Chapter Summaries

After Lin Tian created Jianmu and received immense merit, he stored it away and headed to the Purple Heaven Palace after Hongjun summoned the Quasi-Saints. Along the way, he explained how he had revived the tree, while Guanyin and Tathagata reflected on what his achievement meant for their fortunes.

• Lin Tian absorbed merit, severed his good corpse, and stored the remaining merit after his cultivation surged.
• Hongjun summoned all Quasi-Saints to the Purple Heaven Palace, and Lin Tian reassured the Spirit Vine True Self that Hongjun would blame his success on the Chaos Pearl.
• Minghe asked Lin Tian how he created Jianmu, and Lin Tian described watering the withered Spiritual Root with Three Lights Divine Water and spending fifty trillion Spirit Stones to fuel its growth.
• Guanyin felt relieved that she had joined Lin Tian, while Tathagata bitterly recognized that Lin Tian's unexpected achievements repeatedly thwarted his plans.
• Lin Tian displayed his Merit Golden Wheel as he and the other mighty figures reached the still-closed gates of the Purple Heaven Palace.

At the Purple Heaven Palace, Hongjun explained how Lin Tian’s actions had changed the Three Realms and rewarded him with a permanent share of its fortune. The Saints learned that the restored Heavenly Pillar would strengthen the Heavenly Dao and eventually increase their cultivation.

• Laozi arrived, praised Lin Tian for saving the Three Realms, and bestowed upon him the title Spirit Vine Savior Dao Venerable.
• Nuwa congratulated Lin Tian, while Jieyin and Zhunti arrived with hostility but denied they intended to attack him.
• The Purple Heaven Palace opened, and Wudang reunited with her imprisoned master, Tongtian, before Hongjun appeared and summoned everyone to listen.
• Hongjun explained that Lin Tian had replenished spiritual energy and raised the World Tree to replace Mount Buzhou, changing the Heavenly Dao’s course and postponing karmic calamities.
• Hongjun awarded Lin Tian one-tenth of the Primordial World’s fortune forever, while declaring the Demon Race’s earlier merit sufficient reward.
• Hongjun told the Saints that the completed Heavenly Pillar would strengthen the Heavenly Dao and that their cultivation would increase after one Primordial Cycle.

Lin Tian received Hongmeng Purple Qi from Hongjun but resolved to reach primordial unity before becoming a Saint, wary of the Heavenly Dao’s growing power. Hongjun also announced that another Saint position would become available in the future and released Tongtian from seclusion.

• The Spirit Vine True Self warned Lin Tian that the Heavenly Dao would grow stronger and advised him to attain primordial unity before Sainthood.
• Hongjun bestowed the remaining strand of Hongmeng Purple Qi upon Lin Tian in recognition of his great merit.
• Lin Tian decided to delay becoming a Saint until he had comprehended a Great Dao and prepared a successor for Spirit Vine City.
• Hongjun declared that Quasi-Saints who had contributed to the Heavenly Dao could compete for the future eighth Saint position once spiritual energy grew abundant.
• Hongjun ended Tongtian’s confinement and instructed everyone to preserve the Primordial World before departing the Purple Heaven Palace.

After Lin Tian became the seventh Saint in name, Nuwa brought him to Wa Emperor Heaven and asked how he understood Hongjun’s arrangements and the Demon Race’s future. Lin Tian concluded that Hongjun expected him to restore spiritual energy, but he remained wary of the secrets behind the Heavenly Dao and chose not to pursue Sainthood yet.

• The gathered figures left the Purple Heaven Palace, while Nuwa invited Lin Tian to Wa Emperor Heaven and the others departed with their disciples.
• Nuwa tested Lin Tian’s humility, then invited him to sit and discuss the Dao.
• Lin Tian told Nuwa that Hongjun’s fixed one-tenth share of fortune was meant to encourage prosperity and that he believed Hongjun wanted spiritual energy restored to Primordial Era levels.
• Lin Tian and Nuwa considered the hidden reasons behind the Heavenly Dao’s plans and Gonggong’s destruction of Mount Buzhou.
• Lin Tian decided not to become a Saint yet because he feared coming under Hongjun’s and the Heavenly Dao’s control.

