Recaps

As Xuanzang taught his disciples on the snowy road, Guanyin and three other holy figures planned a test of their resolve using wealth and beauty. The pilgrims reached a mysterious, lavish estate, and Xuanzang sent Wuji to ask for lodging.

• Xuanzang lectured the disciples on consciousness-only, praised Wukong, Wuji, and Wujing’s efforts, and ordered Bajie to copy the lesson one hundred times after he fell asleep.
• Guanyin discussed the difficulty of arranging tribulations with Old Mother Lishan, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra.
• Old Mother Lishan proposed disguising herself and the other holy figures as a wealthy widow and her daughters to tempt Xuanzang and his disciples with marriage, riches, and beauty.
• The pilgrims came upon a magnificent estate in the mountains, and Wukong noticed its auspicious aura but no demonic presence.
• Xuanzang asked Wuji to knock at the estate’s gate and request lodging.

Xuanzang and his disciples were invited to lodge at a wealthy widow’s estate, where she offered them her daughters and fortune in exchange for staying as sons-in-law. Xuanzang and the other disciples refused, but the widow made Zhu Bajie a tempting offer, leaving everyone waiting for his answer.

• Little White Dragon knocked at the estate, and the widow welcomed Xuanzang and his disciples inside.
• The widow described her wealth and three daughters, then invited the travelers to remain as sons-in-law.
• Zhenzhen, Aiai, and Lianlian appeared, and Zhu Bajie openly stared at them.
• Xuanzang rejected the offer, saying he and his disciples sought spiritual peace rather than worldly pleasures.
• Sun Wukong, Little White Dragon, and Sha Wujing each declined the widow’s offer.
• The widow singled out Zhu Bajie and offered him comfort, food, and the choice of her daughters, and he froze under everyone’s gaze.

Zhu Bajie resisted Old Mother Lishan’s offer of comfort and marriage, choosing to continue the pilgrimage with Xuanzang because the journey brought him peace of heart. After the four Bodhisattvas revealed the test had been passed, they warned Guanyin that the group’s next destination was Longevity Mountain Wuzhuang Temple.

• Sun Wukong and Little White Dragon Wuji urged Zhu Bajie to remember his vows and not be fooled by the tempting offer.
• Zhu Bajie refused the woman’s proposal, saying he would not break his promise and felt more at peace traveling with his master and brothers.
• Xuanzang and his disciples left the estate in the snow, while Zhu Bajie immediately complained about missing a warm meal.
• The estate vanished, revealing Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Old Mother Lishan, who declared that the disciples had passed their trial.
• Old Mother Lishan warned Guanyin that the pilgrims were headed to Longevity Mountain Wuzhuang Temple and that the Ancestor of Earth Immortals would require care.

Xuanzang and his disciples reached Longevity Mountain and learned that Wuzhuang Temple belonged to the renowned Zhen Yuanzi. After Qingfeng and Mingyue insulted Wukong while inviting them in, Xuanzang rejected their welcome and led the party away, leaving the two boys stunned.

• Xuanzang and his disciples admired Longevity Mountain and found Wuzhuang Temple, whose couplet made Wukong scoff at its boastfulness.
• Ao Lie recognized the temple as Wuzhuang Temple, home of Zhen Yuanzi, the Ancestor of Earth Immortals.
• Qingfeng and Mingyue greeted Xuanzang and said their master had expected his arrival, but Mingyue insulted Wukong and boasted of Zhen Yuanzi's status.
• Xuanzang stopped Wukong from retaliating, then politely declined to enter, saying the travelers were not old acquaintances and would soil the temple.
• Xuanzang led the party away, and Wukong, Bajie, Ao Lie, and Sha Wujing followed as Qingfeng and Mingyue stood dumbfounded.

