Chapter Summaries

Wukong explained why he had let his enemies go by telling the monkeys a story from Xuanzang about a Macaque King who sacrificed himself to save his troop during a drought. He revealed that the king came back to life, while Xuanzang watched with a frown and closed his eyes.

• Wukong gathered the monkeys and generals to hear a story about the Buddha, as told by Xuanzang.
• Wukong described how a Macaque King led his starving troop into a forbidden garden to find food.
• When the garden guards surrounded them, the Macaque King took responsibility and made a vine bridge so the monkeys could escape across a river.
• The Macaque King held on while all five hundred monkeys climbed over him, then fell to his death after his arms broke.
• Wukong told the monkeys that the Macaque King later came back to life, while Xuanzang watched the scene and closed his eyes.

Wukong stopped himself from killing the hunters and led the monkeys in reciting a sutra, causing their spirits to depart Cinder Mountain. Mao Ying revealed that the monkeys had died years earlier and remained trapped in a cycle of slaughter; although Wukong freed their souls, they still could not reincarnate.

• Wukong recalled his master's lesson that vengeance could perpetuate violence and promised the monkeys he would find them a way out.
• Wukong admitted he had failed to give the monkeys good lives, and they reassured him that they did not blame him.
• Wukong led the troop in reciting a sutra as golden light appeared across the mountain and the monkeys turned into points of light.
• The monkeys' light dispersed, leaving Wukong alone on Cinder Mountain.
• Mao Ying explained that the monkeys had died three years earlier and their souls had been trapped in an endless cycle, and said Wukong had freed them but not resolved the knot preventing their reincarnation.

Wukong learned that the monkey kind could not reincarnate because he had erased their names from the Register of Life and Death. He traded away his title, heavenly and immortal registers, and earned merit to restore their names, then returned the Jade Register to Great Mao Lord Mao Ying.

• Great Mao Lord Mao Ying told Wukong that no one could restore the erased names without a way to rewrite the monkey kind’s fates.
• Wukong pleaded with Heaven to restore the monkeys and offered his life, but received no response at first.
• Heaven revealed that the Tribulation Master had exchanged merit for a chance to restore the monkey lineage if Wukong surrendered his title, registers, and Journey to the West merit.
• Wukong accepted the exchange, and the Heavenly Dao removed his title, status, and merit while restoring the monkey kind’s names to the Jade Register.
• Wukong carried the Jade Register back to Water Curtain Cave and gave it to Great Mao Lord Mao Ying, who conceded the round; Wukong said he had not won.

After Wukong broke the karma fate game by making amends, Xuanzang judged the first round a draw and announced that he would no longer serve as judge. He then offered to enter the contest himself, but Yuanshi Tianzun objected and urged him to stay out of the field.

• Mao Ying acknowledged that the contest’s outcome depended on the judges as Flower-Fruit Mountain vanished and the white jade arena returned.
• Bajie, Little White Dragon, Sha Wujing, and Shanbao celebrated Wukong, while Taibai Jinxing and Guanyin Bodhisattva offered opposing judgments about who had won.
• Xuanzang praised Wukong for breaking the game, thanked Mao Ying, and ruled the round a draw because he had intervened.
• Xuanzang relinquished his role as judge and said he would take the field in person in the remaining rounds.
• Yuanshi Tianzun objected to changing the contest rules, accepted Xuanzang’s partiality, and insisted that he not compete himself.

Xuanzang accepted Guanyin Bodhisattva’s advice to let his disciples face the contest without his help, and the second round began with Zhu Wuneng facing Mao Gu. Mao Gu explained that the Mind-Seeing Trial required Zhu Wuneng to identify and test the person in Yellowstone Town who had an affinity for immortality.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva persuaded Xuanzang to stay out of the contest and trust his disciples, and Xuanzang returned to the stands.
• Taibai Jinxing announced that the first round ended in a draw and introduced the Mind-Seeing Trial.
• Taibai Jinxing named Mao Gu and Zhu Wuneng as the second-round contestants, and Zhu Wuneng entered the arena after receiving encouragement from his companions and Xuanzang.
• Mao Gu revealed Yellowstone Town on a glowing curtain and explained that Zhu Wuneng had to find the person with an affinity for immortality among its more than fourteen hundred residents.

