Chapter Summaries

Laozi and Primordial Heavenly Venerable discussed Lin Tian’s influence, the mysterious man in black, and the uncertainty surrounding the Journey to the West. Jieyin and Zhunti also failed to uncover the man in black’s identity, leaving Buddhism unable to resolve the mystery.

• Laozi urged Primordial Heavenly Venerable not to oppose Lin Tian, arguing that Spirit Vine City’s interests protected Lin Tian and that the Daoist School was safer with him thriving.
• Laozi said neither he nor Primordial Heavenly Venerable could divine the man in black’s origins, though the man possessed a complete strand of Great Dao Laws.
• Laozi revealed that Lin Tian had erased several earth gods’ memories after hearing from Black Bear Monster, but neither Saint knew why.
• Laozi and Primordial Heavenly Venerable concluded that the Journey to the West had become unpredictable and would draw other Purple Heaven Guests into scheming.
• Primordial Heavenly Venerable suspected Laozi had known more about Lin Tian from the beginning, while Laozi insisted that he acted for the survival of the Three Realms.
• Jieyin and Zhunti spat blood after failing to discover the identity of the man in black.

Jieyin and Zhunti blamed Lin Tian for disrupting the Journey to the West, while Nuwa and Fuxi placed their hopes in his schemes to revive the Demon Race. As the pilgrims reached the Treasure Elephant Kingdom, Holy Mother Wudang met Kui Wood Wolf and revealed her hatred of Duobao.

• Jieyin and Zhunti suspected Laozi was backing Lin Tian and hoped Tathagata could overcome the Journey to the West’s growing dangers.
• Nuwa and Fuxi agreed that Lin Tian’s rise could help restore the Demon Race, while Fuxi lamented the growing divide among the Human Sovereigns.
• Several months later, the four pilgrims reached the Treasure Elephant Kingdom as Kui Wood Wolf spoke with Holy Mother Wudang in Wave Moon Cave.
• Holy Mother Wudang told Kui Wood Wolf that Jiejiao had fallen into ruin and accused Duobao of betraying their sect and arranging attempts on her life.

Holy Mother Wudang met Kui Wood Wolf in the Treasure Elephant Kingdom and learned that the Jade Emperor had tasked him with arranging a tribulation for the Tang Monk. Lin Tian arrived and offered to help her plan revenge for Jiejiao.

• Holy Mother Wudang declared that she intended to stop the travelers and take revenge for Jiejiao.
• Kui Wood Wolf explained that he had fallen in love with Baihuaxiu, whose past life had been a maid in the Fragrant Hall, and that he had settled with her after finding her reincarnation.
• Holy Mother Wudang sympathized with Kui Wood Wolf and reflected on Jiejiao's losses and her hope of restoring the sect.
• Kui Wood Wolf told Holy Mother Wudang that the Jade Emperor had ordered him to capture the Tang Monk and expected Baihuaxiu to release him and send for Sun Wukong.
• Lin Tian entered, teased Holy Mother Wudang for making plans without him, and offered to help her take revenge.

Lin Tian persuaded Holy Mother Wudang and Kui Wood Wolf to exploit the Buddhist Sect’s Journey to the West tribulations for compensation, then returned to Spirit Vine City to prepare a major auction. He left the Three Realms anticipating the auction, while pursuing wealth as a path to attaining the Dao.

• Lin Tian proposed letting Sun Wukong rescue Baihuaxiu and Kui Wood Wolf’s children, then having Holy Mother Wudang capture Tang Monk and use the resulting conflict to demand compensation from Buddhism.
• Holy Mother Wudang and Kui Wood Wolf agreed to Lin Tian’s scheme, and Holy Mother Wudang accepted his demand to split any proceeds with him.
• Lin Tian considered attaining the Dao through wealth and reflected on his ties to Jiejiao and the Demon Race.
• Lin Tian returned to Spirit Vine City as the auction approached and advertised treasures including fragments of the Great Dao Laws, Gods’ and Devils’ remains, and a Tree of Life seed.
• Lin Tian’s auction house began accepting consignments for a one-tenth commission, drawing treasure holders to Spirit Vine City as he promoted the upcoming event.