After Qingfeng and Mingyue drove Xuanzang’s party away, they panicked and begged the travelers to return, fearing punishment from their master, Great Immortal Zhenyuan. Xuanzang agreed to stay the night at Wuzhuang Temple, though Wukong suspected the invitation concealed more than simple hospitality.

• Qingfeng and Mingyue realized Xuanzang’s party had left and rushed after them, afraid of what Zhenyuan would do when he returned.
• The attendants apologized to Xuanzang and Wukong, but Xuanzang explained that their prejudice made it inappropriate for his party to stay.
• When Xuanzang prepared to leave again, Qingfeng clung to A-Hu’s leg while Mingyue rolled in the mud and wailed for help.
• Xuanzang agreed to return and stay the night so the attendants would not be punished, and Qingfeng and Mingyue joyfully led the way back to Wuzhuang Temple.
• Wukong remarked that the invitation seemed to involve more than an old friend’s hospitality, while Xuanzang followed the attendants back.

At Wuzhuang Temple, Qingfeng and Mingyue brought Xuanzang two Ginseng Fruits while hoping to frighten him, but he remained calm and did not eat them. When Zhu Bajie and the others recognized the fruits as rare treasures, Bajie reached for one, and Xuanzang stopped him.

• Qingfeng and Mingyue sent Xuanzang's disciples to the kitchen and settled him in a guest room.
• Qingfeng and Mingyue brought Xuanzang two Ginseng Fruits disguised as infants, expecting him to be frightened.
• Xuanzang thanked them and left the fruits untouched, unsettling the two young Taoists.
• Zhu Bajie, Sun Wukong, Sha Wujing, and Ao Lie recognized the fruits and explained their rarity and value.
• Zhu Bajie reached for a fruit, but Xuanzang told him to wait.

Xuanzang inspected the Ginseng Fruit Tree and resolved to topple it after the Red-Blood Buddha Wheel revealed a mysterious agreement between the tree and a Daoist. He sent his disciples to summon Great Immortal Zhenyuan and the Bodhisattva as witnesses, leaving Sha Wujing to guard him at Wuzhuang Temple.

• Xuanzang used the Red-Blood Buddha Wheel on the Ginseng Fruits, then summoned Qingfeng and Mingyue to explain them.
• Qingfeng and Mingyue described the Ginseng Fruit Tree and led Xuanzang and his disciples to the rear garden.
• The Red-Blood Buddha Wheel showed Xuanzang a Daoist making an agreement with the tree, and Xuanzang announced that he intended to topple it.
• Xuanzang sent Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie to Miro Palace to summon Great Immortal Zhenyuan, and Ao Lie to the South Sea to summon the Bodhisattva.
• Sha Wujing stayed behind to protect Xuanzang while Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie departed for Shangqing Heaven.

Ao WujI told Guanyin that Xuanzang planned to knock down the Ginseng Fruit Tree and had summoned witnesses, while Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie went to Shangqing Heaven to fetch Zhen Yuanzi. Zhen Yuanzi left Miro Palace to face his tribulation, after Yuanshi Tianzun complained that Wukong and Bajie were blocking his door.

• Ao WujI told Guanyin that Xuanzang intended to knock down the Ginseng Fruit Tree and had asked her to witness it.
• Sun Wukong dragged Zhu Bajie through Chaos toward Miro Palace, then decided they would block its door until Zhen Yuanzi came out.
• Zhu Bajie reluctantly sat beside Sun Wukong outside the palace, fearing they had offended Yuanshi Tianzun.
• Yuanshi Tianzun told Zhen Yuanzi that he had entered the tribulation and should leave to meet it.
• Yuanshi Tianzun asked Zhen Yuanzi to warn Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie about blocking his door, then wished Zhen Yuanzi success in breaking free of his confines.

Xuanzang explained that the Ginseng Fruit Tree had absorbed the earth veins’ baleful qi for ages, and its fruits were the bitter result of that suffering. He intended to topple the tree to grant its wish and free Zhen Yuanzi from his impossible dilemma.