Bajie entered Mao Gu’s trial in Yellowstone Town, where he had five days to find a person with an affinity for immortality without using magic or his weapon. The trial left him stranded in the identity of Zhu Liang, a lazy husband whose furious wife sent him to buy salt.

• Mao Gu told Bajie that he had three five-day rounds to bring the person beneath the locust tree and warned him that using supernatural abilities would forfeit the trial.
• Bajie handed Mao Gu the Nine-Toothed Rake and learned that the town would reset after each round and that appearances might be deceptive.
• A peddler called Bajie Zhu Liang and said his wife was looking for him.
• A woman seized Bajie by the ear, scolded him for neglecting their home and shop, and ordered him to buy salt.
• Bajie ran off, then turned back to ask his wife which way the salt shop was.

Bajie learned that he had become Zhu Liang, a lazy live-in son-in-law married to Li Xiaolian, and tried to understand his new life in town. After bringing salt back to Xiaolian, he ate outside the family inn and greeted passersby, while her anger gave way to a softened expression.

• Bajie pieced together from the townspeople that he was Zhu Liang, a notorious good-for-nothing married into the Li Family.
• At Chen's Oil and Salt Shop, Old Chen gave Bajie the salt on Xiaolian's tab and urged him to work harder and care for his wife.
• Bajie asked Old Chen whether anyone unusual lived in town, but the shopkeeper joked that Bajie himself was the strangest person there.
• Bajie returned to the Pagoda Tree Peace Inn, where Li Xiaolian accepted the salt through a waiter and prepared him a meal.
• Bajie chose flatbreads and noodle soup, then ate by the entrance while greeting passersby, and Xiaolian watched him with a softened gaze.

Bajie tried to discover which townspeople had an affinity with immortality while changing his lazy ways and helping Li Xiaolian run the shop. After several days of growing closer, he asked Li Xiaolian whether she wanted to become an immortal, and she answered by asking if he liked the noodles.

• Bajie watched the townspeople and wondered which of them had an affinity with immortality.
• Bajie began washing dishes and doing chores, surprising Li Xiaolian and the shop workers.
• Bajie bought a replacement water jar, collected Old Liu's debt, repaired a window, and served customers as the shop grew busy.
• Li Xiaolian gave Bajie the account book, but he admitted he could not understand it, prompting her to ask who he really was.
• On a rainy day, Li Xiaolian brought Bajie a bowl of meatless noodles, and Bajie asked if she wanted to become an immortal.

Bajie questioned the appeal of immortality while living as Zhu Liang in Yellowstone Town, then learned that his peaceful domestic life had been an illusion. He returned to the town’s ordinary routine and ended the chapter asking Li Xiaolian for food.

• Li Xiaolian told Bajie that a solid mortal life was better than dreaming about becoming an immortal, and he reflected on his identity as Zhu Liang.
• At sunset on the fifth day, Bajie presented a big yellow dog to Mao Gu as the town’s strongest candidate for immortality, but Mao Gu said he was wrong.
• Yellowstone Town shattered like a reflection, and Bajie awoke beneath the pagoda tree as a peddler reminded him that Li Xiaolian was looking for him.
• Li Xiaolian caught Bajie by the ear and ordered him to buy salt, and he hurried to Chen's Oil and Salt Shop.
• Old Chen criticized Zhu Liang for lacking ambition, but Bajie promised to treat Li Xiaolian well.
• Bajie returned to Pagoda Tree Peace Inn, gave Li Xiaolian the salt, and told her he was hungry.

Bajie repaired the broken bridge outside Yellowstone Town with help from the townspeople, while Li Xiaolian quietly supported the work. On the fifth day, he again guessed that the big yellow dog was the one he was looking for, and Mao Gu declared him wrong before the town shattered like a reflection in water.