Lin Tian and Nuwa planned for the political upheaval surrounding the future Eighth Saint, and Nuwa entrusted him with the Demon Race. In the Ten Thousand Buddhas Heaven, Tathagata then argued that the Dao Ancestor intended Lin Tian and others to help restore the Three Realms’ spiritual energy.

• Lin Tian warned Nuwa that the Eighth Saint’s selection could trigger a Great Calamity and a contest for merit, Fortune, and resources among the Three Realms’ factions.
• Lin Tian urged Nuwa to ally with Saint Tongtian, offering Jiejiao’s ties to him as a basis for cooperation, and predicted that Laozi would remain neutral while Yuanshi sided with Jieyin and Zhunti.
• Nuwa thanked Lin Tian for protecting the Demon Race and entrusted it to him, while explaining that she would give the Precious Lotus Lantern to Yang Chan.
• Jieyin and Zhunti gathered the Nine Buddhist Quasi-Saints to discuss Lin Tian’s appointment as the heaven-ordained Seventh Saint and his merit and Hongmeng Purple Qi.
• Tathagata argued that the Dao Ancestor’s words and Lin Tian’s permanent share of the Primordial World’s Fortune showed that Lin Tian was expected to help restore spiritual energy.

Guanyin weighed her growing ambitions as Buddhism’s leaders prepared for future conflict, while Tongtian and Holy Mother Wudang discussed Jiejiao’s losses and sought Lin Tian’s help. The chapter ended with Lin Tian arriving in Yuyu Heaven and meeting Tongtian.

• Zhunti warned Tathagata and the other Buddhist disciples to complete the Journey to the West and prepare for conflict, unaware that Guanyin was secretly recording their plans for Lin Tian.
• Holy Mother Wudang urged Tongtian to rescue Jiejiao disciples, including Yunxiao and the immortals forced to serve as Buddhist mounts, and Tongtian summoned Lin Tian.
• The Water-Fire Attendant found Lin Tian near Wa Emperor Heaven and escorted him to Shangqing Yuyu Heaven.
• Tongtian welcomed Lin Tian with the courtesy given to a Saint, acknowledged their family bond, and praised him as the Heaven-Ordained Seventh Saint.

Lin Tian declined to become a Saint immediately despite receiving Hongmeng Purple Qi and boundless merit, choosing to keep guiding the Three Realms. After promising Tongtian he would help rescue Jiejiao disciples and ally with Nuwa, Lin Tian returned to Spirit Vine City, where he was hailed as the Heaven-Ordained Seventh Saint and announced he would expound the Dao.

• Lin Tian told Tongtian he would postpone sainthood and agreed to help rescue Yunxiao, Wuyun Immortal, Immortal Ling Ya, Immortal Qiu Shou, and Golden Light Immortal.
• Lin Tian urged Tongtian to join forces with Nuwa and promised to slay Duobao, the traitor to Jiejiao.
• Lin Tian returned to the Three Realms and found Jianmu rising beside Spirit Vine City as the new heavenly pillar, restoring the mingling of heaven and earth's origin energy.
• Lin Tian arrived at Spirit Vine City, where beings across the Primordial World congratulated him as the Heaven-Ordained Seventh Saint.
• Lin Tian invited everyone in Spirit Vine City to hear him expound the Dao, and the gathered beings eagerly agreed.

Lin Tian preached a new understanding of the Heavenly Dao in Spirit Vine City, then learned Buddhism planned to replace Sun Wukong with Six Ears and traveled to the Western Liang Women's Kingdom. Tang Monk drank from the Child-and-Mother River and discovered the Pregnancy-Reflection Spring showed two reflections, meaning he carried a normal child.

• Lin Tian preached his Dao to a crowd in Spirit Vine City, and Zhen Yuanzi and the Queen Mother of the West praised his explanation of how all things were thieves of Heaven and earth.
• Lin Tian questioned Guanyin at Mount Luojia and learned Tathagata planned to have Six Ears replace Wukong during the True and False Handsome Monkey King incident.
• Lin Tian told Guanyin to wait until she took charge of Buddhism before bringing Six Ears under her command, then left for the Western Liang Women's Kingdom.
• Tang Monk drank from the Daughter River, became pregnant, and asked Sun Wukong to find water from the Abortion Spring.
• Tang Monk waited three days at Greeting Yang Station and saw two reflections in the Pregnancy-Reflection Spring, confirming he carried a normal child.