• Zhu Bajie met Zhen Yuanzi in the chaotic void and persuaded him to return to Wuzhuang Temple, where Zhen Yuanzi captured Zhu Bajie and Sun Wukong in his sleeve.
• Xuanzang asked Guanyin to witness his intention to topple the Ginseng Fruit Tree, and Zhen Yuanzi arrived as Qingfeng and Mingyue accused Xuanzang of threatening it.
• Zhen Yuanzi scolded Qingfeng and Mingyue and sent them into seclusion, then greeted Guanyin and Xuanzang.
• Sun Wukong struck Zhen Yuanzi with his Golden Cudgel, but Guanyin stopped him before he could attack again.
• Xuanzang revealed that the Ginseng Fruit Tree had willingly absorbed resentment and baleful qi from the earth veins, and that its fruits were condensed from that corruption.
• Xuanzang said the tree could no longer endure its suffering and offered to topple it himself, sparing Zhen Yuanzi from breaking his oath or risking another person’s punishment.

Zhen Yuanzi revealed that he had planned for Sun Wukong to topple the Ginseng Fruit Tree so it could escape the earth veins’ baleful qi and be restored through the Journey to the West’s merit. Xuanzang rejected the plan as a temporary fix that prolonged the tree’s suffering, then approached it with a blazing Buddhist halo, preparing to bear the burden himself.

• Zhen Yuanzi explained that the Ginseng Fruit Tree was suffering from the earth veins’ baleful qi and that he had planned to have Sun Wukong topple it so it could be rebuilt through Buddhist merit.
• Zhen Yuanzi bowed to Sun Wukong and asked him to accept the karmic debt of felling the tree, and Wukong agreed despite Xuanzang’s concern.
• Xuanzang stopped Wukong and argued that Zhen Yuanzi’s plan would only restore the tree temporarily while leaving it exposed to endless baleful qi.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva warned Xuanzang not to overreach, but he said he would bear the burden rather than let the childlike fruit suffer.
• Xuanzang picked up the Nine-Ringed Monk's Staff and approached the Ginseng Fruit Tree as a brilliant, firelike Buddhist halo appeared behind him.

Xuanzang destroyed the Ginseng Fruit Tree and absorbed the unleashed earth-vein baleful qi and karmic punishment to save the surrounding land. After the forces dissipated, he rose holding the tree’s gathered spiritual light and told Zhen Yuanzi that good causes had returned a child to him.

• Xuanzang burned away the tree’s black vapor with the Nine-Ringed Monk’s Staff, then dissolved the Ginseng Fruit Tree into motes that formed a luminous orb.
• The tree’s destruction released earth-vein baleful qi, and Heavenly Dao’s karmic punishment blocked Sun Wukong from reaching Xuanzang.
• Xuanzang planted his staff in the opening and drew the baleful qi and karmic power into himself through his compassion.
• Sun Wukong struggled against the barrier while Zhu Bajie and Little White Dragon restrained him, and Guanyin Bodhisattva chanted about the bodhisattva’s one-child ground.
• The staff transformed into a flaming stone tree as Xuanzang endured the forces until the baleful qi, karmic obstruction, and flames vanished.
• Xuanzang opened his clear eyes, revealed a blood-red mark between his brows, received the orb, and told Zhen Yuanzi that good causes had returned a child to him.

Zhen Yuanzi welcomed his newly reborn son, broke through to Primordial Unity, and was honored by the gods of the Three Realms. He then made Sun Wukong the child’s master and Xuanzang his grandmaster.

• Zhen Yuanzi accepted the infant Xuanzang offered him, and the child called him “Daddy.”
• Zhen Yuanzi announced that he had attained the Dao of Primordial Unity and received congratulations from heavenly beings and gods across the Three Realms.
• Zhen Yuanzi declared that his son would become Sun Wukong’s disciple and Xuanzang’s grand-disciple.
• At Xuanzang’s encouragement, Sun Wukong accepted the child as his disciple, and Zhen Yuanzi agreed that Wukong could discipline him if he misbehaved.

