Tang Monk’s flesh could not grant immortality. He arranged for her to feed Tang Monk real food, and the chapter ended as she met Tang Monk and Zhu Bajie on White Tiger Mountain.

• Lin Tian learned that Bai Jingjing was a new consciousness born from white bones and stayed in her bedchamber while she served him.
• Lin Tian burned Bai Jingjing’s Twin Swords with Six-Taste True Fire and gave her a Dragon-Slaying Sword, then proposed she become his personal maid.
• Lin Tian told Bai Jingjing that eating Tang Monk’s flesh would not grant eternal life and ordered her to offer him real food when he arrived.
• Bai Jingjing brought rice and vegetables to Tang Monk on White Tiger Mountain after Sun Wukong left to beg for food.
• Tang Monk stepped out of Sun Wukong’s protective circle to accept Bai Jingjing’s meal, while Zhu Bajie stared at her lustfully.

Sun Wukong attacked Bai Jingjing after accusing her of eating people, but Shang Yang rescued her and took Tang Monk to White Bone Cave. When Guanyin attacked Lin Tian, Shang Yang confronted her and demanded an explanation for the Buddhist Sect’s scheme.

• Sun Wukong fought and gravely wounded Bai Jingjing, refusing to believe her claim that she had not eaten anyone.
• Lin Tian urged Shang Yang to intervene and use the incident to demand compensation from the Buddhist Sect.
• Shang Yang knocked Sun Wukong aside, seized Tang Monk, and brought him and Bai Jingjing to White Bone Cave.
• Lin Tian healed Bai Jingjing and advised Shang Yang to demand Spirit Stones when the Buddhist Sect came for Tang Monk.
• Guanyin attacked Lin Tian, and Shang Yang stepped between them and challenged Guanyin over the monkey’s attack on Bai Jingjing.

Lin Tian challenged Sun Wukong for condemning demons despite once eating humans, and pressed Guanyin to answer for his attacks on the Demon Race. Guanyin admitted Wukong was wrong, but Lin Tian accused the Buddhist Sect of threatening his family’s territory and left the confrontation unresolved.

• Lin Tian taunted Guanyin and confronted Sun Wukong after Wukong identified Shang Yang as the demon who had abducted his master.
• Lin Tian reminded Sun Wukong that he had once eaten humans and condemned him for treating demon-slaying as righteousness after joining the Buddhist Sect.
• Shang Yang praised Lin Tian’s argument, and Lin Tian challenged Guanyin to say whether the Buddhist Sect considered the Demon Race evil.
• Guanyin said that demons eating humans and humans hunting demons were both natural, then conceded that Sun Wukong was wrong to attack demons indiscriminately.
• Lin Tian accused Sun Wukong of killing demons at Black Wind Mountain and Bai Jingjing, then warned Guanyin that the Journey to the West threatened the Bull Devil King’s territory.

Shang Yang and Guanyin clashed over the Demon Race’s reputation, compensation, and a stolen treasure while Lin Tian challenged Sun Wukong. Lin Tian burned Sun Wukong with Sixth-Grade True Fire, and Guanyin’s rescue left her open to Shang Yang’s attack, sending the injured Bodhisattva flying.

• Shang Yang decided Lin Tian could become the Demon Race’s future hero and Emperor, while Guanyin grew suspicious that Lin Tian knew about Buddhist schemes framing the Demon Race and Jiejiao.
• Shang Yang demanded spirit stones and the return of the stolen treasure, then challenged Guanyin to defeat him before taking Tang Monk away.
• Shang Yang and Guanyin began fighting, and Lin Tian taunted Sun Wukong into a duel, claiming the title of Great King Holy Infant.
• Sun Wukong attacked Lin Tian fiercely, but Lin Tian used Sixth-Grade True Fire to burn him and leave him screaming in pain.
• Guanyin extinguished the flames with Three Lights Divine Water, allowing Shang Yang to strike her while she was distracted and make her cough blood.

Lin Tian demanded one hundred million Spirit Stones from Guanyin for Bai Jingjing’s injuries and other claimed damages, then used a profitable sale and his extravagant Ginseng Fruit Wine to justify the sum. Guanyin remained furious but faced pressure to pay rather than summon the Buddha again.