Sun Wukong went to Jieyang Mountain to fetch spring water for pregnant Tang Monk, where he clashed with Lin Tian, who easily overpowered him. Lin Tian revealed himself as Vine Dao Venerable and left Sun Wukong awed by his merit golden wheel.

• Sun Wukong left Tang Monk and traveled to Jieyang Mountain to fetch spring water from the Gathering Immortals Convent.
• Sun Wukong tried to take water without permission, and Lin Tian and True Immortal Ruyi confronted him.
• Sun Wukong attacked Lin Tian with his Golden Cudgel, but Lin Tian caught it and sent him stumbling backward.
• Sun Wukong explained that Tang Monk had become pregnant after drinking from the Child-and-Mother River, and Lin Tian agreed to go speak with him.
• Lin Tian told Sun Wukong that Tathagata was not the strongest in the Three Realms and identified himself as Vine Dao Venerable.
• Lin Tian revealed his Merit Golden Wheel, and Sun Wukong accepted his title and asked what the halo was.

Lin Tian explained to Sun Wukong that many powerful figures across the Three Realms could rival Tathagata, correcting his assumptions and revealing the hidden backgrounds of several acquaintances. He left Sun Wukong eager to learn more, then returned with him to find Tang Monk worried about his pregnancy.

• Lin Tian told Sun Wukong that the Jade Emperor had summoned Tathagata to subdue him and was far more powerful than Sun Wukong had believed.
• Lin Tian named Zhen Yuanzi, Daoist Minghe, the Queen Mother of the West, and ancient clan elders among those who could match Tathagata, and revealed that Great Master Xuandu was Zhu Bajie's master.
• Sun Wukong learned that the Roc Devil King was Daoist Minghe's son and that the Queen Mother of the West was distinct from Yaochi, leaving him ashamed of how little he knew.
• Lin Tian refused to reveal more until Sun Wukong could digest what he had learned, promising to explain everything before the Journey to the West ended.
• Sun Wukong brought Lin Tian back to Tang Monk, who asked whether Wukong had fetched the pregnancy water; Lin Tian reassured Tang Monk that the unborn twins would be healthy and asked whether he truly wanted to abort them.

Lin Tian and Zhu Bajie persuaded the Tang Monk to carry his unborn child rather than abort him, and Lin Tian silenced the Duty Merit Officer to prevent interference. The party then entered the Western Liang Kingdom, where the women crowded around them and called the men breeding stock.

• Zhu Bajie argued that aborting the living fetus would violate the Buddhist precept against killing, while Lin Tian promised he could deliver the child safely.
• The Duty Merit Officer tried to argue that saving the Tang Monk was the only compassionate choice, but Lin Tian secretly blocked his voice.
• After Lin Tian and Zhu Bajie appealed to his compassion, the Tang Monk agreed to give birth and left the arrangements to Wujing.
• The next day, Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, Sun Wukong, and Lin Tian set out toward the Daughter Kingdom and reached the Western Liang Kingdom.
• Women crowded the street, called the four men breeding stock, and reached out to grab them.

Lin Tian and the others reached the Western Liang Women's Kingdom, where the queen learned that Tang Sanzang was pregnant after drinking from the Child-and-Mother River. She met Lin Tian at Greeting Yang Station and, after drinking his tea, found her desire for him fading.

• Lin Tian had Zhu Bajie frighten away the women who gathered around the travelers as they entered the city.
• At Greeting Yang Station, Tang Sanzang presented the group’s travel permit, then suffered severe cramps as his pregnancy grew.
• The station keeper reported the travelers to the queen, who planned to visit the station and choose a man as her husband.
• The queen learned Tang Sanzang had refused to end the pregnancy and became interested in Lin Tian after hearing the station keeper praise him.
• The queen met Lin Tian at the station and drank tea he poured for her, which made her desire for him disappear.