At Wuzhuang Temple, Sun Wukong persuaded Xuanzang and the others to attend a vegetarian gathering celebrating Zhen Yuanzi’s new son and Wukong’s disciple. The Heavenly Dao erased Xuanzang’s karmic hindrances and granted him the Unimpeded Luminous Buddha Wheel, and the chapter ended with the master and disciples sharing a joyful feast.

• Zhen Yuanzi thanked the departing immortals and invited Taibai Jinxing to attend the discipleship gathering at Sun Wukong’s urging.
• Sun Wukong also asked Taibai Jinxing to invite Nezha and Erlang, but Taibai Jinxing explained that they might not come.
• Xuanzang initially resisted attending, but Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and the others persuaded him to join the vegetarian gathering.
• The Heavenly Dao recognized Xuanzang’s compassion, erased his karmic hindrances, and granted him the Unimpeded Luminous Buddha Wheel to suppress the baleful qi.
• Zhen Yuanzi welcomed Xuanzang and his disciples, and Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie carried Xuanzang into the inner hall.
• Taibai Jinxing joined the gathering, where Zhen Yuanzi, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Xuanzang, and the disciples shared a lively meal.

Zhen Yuanzi named his newly born spiritual-root child Lingzhan and sent Xuanzang and his disciples on their way, unaware that a coming tribulation was clouding his judgment. On the road, Xuanzang helped Sun Wukong recognize that his guilt over failing to shield his master had become cognitive obstruction, then let Wukong arrange their next trial.

• Zhen Yuanzi asked Xuanzang to name the infant, and Xuanzang named him Lingzhan before departing with his disciples.
• Zhen Yuanzi sensed he had forgotten something, but his divination revealed nothing; Yuanshi Tianzun then sent White Crane Boy to summon his disciples and fellow Daoists.
• Sun Wukong remained troubled on the journey, ashamed that he had been unable to protect Xuanzang during recent dangers.
• Xuanzang explained that Wukong's guilt and worry were cognitive obstruction and asked him to take charge of the next trial.
• Sun Wukong agreed enthusiastically to settle the next trial and help those in danger.

Sun Wukong took charge of Xuanzang’s ordeal and left to gather peaches, while a White Bone Demon plotted to capture the monk. After Wukong returned, a beautiful woman approached the group and fell, drawing Zhu Bajie toward her as Wukong readied his cudgel.

• Sun Wukong teased his companions and announced that Xuanzang had given him authority to arrange the ordeal.
• Sun Wukong flew to Southern Mountain for ripe peaches, while Xuanzang told Zhu Bajie to accept the disruption as cultivation.
• The White Bone Demon sensed Xuanzang’s holy aura and plotted to outwit his capable companions.
• Sun Wukong returned with peaches after sensing he was being watched, but the demon had hidden among the rocks.
• A beautiful woman carrying a jar and bottle fell near the travelers, and Zhu Bajie went to help her while Sun Wukong took up his Golden Cudgel.

Bajie exposed the White Bone Spirit’s food disguise, but Wukong stopped short of striking her and demanded to hear her grievance. After Bajie released her, she claimed she had died unjustly and begged Xuanzang and Wukong for liberation, leaving them to judge her plea.

• Bajie questioned the woman at White Tiger Ridge, seized her wrist, and smashed her jars to reveal maggots and toads.
• Bajie held the woman while Sun Wukong prepared to strike her, but Wukong stopped his cudgel and asked whether she had suffered an injustice.
• Wukong ordered Bajie to let the woman go, despite Bajie’s protests that she was a demon who meant to harm them.
• The White Bone Spirit collapsed, begged Xuanzang and Wukong for mercy, and claimed villagers had killed her unjustly before she became a demon.