Sun Wukong and the pilgrims delivered Princess Baihuaxiu’s letter to the Treasure Elephant Kingdom, then he and Zhu Bajie rescued her from Wave Moon Cave. Baihuaxiu returned with her two children by Kui Wood Wolf and pleaded with her father to spare them.

• A human woman in Black Pine Forest told Tang Monk that a demon had abducted her ten years earlier and gave him a letter and tokens for the Treasure Elephant Kingdom’s king.
• Tang Monk and his disciples met the king, who mourned Princess Baihuaxiu’s disappearance, and Sun Wukong volunteered to rescue her.
• Sun Wukong took Zhu Bajie to Wave Moon Cave while Kui Wood Wolf was away, killed the lesser demons, and found Baihuaxiu.
• Sun Wukong agreed to spare Kui Wood Wolf’s two children after Baihuaxiu said they were hers, then brought them all back to the kingdom.
• Baihuaxiu reunited with her father, who objected to keeping her children, and she insisted that he not kill them.

Sun Wukong fought Kui Wood Wolf after the demon returned to the Treasure Elephant Kingdom, but needed Zhu Bajie and Sandy to help drive him off. As the monks pursued Kui Wood Wolf, Holy Mother Wudang appeared and moved to protect him.

• Sun Wukong had Baihuaxiu’s children tied outside the palace to lure Kui Wood Wolf back, while Baihuaxiu regretted bringing danger upon them.
• Kui Wood Wolf returned, found his children bound, and charged into the palace to confront Sun Wukong.
• Sun Wukong and Kui Wood Wolf fought evenly, and Kui Wood Wolf saw through Sun Wukong’s transformations with Sight Through Walls.
• Zhu Bajie and Sandy joined the fight, and their combined attacks forced Kui Wood Wolf to flee.
• Holy Mother Wudang appeared and stood between Kui Wood Wolf and the pursuing monks after he begged her to save him and his children.

Holy Mother Wudang defeated Sun Wukong and helped Kui Wood Wolf reunite with Baihuaxiu and their children, while Kui Wood Wolf captured the Tang Monk. After Zhu Bajie and Sandy rescued Sun Wukong, he broke down in despair over his failure to protect his master.

• Holy Mother Wudang wrapped Sun Wukong in her fly-whisk and hurled him into the ground, then freed Kui Wood Wolf’s family at the Treasure Elephant Kingdom’s palace.
• Kui Wood Wolf took Baihuaxiu and their children and carried the Tang Monk away, while Holy Mother Wudang repelled Sun Wukong again and sent him crashing into a mountain.
• Zhu Bajie and Sandy found Sun Wukong embedded in the mountain, pulled him free, and revived him in a river.
• When Sandy told Sun Wukong that the Tang Monk had been captured, Sun Wukong cried, rejected the title Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and sank into despair.
• Zhu Bajie worried that Sun Wukong’s despair could derail the Journey to the West and considered how to restore his confidence.

Zhu Bajie restored Sun Wukong’s confidence after he lost to the Daoist woman, and Sun Wukong returned to seek help rescuing Tang Monk. At Mount Luojia, Sun Wukong told Guanyin about the woman’s strength, leaving her alarmed by what he revealed.

• Zhu Bajie explained that the Daoist woman was nearly as powerful as Guanyin and encouraged Sun Wukong to keep trying to rescue Tang Monk.
• Sun Wukong returned to the Treasure Elephant Kingdom, where the king said Kui Wood Wolf had taken Tang Monk and his daughter, but objected to subduing the demon because the couple had children.
• At Moonwave Cave, Kui Wood Wolf accused Tang Monk of allowing Sun Wukong to slaughter his household, while Baihuaxiu explained that she had only wanted to send a letter to her father.
• Sun Wukong went to Mount Luojia and told Guanyin that a Daoist woman had defeated him and that her senior sister had once fought Guanyin, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra.
• Guanyin asked Sun Wukong to describe the Daoist woman and was left facing his account of her senior sister’s power.

Guanyin and Sun Wukong confronted Holy Mother Wudang and Kui Wood Wolf over the capture of Tang Monk, but Lin Tian turned the dispute into a demand for Buddhist accountability. He threatened to use Spirit Vine City’s trade power against Buddhism, leaving Guanyin shaken and considering how to respond.