• Bajie helped around the inn, repaired a broken stool and a faulty window, and told Li Xiaolian he would replace the cracked water jar.
• Bajie went to the river to repair the collapsed bridge, hauling out the old timber and cutting pine for a replacement.
• Over the next days, townspeople joined Bajie’s work, while Li Xiaolian brought meals for the helpers and a meatless bowl of noodles for Bajie.
• The townspeople tested the finished bridge, then left Bajie and the big yellow dog standing on it as Li Xiaolian watched from below.
• Mao Gu asked Bajie to identify the one he was looking for, and Bajie pointed to the big yellow dog; Mao Gu said he was wrong and offered him one last attempt.
• Bajie said he would continue the contest and told Mao Gu not to destroy the bridge, whereupon Yellowstone Town shattered like a reflection in water.

Bajie sat beneath a pagoda tree for days, counting ants and refusing food while the town judged him. Li Xiaolian’s quiet care finally moved him to eat, and he ended by asking Mao Gu whether his heart was too small to hold more than a handful of people.

• Bajie spent days beneath the pagoda tree counting ants, ignoring the townspeople and refusing food and water.
• Old Chen scolded Bajie and urged him to return home to Xiaolian, but Bajie kept counting.
• Li Xiaolian brought Bajie a bowl of noodles and asked him not to go hungry.
• Bajie finished counting 1,426 ants, ate the noodles, and stood to look toward the lit Pagoda Tree Peace Inn.
• Mao Gu appeared beside Bajie, who asked whether his heart was too small and said it could hold only a handful of people.

Bajie faced the trial of his immortal destiny by realizing Yellowstone Town and its people were all manifestations of his own heart, and chose to carry his attachments while continuing along the path among mortals. Xuanzang declared him the winner, giving the pilgrimage party the advantage before the final round.

• Bajie brought Yellowstone Town to life and explained that its people, including Big Yellow, were all him and that he wanted to live peacefully.
• Bajie told Mao Gu he would keep carrying his love and attachments, and Mao Gu acknowledged that Bajie had won the round.
• Bajie awoke on the arena platform as Wukong, Sha Wujing, and Little White Dragon congratulated him.
• Xuanzang declared Wuneng the winner, and Mao Gu explained that Yellowstone Town and its people were manifestations of Bajie's heart.
• Taibai Jinxing announced that the pilgrimage party held the advantage after the first two rounds and began the final round.

Sha Wujing was chosen to face Mao Zhong in the Life-Saving Match, while his fellow disciples encouraged him and warned him to stay within his limits. Mao Zhong revealed a painting of a city enclosed by mountains and declared that their contest would be about saving people.

• Bajie returned from his match boasting, then embarrassed himself by mistakenly calling Little White Dragon surnamed Bai.
• Taibai Jinxing announced that Sha Wujing would face Mao Zhong in the third match, called the Life-Saving Match.
• Little White Dragon warned Sha Wujing that the contest seemed designed for him and told him to concede if necessary, while Wukong encouraged him.
• Sha Wujing accepted Xuanzang's advice to do his best and stepped onto the arena to meet Mao Zhong.
• Mao Zhong painted a vast mountain basin containing a prosperous city and announced that the match would test their ability to save people.

Mao Zhong challenged Sha Wujing to save all 13,000 residents of Tiehua City before the surrounding mountains collapsed and seawater flooded the basin in three days. Sha Wujing entered the contest and warned the townspeople, but no one believed him.

• Mao Zhong explained that Sha Wujing would win only by saving every resident of Tiehua City from the coming flood.
• Bajie protested that the contest was unfair, but Sha Wujing accepted and Mao Zhong sent him into the city through the scroll.
• Sha Wujing arrived in Tiehua City and saw its crowded market, oppressive weather, and iron-black mountains.
• Sha Wujing warned Butcher Zhao and nearby residents that the mountains would collapse and the flood would drown the city, but they dismissed him and offered him food and drink.
• For four hours, Sha Wujing warned people throughout the city, but no one believed him and they thought he was having a fit of hysteria.

Sha Wujing tried to persuade Tiehua City's lord to evacuate the city before the Divine Mountain collapsed and a flood arrived, but the lord rejected his warning. The lord ordered Sha Wujing to stay in the city and stop alarming its people.

• Officers escorted Sha Wujing to the city lord after people reported his warnings about the coming flood.
• Sha Wujing urged the city lord to order Tiehua City's thirteen thousand residents to climb the mountain and escape.
• The city lord argued that the residents could not reach the summit in time, survive there, or escape if the mountain collapsed.
• The city lord invoked Tiehua City's sacred ban on climbing the Divine Mountain and told Sha Wujing to stay in quiet lodgings without stirring up trouble.