• Lin Tian listed one hundred million Spirit Stones in medical, emotional distress, nursing, consolation, lost-wage, and death-compensation fees for Bai Jingjing and two demons.
• Lin Tian sold Bai Jingjing a Supreme Spirit Stone containing Life Law essence blood for one hundred million Spirit Stones, and she resold it to Shang Yang for one hundred and ten million.
• Bai Jingjing repaid Lin Tian’s one hundred-million debt and kept ten million Spirit Stones as profit.
• Lin Tian showed Guanyin his Ginseng Fruit Wine and claimed that one pot was worth one hundred million Spirit Stones.
• Guanyin weighed whether to pay Lin Tian or summon the Buddha again, resenting the leverage he held over her.

Lin Tian, Shang Yang, and Bai Jingjing left White Bone Cave after Guanyin paid a hundred million Spirit Stones for the Tang Monk’s release. Guanyin restored Sun Wukong’s resolve to continue west, while Lin Tian and Shang Yang headed toward Spirit Vine City with their spoils.

• Guanyin paid Lin Tian a hundred million Spirit Stones, and Shang Yang told her the Tang Monk was inside the cave; Lin Tian then took Bai Jingjing with him toward Spirit Vine City.
• After Lin Tian and his companions left, Sun Wukong wept over his defeat, and Guanyin comforted him and warned that many hidden experts were beyond his power.
• Guanyin explained that Lin Tian was backed by powerful beings and urged Sun Wukong to stop underestimating others; Sun Wukong agreed and went to rescue the Tang Monk.
• Guanyin left after Sun Wukong regained his fighting spirit, while she lamented that the Buddhist Sect had lost most of its savings to Lin Tian.
• Lin Tian and Shang Yang discussed their latest gains and the Buddhist Sect’s debt as they flew with Bai Jingjing; Shang Yang playfully tucked Lin Tian under her arm.

Lin Tian told Shang Yang that Cihang had arranged for a carp demon to eat people at Heavenly Passage River, then proposed using the incident to extort money and ruin Cihang’s reputation. He also warned Shang Yang that the Lion-Camel Kingdom’s demon rulers and the conflict between humans and demons might be part of a larger threat, leaving her to consider Lin Tian’s suspicions about Xuan Yuan.

• Lin Tian and Shang Yang discussed the Demon Race’s decline and agreed that demons were being treated as targets for extermination.
• Lin Tian revealed that Cihang had sent a carp demon to eat people at Heavenly Passage River, and Shang Yang was surprised by the accusation.
• Lin Tian proposed publicizing Cihang’s responsibility to damage his reputation and force him to pay, using Great Sage Bai Ze’s trip to Chechi Kingdom as an opportunity.
• Lin Tian told Shang Yang that Great Peng and two mounts of Wenshu and Puxian had made Lion-Camel Kingdom a demon stronghold where mortals had been slaughtered.
• Lin Tian warned Shang Yang that Xuan Yuan might exploit the Buddhist Sect’s actions to build support for eradicating the Demon Race, and Shang Yang fell into thought.

Lin Tian explained the Three Realms’ power struggles to Shang Yang and argued that the Demon Race had to act before its reputation collapsed after the Journey to the West. Back in Spirit Vine City, rumors spread about Lin Tian’s role in the Buddhist Sect’s losses, while the Saints remained unable to discover that Wutian had taken the Great Dao Laws.

• Lin Tian analyzed the political interests of Shen Nong, Xihe, and the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, impressing Shang Yang with his judgment.
• Lin Tian warned that the Demon Race had to intervene in the affairs of Lion-Camel Kingdom and Lion-Camel Ridge, and Shang Yang promised to help him become the next Demon Emperor.
• Lin Tian and Shang Yang returned to Spirit Vine City as the Tang Monk’s group continued toward Treasure Elephant Kingdom without Sun Wukong being banished.
• People in Spirit Vine City discussed Lin Tian’s suspected role in the Five Villages Temple incident and the Buddhist Sect’s ten-billion compensation.
• The Saints discussed the events of the Journey to the West but could not divine that Wutian had taken the Great Dao Laws, while Lin Tian knew of Wutian’s hidden existence.