• Guanyin joined Sun Wukong at White Tiger Mountain and learned that Holy Mother Wudang had captured Tang Monk after Sun Wukong killed Kui Wood Wolf’s household.
• Guanyin dismissed the deaths of Kui Wood Wolf’s lesser demons and accused him of descending to the mortal world without permission.
• Lin Tian arrived, invoked his appointment as future Demon Emperor by Lady Nuwa, and demanded that Guanyin apologize and hand over the killer.
• Lin Tian threatened to sanction Buddhist trade through Spirit Vine City, arguing that Buddhism depended on the city for supplies and pills.
• Guanyin considered consulting the Buddha, while Lin Tian demanded she choose between apologizing and a total war between the Demon Race and Buddhism.

Lin Tian issued a declaration of war against Buddhism, using the Demon Race’s grievances and the Demon-Summoning Banner to assert his authority. Guanyin took the ultimatum to Spirit Mountain while Tang Monk resumed his westward journey, and Holy Mother Wudang asked Lin Tian whether he truly meant to fight.

• Lin Tian persuaded the Four Great Demon Saints to support his plan, and Bai Ze obtained the Demon-Summoning Banner for him.
• Lin Tian gave Guanyin a declaration demanding an apology, Sun Wukong’s surrender, compensation, and the return of the Demon Race’s treasures within twenty hours.
• Lin Tian revealed the Demon-Summoning Banner and declared that it gave him the authority to represent the Demon Race.
• Kui Wood Wolf released Tang Monk, and Sun Wukong escorted him west after Guanyin told him to stay out of the conflict.
• Guanyin went to Spirit Mountain to consult the Buddha, and Holy Mother Wudang asked Lin Tian whether he truly intended to wage war.

Lin Tian and Holy Mother Wudang agreed to prepare a war against the Buddhist Sect, while she took Kui Wood Wolf’s children as disciples. In the Great Hero Hall, Tathagata resolved to stop Spirit Vine City after seeing the Buddhist Sect’s empty coffers and the failure of its own Buddha City.

• Lin Tian told Holy Mother Wudang that the Demon Race would fight the Buddhist Sect and explained that allies and rival factions’ interests would keep the other major powers from intervening.
• Holy Mother Wudang joined Lin Tian’s plan and agreed to return to Spirit Vine City to prepare for war against Duobao and the Buddhist Sect.
• Kui Wood Wolf entrusted Li Shan and Li Yue to Holy Mother Wudang, who accepted them as her disciples.
• Tathagata learned from Ananda and Kashyapa that the Buddhist Sect’s ten-billion-Spirit-Stone compensation had emptied its coffers and that Buddha City was deserted.
• After comparing Buddha City’s failure with Spirit Vine City’s prosperity, Tathagata decided the Buddhist Sect could not allow Lin Tian’s influence to continue.

Tathagata convened Buddhism’s leaders to decide how to respond to Spirit Vine City’s growing power and Lin Tian’s declaration of war. After learning that Nuwa had given Lin Tian the Demon-Summoning Banner, Lu Ya angrily challenged his claim to the Demon Emperor title, then fell silent when reminded he had betrayed the Demon Race.

• Guanyin brought Tathagata Lin Tian’s declaration of war and reported the events in the Treasure Elephant Kingdom, including Nuwa giving Lin Tian the Demon-Summoning Banner.
• Tathagata called Buddhism’s highest decision-makers together and warned that Spirit Vine City’s growth threatened Buddhism while the sect struggled with depleted resources and internal unrest.
• Tathagata presented the declaration to the assembled Buddhas, who were stunned by its terms and Lin Tian’s claim to represent the Demon Race.
• Lu Ya erupted over Lin Tian calling himself the future Demon Emperor, but Tathagata explained that Nuwa had appointed him and given him the Demon-Summoning Banner.
• Lu Ya protested that he was the Demon Race’s rightful prince, then sat down in resignation when he remembered that he had betrayed the Demon Race and joined Buddhism.