Wukong faced the White Bone Spirit’s pleas and overcame his cognitive obstruction by choosing to strike through her delusions rather than indulge her suffering. The demon escaped, while Wukong’s companions congratulated him on attaining the Way before he returned to his familiar, carefree self.

• Xuanzang told Wukong that deciding what to do about the weeping woman was his own cultivation, then recited teachings about cognitive obstruction and awakening.
• The White Bone Spirit claimed that her grievances and harmful deeds were beyond her control, while Wukong weighed her pleas and his companions watched warily.
• Wukong decided that suffering did not excuse harming others and declared that he would free the woman from her self-made prison.
• The White Bone Spirit used the Corpse-Release Technique to flee as Wukong’s cudgel struck her false corpse, and Wukong did not pursue her.
• Wukong told Xuanzang that he had broken through cognitive obstruction, and Xuanzang and the others bowed to congratulate him.
• Wukong laughed, said he preferred being the Great Sage to acting like an eminent monk, and joined his companions in their banter.

The Corpse Demon returned in the guise of an old woman and asked Wukong and his disciples to hear her story in exchange for guidance toward liberation. She began recounting her former life and her planned wedding, but Wukong stopped Bajie’s interruption and asked what happened next.

• The Corpse Demon transformed into a frail old woman and blocked the travelers’ path.
• Bajie tried to strike her, but she knelt before A-Hu and asked the group to hear her story.
• Wukong stopped Bajie and agreed to listen while keeping Xuanzang behind him.
• The old woman said she had been a renowned beauty engaged to her childhood sweetheart, who became devoted to Buddhist scriptures after meeting a monk.
• She described sewing her wedding dress and imagining a happy married life, and Wukong asked her to continue after silencing Bajie.

The Corpse Demon recounted how her fiancé abandoned her to become a monk, leaving her to suffer the blame and cruelty of his family, then demanded that Xuanzang explain Buddhism’s compassion. After she attacked him and escaped Wukong’s strike by shedding her body, only shattered bones remained in the mountain hollow.

• The Corpse Demon told Xuanzang and his companions how her fiancé fled to become a monk on their wedding night, after which his family blamed and drove her out.
• She demanded to know what she had done wrong and accused monks and the Buddha of offering no compassion to people who suffered.
• When Xuanzang stayed silent, the Corpse Demon erupted in anger and lunged at his throat with skeletal claws.
• Little White Dragon intercepted her attack with his silver spear, and Wukong swung the Golden Cudgel at her as she tried to flee.
• The Corpse Demon sent her primordial spirit out of her body, leaving a false corpse that Wukong’s strike shattered.

Xuanzang offered to cut flesh from his arm for the White Bone Spirit in exchange for her hearing his story, while Wukong reluctantly brought her back. As Xuanzang told the tale of Matanga and Ananda, the demon greedily ate each slice without listening, and Xuanzang continued despite his exposed bone and his disciples’ distress.

• Xuanzang told Wukong to find the fleeing White Bone Spirit and offer her his flesh if she would hear a story to its end.
• Wukong seized the demon’s escaping spirit and brought her back after explaining Xuanzang’s condition.
• Xuanzang summoned an Ordination Razor and began telling the story of Matanga’s love for Ananda, cutting off slices of his arm after each passage.
• The White Bone Spirit devoured the flesh and demanded more, ignoring the story and reaching toward Xuanzang.
• Wukong blocked the demon when she tried to tear at Xuanzang, while Xuanzang continued the story and cut until bone showed through his arm.
• Bajie wept and protested that the White Bone Spirit was not listening, but Xuanzang did not stop.

Xuanzang recounted stories of karma and impermanence to the Corpse Demon, whose body then burst apart and released the wronged souls trapped within it. After the souls passed on and Xuanzang’s arm healed, a pure white skeleton knelt before him and greeted him as a holy monk.