Lin Tian asked the queen of the Western Liang Women's Kingdom to raise Tang Monk's child and gave her cultivation methods to help transform her nation into a kingdom of immortals. After explaining how the Heavenly Pillar would restore spiritual energy across the Three Realms, he turned to his plans for Tang Monk's child.

• Lin Tian told the queen that Azure Firmament tea had extended her life and asked her to raise Tang Monk's child herself and teach her immortal arts.
• Lin Tian instructed the queen to cultivate alongside the child and gave her jade tablets of women's cultivation methods.
• Lin Tian explained that the Heavenly Pillar's return would restore spiritual energy and eventually eliminate mortals from the Three Realms.
• Lin Tian told the queen that the Western Liang Women's Kingdom's proximity to the Heavenly Pillar gave it a chance to become a kingdom of immortals, and he offered her Spirit Stones as starting capital.
• Lin Tian directed the queen to seek him in Spirit Vine City if she needed help, then considered his plans for Tang Monk's child.

Lin Tian helped deliver the Tang Monk’s daughter and planned to leave her in the queen’s care, while he continued arranging Spirit Vine City’s future and scheming around the Journey to the West. The Tang Monk departed without naming or even seeing his daughter, and the queen went to Jieyang Mountain to discuss developing Western Liang with Lin Tian and True Immortal Ruyi.

• Lin Tian performed a cesarean delivery, healed the Tang Monk with Three Lights Divine Water, and helped arrange a wet nurse for the newborn girl.
• The Tang Monk recuperated for a month while Lin Tian taught the queen Dao Arts and considered the Scorpion Demon’s place in Spirit Vine City’s management.
• Lin Tian reviewed his plans against Buddhist Sect, Xuan Yuan, and Haotian, and considered how to help Tongtian rescue his disciples.
• After recovering, the Tang Monk asked the queen to keep his unnamed daughter, and she agreed, appalled by his refusal to look at the child.
• The queen stamped the Tang Monk’s Passage Permit, and he left to journey west.
• The queen visited Jieyang Mountain, where Lin Tian and True Immortal Ruyi discussed investing in and developing Western Liang into an immortal city.

Lin Tian arranged to develop the Western Liang Women's Kingdom into an immortal city, appointing True Immortal Ruyi to oversee its security and education. He prepared to invest Spirit Vine City's resources in the kingdom as part of his expansion across the Three Realms.

• Lin Tian told the queen that Tang Monk would reject his child and sever all family ties to pursue Buddhahood, deepening her contempt for Buddhist doctrine.
• True Immortal Ruyi asked whether Lin Tian meant to develop the Western Liang Women's Kingdom into a kingdom of immortals.
• Lin Tian explained the kingdom's potential and assigned True Immortal Ruyi responsibility for its security and education, promising supplies and funds from Spirit Vine City.
• The queen pledged to fulfill Lin Tian's plans, while True Immortal Ruyi recalled how Lin Tian's rise had vindicated the Bull Devil King's decision not to interfere with his development.
• Lin Tian decided to invest in the Western Liang Women's Kingdom and have True Immortal Ruyi act as his director there.

Lin Tian funded the Queen of Daughter Kingdom to develop Western Liang as the Three Realms’ foremost city for female immortals, then prepared to thwart Tathagata’s plan to replace Sun Wukong with Six Ears. He flew toward Tang Monk as the True and False Handsome Monkey King episode approached, convinced the post-episode Sun Wukong would be Six Ears.

• Lin Tian gave True Immortal Ruyi ten billion Spirit Stones and instructed him and the queen to develop Western Liang for female immortals.
• Lin Tian concluded that Six Ears would replace Sun Wukong during the True and False Handsome Monkey King episode, and decided to capture Six Ears alive.
• Lin Tian explained how Tathagata’s scheme would erase Six Ears’ and Wukong’s karmic liabilities by changing identities and killing Wukong’s body.
• Lin Tian advised the Queen of Daughter Kingdom to build a cultivator following, buy resources from Spirit Vine City, and develop steadily with women as the priority.
• Several months later, Lin Tian rode a cloud toward Tang Monk and resolved to stop Tathagata’s plan.
• Lin Tian compared Sun Wukong’s behavior before and after the episode and judged that Six Ears would be the later Wukong, serving Buddhism by eliminating obstacles and promoting its interests.