Tathagata revealed that he and Human Sovereign Xuan Yuan had worked to inflame human-demon hatred, prompting Nuwa to support Lin Tian and Spirit Vine. Buddhism and the Demon Race exchanged formal declarations of war, and both sides prepared for battle ten days later.

• Tathagata told the Buddhas that he had helped Xuan Yuan turn the Human Race against demons to secure Buddhism’s rise and support the demons’ destruction.
• Tathagata recognized that Lin Tian’s rules for warfare could contain the conflict and ordered Buddhism to use the same terms in its declaration.
• The Buddhas discussed the Demon Race’s likely allies and strength, while Lu Ya offered to reveal his identity as a Demon Emperor to rally the demons.
• Ananda and Kashyapa delivered Buddhism’s declaration of war to Spirit Vine City, and both sides expelled the other’s people ahead of battle in ten days.
• The declarations spread throughout the Three Realms, astonishing those who had never seen war conducted under formal rules.

Lin Tian transmuted five hundred billion Spirit Stones into spiritual energy, restoring the Three Realms and earning a vast torrent of merit. His cultivation rose to the peak of the Great Encompassing Golden Immortal realm, and the Four Great Demon Saints began transmuting their own wealth.

• Lin Tian gathered five hundred billion Spirit Stones and asked the Four Great Demon Saints to help transmute them into spiritual energy.
• Lin Tian and the Four Great Demon Saints spent three days releasing the stones' energy, which flowed across the Three Realms and restored its spiritual energy.
• Lin Tian declared that he would return his future earnings to heaven and earth, and the Heavenly Dao sent down a vast torrent of merit.
• Lin Tian absorbed the merit and rose to the peak of the Great Encompassing Golden Immortal realm, while the Demon-Summoning Banner, Black Origin Water-Control Banner, and Banana Leaf Fan became Top-Grade Merit Spirit Treasures.
• Minghe resolved to open brothels throughout the Three Realms, and the Four Great Demon Saints brought out one hundred billion Spirit Stones each to transmute.

As spiritual energy surged across the Three Realms, Lin Tian and the Four Great Demon Saints earned merit by restoring it, and the Four Saints advanced to Quasi-Saints who had slain two corpses. Lin Tian then explained the Demon Race’s persecution and declared all-out war against the Buddhist Sect.

• The Jade Emperor and Yaochi discussed the restored spiritual energy, the Demon Race’s motives, and the uncertain outcome of its war with the Buddhist Sect.
• The Four Great Demon Saints finished catalyzing their Spirit Stones, and spiritual energy spread from Spirit Vine City throughout the Three Realms.
• Merit descended on the Four Great Demon Saints, who performed Corpse-Slaying and became Quasi-Saints who had slain two corpses; Lin Tian and the Four Saints gained Merit Golden Wheels.
• Lin Tian told the gathered crowd that the Buddhist Sect had spread claims calling for demons to be exterminated and that demons were being hunted for their inner cores.
• Lin Tian defended the Demon Race, condemned the monkey for killing demons, and declared all-out war for the race’s dignity and future.

Lin Tian rallied the Demon Race against Buddhism, summoned its Great Demons with the Demon-Summoning Banner, and prepared Spirit Vine City for the coming total war. With four days remaining, thousands of powerful demons gathered as Lin Tian’s plans to claim moral authority and weaken Buddhism advanced.

• Lin Tian’s speech moved the demons, while the Bull Devil King and his wife and Minghe watched with pride and tears.
• Lin Tian summoned the Demon-Summoning Banner from the Golden Gourd and called the Great Demons of the Three Realms to Spirit Vine City.
• The Four Great Demon Saints stood beside Lin Tian as demons arrived to receive his decree and prepare to fight Buddhism.
• Five thousand demons of the Great Encompassing Golden Immortal level or above gathered outside Spirit Vine City, drawing the attention of major powers throughout the Three Realms.
• The Demon Race repaid nearly a trillion Spirit Stones to the Three Realms before the war, gaining public support and claiming the moral high ground.
• Lin Tian’s strategy aimed to weaken Buddhism through war reparations and use the Demon Race’s restored standing to challenge its dominance.