• Xuanzang told the Corpse Demon how the Modgalyayana Woman learned that love, loss, and rebirth were bound by karma and impermanence.
• The Corpse Demon rejected Xuanzang’s words, demanded his heart, and lunged at him before golden light erupted from her body.
• Xuanzang’s compassion released the wronged souls within the Corpse Demon, and they bowed to him before ascending into the cycle of rebirth.
• The Corpse Demon dissolved into ash, and the flesh she had swallowed returned to Xuanzang, healing his arm.
• Wukong approached the remaining white-jade skeleton, which knelt before Xuanzang and paid its respects to the holy monk.

White Bone recounted how a scripture meant to free him from afflictions made everyone appear as skeletons, driving him to flee his family and betrothed. After he began seeing people normally again, he returned home and found that everything had changed.

• White Bone thanked Xuanzang for delivering the wronged souls and destroying the Corpse Demon, then asked him to resolve a lingering question.
• White Bone described how resentment from the poor troubled him despite his generosity, while his childhood sweetheart comforted him.
• A wandering monk gave White Bone a scripture teaching contemplation of the body's impurity, and White Bone practiced until his afflictions seemed to vanish.
• White Bone began seeing everyone as a skeleton, fled on the eve of his wedding, and lost hope as the whole world appeared ghostly to him.
• White Bone suddenly saw people as human again and hurried home to apologize to his parents and betrothed, but found everything changed.

White Bone recounted how his family and beloved were destroyed, leading him to kill the people he blamed and merge the dead into her in an attempt to save her. He begged Xuanzang to explain why his efforts and suffering could not free her, and the chapter ended with his anguished questions unanswered.

• White Bone said he returned to find his parents dead, his family’s wealth stolen, and his beloved driven into the mountains, where she had become a skeleton.
• White Bone said he came to see the villagers as greedy skeletons and returned to burn his family home and kill those who had wronged his beloved.
• White Bone described killing people he considered wicked and merging the resentful dead into his beloved, believing these deeds would earn merit and deliver her.
• White Bone said he cut off his own flesh to feed her and merged with her, but she returned as a demon who hated him and ate people.
• White Bone kowtowed before Xuanzang and demanded to know why he could not save his beloved despite all he had done.

Xuanzang exposed White Bone’s past and confronted him with the guilt, attachment, and delusion behind his supposed attempts to save his beloved. White Bone rejected Xuanzang’s accusations, but Xuanzang revealed that the woman herself had told him the truth.

• Xuanzang questioned White Bone about his beliefs and explained how he had learned Contemplation of the Impure Body from an incomplete scripture without proper guidance.
• Xuanzang accused White Bone of killing his neighbors and the wandering monk, abandoning his family, and using Buddhist teachings to justify repeated slaughter.
• Xuanzang said White Bone had forced vengeful souls into his beloved, turning her into a Corpse Demon, and had mistaken his guilt and attachment for love and redemption.
• White Bone denied Xuanzang’s accusations and demanded to know how he could know so much.
• Xuanzang looked into the darkness behind White Bone and said that she had told him.

Xuanzang confronted the skeleton with a story about Ananda learning to let go of possessive attachment and explained how the skeleton’s attempts to save its beloved had only burdened her with his crimes. The woman’s spirit appeared briefly, then vanished, leaving the skeleton to face the truth of what it had done.

• Xuanzang told the skeleton that its resentment came from seeking gratitude, serenity, and liberation, then recounted how Ananda learned that love meant wishing another well without possessing them.
• Xuanzang accused the skeleton of making its beloved bear the burden of its slaughter and preventing her from reincarnating.
• The skeleton denied wrongdoing and cried that it had been making amends by feeding its flesh to the demon so the woman could live.
• A crack sounded within the skeleton, and the woman’s spirit emerged from its ribs in a red bridal gown.
• The woman gently touched the air above the skeleton’s forehead, then dissolved into light as Xuanzang recited Amitabha Buddha.