Sha Wujing resolved to save Iron Transformation City despite the city lord and residents refusing to heed his warnings. The city lord then entrusted him with finding a legendary Divine Vessel atop Great Black Mountain, the only plan that might persuade the city to evacuate.

• After realizing that neither the city lord nor the people would believe his warnings, Sha Wujing vowed to prove himself through his actions and save them.
• Sha Wujing concluded that escaping by boat was the only route out of the flood, but he could not figure out how to build one large enough for the city.
• An elderly couple gave Sha Wujing hot rice porridge, which he gratefully accepted before continuing on his way.
• The Constable delivered a letter in which Tie Jing said he would trust Sha Wujing once and had begun secretly gathering provisions.
• Tie Jing revealed that Iron Transformation City's legends told of a Divine Vessel atop Great Black Mountain and said that finding it would let him order the entire city to board.

Sha Wujing fought his way up Great Black Mountain to find the Divine Vessel and save Iron Transformation City. He reached the summit as City Lord Tie Jing sat in silence in the city lord's residence.

• Sha Wujing promised the constable he would find the Divine Vessel, then flew toward Great Black Mountain.
• A rune restriction struck Sha Wujing from the sky, so he began climbing the mountain instead.
• Sha Wujing climbed through the death-gray mist while scarlet snakes and iron hounds attacked and clung to him.
• Sha Wujing fought off the monsters and continued upward until he reached the mountain summit.
• City Lord Tie Jing sat silently behind his desk in the city lord's residence.

Sha Wujing found a giant elephant trapped in a black bog atop Black Iron Mountain Peak, where the divine ship was nowhere to be seen. After learning the elephant was also doomed when the mountain collapsed, he began lifting it, determined to save it and the thirteen thousand people of Ironification City.

• Sha Wujing recovered from his injuries and found himself on a mountaintop covered by a black bog, with a mountain-sized elephant trapped in it.
• Sha Wujing told the elephant that Black Mountain would collapse in two days and that he needed the divine ship to save Ironification City’s thirteen thousand residents.
• The elephant warned Sha Wujing that there was no ship or anyone to save and ordered him to leave the forbidden ground.
• Sha Wujing pointed out that the elephant was trapped too, then rode his Demon-Subduing Treasure Staff beneath its body and vowed to save it.
• Sha Wujing enlarged his body and heaved upward, raising the elephant little by little despite his wounds.

Sha Wujing freed the White Jade Divine Elephant from the mire, breaking the restrictions on the black mountains. The light reached Iron Transformation City, revealing its thirteen thousand inhabitants as evil ghosts, newly released from their endless torment.

• Sha Wujing used his staff to pull the enormous elephant from the mire, and its black crust peeled away to reveal the White Jade Divine Elephant.
• The White Jade Divine Elephant spoke, and the runes and restrictions on the black mountains shattered.
• Tie Jing felt the tremor in Iron Transformation City and saw black-red light enter the city as the restrictions broke.
• Tie Jing began dissolving into black vapor and roared as Butcher Zhao and an older woman transformed into fiends.
• The inhabitants of Iron Transformation City transformed into thirteen thousand evil ghosts, ending the cycle of torment that had bound them.

Sha Wujing discovered that the people he had rescued in Iron Transformation City were evil ghosts, and that he had helped release them into the mortal world. He fought to block the widening rift as the ghosts swarmed him, while Young Master Mao declared that Sha Wujing had lost the round.

• Evil ghosts across Iron Transformation City rejoiced as the rift above Great Black Mountain opened and surged toward it.
• Sha Wujing plunged from the mountain to protect the city, but found Tie Jing transformed into a ghost and realized the city's people had all been evil spirits.
• Sha Wujing saw a child in the mortal world beyond the rift and understood that he had released the ghosts from their prison.
• Sha Wujing smashed ghosts trying to cross the rift, refusing to retreat despite his dwindling magical power and mounting injuries.
• Young Master Mao told Sha Wujing that his compassion was blind and declared that he had lost the round.