Lin Tian used his remaining experience to refine the Chaos Pearl and master two divine flames before rallying the Demon Race to war against the Buddhist Sect. Sun Wukong arrived at Spirit Vine City as the army gathered, while Minghe, Zhen Yuanzi, and the Queen Mother of the West agreed to occupy the Buddhist Sect’s strongest leaders for payment.

• Lin Tian exchanged twenty billion experience for the Chaos Pearl, fully refined it, and spent another ten billion to master the Ninefold Samadhi True Flame and Taishang True Flame.
• Lin Tian summoned the Demon Race and announced that they would march against the Buddhist Sect, leaving two thousand Great Demons to defend Spirit Vine City.
• Sun Wukong heard the army’s roar, traveled to Spirit Vine City, and was shocked to see the gathered demons and the Four Great Demon Saints behind Lin Tian.
• Minghe, Zhen Yuanzi, and the Queen Mother of the West agreed to keep Kong Xuan, Tathagata, and Randeng occupied in exchange for ten billion spirit stones each.

Lin Tian led the Demon Race toward Spirit Mountain, while Tathagata prepared the Buddhist Sect for battle and summoned allies, including Human Sovereign Xuan Yuan. The armies clashed as Nuwa watched the Demon Race’s fortune grow, and the chapter left the war’s outcome unresolved.

• Lin Tian and the Four Great Demon Saints led three thousand Great Golden Immortals toward Spirit Mountain without meeting resistance.
• Tathagata consulted Randeng and Guanyin, then accepted Lu Ya’s plan to reveal his Three-Legged Golden Crow form and target Lin Tian with the Immortal-Slaying Flying Blade.
• Tathagata revealed that Xuan Yuan, Zhuanxu, and Emperor Shun were coming as reinforcements to defend Human Race interests.
• Tathagata led three thousand Buddhas out of Spirit Mountain and ordered them to form the Ten Thousand Buddhas Formation.
• The Demon Race Army arrived, and the great battle began as the Saints watched from Chaos.
• Nuwa watched the Demon Race’s Fortune Golden Dragon grow, while the armies’ clash remained undecided.

Nuwa saw Lin Tian’s growing influence as a chance to restore the Demon Race and hoped he would become its Demon Emperor after the Journey to the West. As the Demon Race and Buddhist Sect prepared to fight at Spirit Mountain, Sun Wukong watched and realized how far he fell below the assembled powers.

• The Demon Race’s service to the Three Realms restored some of its fortune, and Nuwa praised Lin Tian while resolving that he should become Demon Emperor after the Journey to the West.
• Zhen Yuanzi, Minghe, and the Queen Mother of the West joined Lin Tian’s forces and raised their protective treasures before the battle.
• Tathagata deployed Buddhism’s Ten Thousand Buddhas Formation, forming a golden Buddha kingdom to defend the Buddhist Sect.
• Lin Tian, Holy Mother Wudang, and Bai Ze assessed the formation and lamented that the Demon Race could not yet activate its Celestial Star Dou Formation.
• Sun Wukong followed the army to Spirit Mountain, witnessed the opposing forces, and felt ashamed as he reconsidered his belief that he ranked among the Three Realms’ strongest.

Sun Wukong arrived at the battlefield and, after seeing the mighty figures gathered there, questioned his worth and demanded to know what had been hidden from him. Tathagata prepared to fight Lin Tian and his allies, whose defense of the Three Realms threatened Buddhism’s plans for prosperity through the Journey to the West.

• Tathagata and Guanyin decided to erase Sun Wukong’s memories after the battle, while Guanyin took him aside and promised to explain everything later.
• Sun Wukong refused to leave and watched from a safe distance as Tathagata respectfully greeted Zhen Yuanzi, the Queen Mother of the West, and Minghe.
• Minghe explained that he had joined the battle because Buddhism’s Ksitigarbha King was chanting scriptures in the Sea of Blood and because Lin Tian was his nephew.
• The Queen Mother of the West and Zhen Yuanzi said they had come to protect the Three Realms’ future, and the Queen Mother praised Lin Tian for releasing spiritual energy.
• Lin Tian told Tathagata that he understood Buddhism’s plans to prosper through faith and the Journey to the West, and declared that the opposing sides would have to fight.