Sun Wukong left Tang Monk after killing a group of bandits and returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain, where he learned that hunters had nearly wiped out his monkey followers. Enraged, he attacked a nearby village, but Lin Tian intervened and saved its inhabitants.

• The chapter explained that Tathagata had recruited the Six-Eared Macaque to impersonate Sun Wukong, offering him a new identity despite his knowledge of the Journey to the West.
• Sun Wukong killed bandits who tried to rob the group, and Tang Monk scolded him and ordered him to leave.
• Sun Wukong flew to Flower-Fruit Mountain and found only eight old monkeys remaining; they told him that heavenly soldiers and hunters had devastated the troop.
• Sun Wukong saw monkey skins drying in a village and swung his Golden Cudgel at the settlement in a fury.
• Lin Tian stopped Sun Wukong's attack and saved the village's thousand inhabitants.

Lin Tian explained to Sun Wukong that the hunters had killed the monkeys because Flower-Fruit Mountain’s natural balance had been disrupted, and warned him that Tathagata intended to kill him in favor of a more suitable pawn. Lin Tian took Sun Wukong to the Heavenly Court to show him how highly the Immortals and Gods regarded him, leaving Sun Wukong stunned by Lin Tian’s status.

• Sun Wukong told Lin Tian that hunters had slaughtered most of his monkey descendants, and Lin Tian argued that the monkeys’ deaths followed from Sun Wukong’s disruption of Flower-Fruit Mountain and the Heavenly Dao.
• Sun Wukong demanded to know where the Heavenly Dao was, but Lin Tian warned that Tathagata planned to kill him and said he would explain the situation.
• Lin Tian took Sun Wukong away from Flower-Fruit Mountain, explaining that Tathagata had a more suitable pawn and that Sun Wukong had been manipulated.
• Lin Tian had Sun Wukong disguise himself as a young boy and brought him to the Heavenly Court.
• The Immortals and Gods respectfully greeted Lin Tian at Lingxiao Hall, while the Jade Emperor left his throne to welcome him, leaving Sun Wukong astonished.

Lin Tian visited Lingxiao Hall, where the Jade Emperor and the Immortals and Gods interpreted his presence as support for Jiejiao’s bound disciples. He then took Sun Wukong to Tusita Palace, where they discussed the secrets behind Sun Wukong’s past and the threat of the Six-Eared Macaque.

• Lin Tian visited Lingxiao Hall and acknowledged the hopes of the Jiejiao Immortals and Gods, while the Jade Emperor realized he could not oppose him.
• The Immortals and Gods assumed Lin Tian had come to challenge the Jade Emperor and support Jiejiao, stirring unease across the Heavenly Court.
• Lin Tian told Sun Wukong that Grand Supreme Elder Lord had left him inferior golden cores and refined their medicinal power in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, but refused to reveal the full truth yet.
• Lin Tian brought Sun Wukong to Tusita Palace, where Grand Supreme Elder Lord saw through Sun Wukong’s disguise.
• Lin Tian explained that Tathagata wanted to kill Sun Wukong and had prepared the Six-Eared Macaque to replace him, and Grand Supreme Elder Lord agreed that Lin Tian was right to intervene.

Lin Tian took Sun Wukong to Flower-Fruit Mountain to confront Six Ears, then watched the two identical monkeys fight over who was real. Their search for someone to identify the impostor failed, leaving them to seek the Tang Monk.

• Lin Tian received the talisman to free Yunxiao and left Tushita Palace with Sun Wukong to find Six Ears at Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Lin Tian and Sun Wukong watched Six Ears return to the Water-Curtain Cave and wait for events to unfold.
• Sandy visited the cave, killed the false Tang Monk and Zhu Bajie figures, and fought Six Ears before the real Sun Wukong arrived.
• Sandy could not distinguish the two monkeys, so they went to Lingxiao Hall, where Wu Tian claimed the Haotian Mirror could not identify them.
• The two monkeys went to the Underworld, but the Ksitigarbha King refused to reveal what Di Ting had heard, so they went to find the Tang Monk.