Chapter Summaries

Wukong and Bajie challenged Young Master Mao over the cruel Life-Saving Match, but Xuanzang insisted Sha Wujing had not lost and must continue on his own path. Young Master Mao accepted the outcome remained undecided, as silver light entered the painting and Tie Jing prepared to attack Sha Wujing from behind.

• Wukong and Bajie condemned Young Master Mao for manipulating Sha Wujing and prepared to fight him.
• Young Master Mao argued that compassion without discernment could unleash greater evil, explaining that the match reflected a mistake he had once made.
• Xuanzang stopped Wukong and Bajie, declaring that Sha Wujing had not lost because he still stood by his choice to save people.
• Young Master Mao conceded that he had reached his conclusion too soon and agreed the match remained undecided.
• A streak of silver light plunged into the painting as Sha Wujing continued holding back the ghosts despite his injuries.
• Tie Jing formed a bone nail and aimed it at Sha Wujing's back, just behind his heart.

Little White Dragon saved Sha Wujing from Tie Jing and agreed to help him hold back the evil ghosts for two days. The White Jade Divine Elephant admitted it had released the ghosts, then charged into Great Black Mountain and brought it down.

• Little White Dragon shattered Tie Jing’s Bone Spike, killed his manifested body, and rescued Sha Wujing from the surrounding ghosts.
• Sha Wujing told Little White Dragon that they had to hold the ghosts back until Great Black Mountain collapsed, and Little White Dragon agreed to follow his plan.
• Tie Jing returned and taunted Sha Wujing with the voices of the people he had once tried to save while Little White Dragon fought off the ghosts.
• The White Jade Divine Elephant arrived, healed Sha Wujing, and confessed that it had released the evil ghosts after longing to escape its age-old vigil.
• The White Jade Divine Elephant charged through the ghost tide and rammed Great Black Mountain, causing the mountain to explode and collapse.

As the Black Sea dragged the evil ghosts beneath Great Black Mountain, Sha Wujing resolved to enter it and save them, using his body as a raft. Little White Dragon followed him into the sea and unleashed his freezing power.

• The Black Sea swept the escaped evil ghosts back into its depths, and Little White Dragon stopped Sha Wujing from reaching for the disguised elderly couple.
• Tie Jing accused Sha Wujing of causing the ghosts’ endless imprisonment, and their cries made Sha Wujing bleed as he struggled with whom he had saved.
• Sha Wujing asked Little White Dragon to freeze the Black Sea for ten breaths and said he would enter the water first.
• Remembering Xuanzang’s parable of the raft, Sha Wujing leaped into the Black Sea, declaring that his body would carry the ghosts to the far shore.
• Little White Dragon transformed into a white dragon, plunged after Sha Wujing, and spread frost across the sea.

Sha Wujing opened his body to draw thirteen thousand evil ghosts inside, intending to carry them out of the Black Sea while Little White Dragon held back the water. The White Jade Divine Elephant reached him, but the ghosts and its power collided within him, leaving Sha Wujing suspended between two opposing forces.

• Little White Dragon froze the Black Sea and called to Sha Wujing that he could hold it for only ten breaths.
• Sha Wujing tore open his chest and invited the evil ghosts to enter his body, promising to take them to the other shore.
• Tie Jing and the other ghosts flooded into Sha Wujing, tormenting him and then realizing he meant to imprison them inside himself.
• Little White Dragon struggled to hold the ice as black frost spread over his scales and the Black Sea began to churn again.
• Sha Wujing welcomed the White Jade Divine Elephant into his palm as the tenth breath arrived and Little White Dragon was blasted away.
• White Jade Mountain and Great Black Mountain formed on opposite sides of Sha Wujing as their auras clashed, and his eyes opened—one black and one white.

Sha Wujing absorbed the evil ghosts of the Black Sea into his body and emerged with the White Jade Divine Elephant, determined to carry the ghosts until they repaid their debts. He reunited with the badly wounded Little White Dragon, and they prepared to return to their waiting companions.

• Little White Dragon was injured by the Black Sea’s black frost, then watched the sea collapse toward the place where Sha Wujing had entered.
• The ghosts inside Sha Wujing protested as he contained them, but he insisted they would remain with him and repay their debts while he saved Benefactor White Elephant.
• Sha Wujing charged out of the Black Sea bearing the Black Mountain and the White Jade Divine Elephant on his chest.
• Young Master Mao praised Sha Wujing’s resolve and wondered aloud whether this was the only way to save White Elephant.
• Little White Dragon reunited with Sha Wujing, dismissed his own injuries as minor, and handed him the Demon-Subduing Treasure Staff.
• Little White Dragon told Sha Wujing that their master and companions were waiting, and the two set off to return.

Sha Wujing returned safely from the Divine Elephant Suppressing Hell Diagram, where he had carried the tormented souls and helped free the White Jade Divine Elephant. Mao Zhong conceded the third round, and Xuanzang declared Wujing the winner.

• Bajie and Wukong checked Sha Wujing for injuries, while Little White Dragon stopped them from roughing him up.
• Mao Zhong explained that the White Jade Divine Elephant had become the diagram's formation core and thanked Sha Wujing for helping him find liberation.
• Mao Zhong admitted defeat, and Sha Wujing thanked him for what he had learned.
• Xuanzang praised Sha Wujing's compassion and affirmed that he was walking his own path.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva called Sha Wujing a fellow traveler, and Xuanzang announced that Wujing had won the third round.

After the Pilgrim’s party won the contest, the Heavenly Venerable challenged their conduct in the Life-Saving Match and punished Sun Wukong and Zhu Wuneng for breaking the rules. The punishment unexpectedly cleared Zhu Wuneng’s mind, while Wukong remained in pain from the ruler’s strike.

• Taibai Jinxing declared Sha Wujing the winner of the third round and announced the Pilgrim’s party had won the contest.
• The Heavenly Venerable questioned whether Sun Wukong and Zhu Wuneng had improperly interfered in Ao WujI’s trial, and Wukong accused him of trying to avoid honoring the result.
• The Heavenly Venerable acknowledged the contest’s outcome but argued that the disciples had broken the rules and should not feel wronged.
• When the Heavenly Venerable invited Wukong to explain his position in Miro Palace, Wukong backed down and agreed that rules should be followed.
• The Bitter Bamboo Ruler struck Wukong on the forehead and Zhu Wuneng on the backside as punishment.
• Zhu Wuneng noticed that his thoughts had cleared after the strike, and Wukong mocked him for it.

The Bitter Bamboo Ruler struck Little White Dragon, Sha Wujing, and Wukong, cleansing or changing the first two while leaving Wukong with a painful bump. The Ruler then touched Xuanzang’s Blood-Red Mole, causing him to spit black-gold blood as Wukong rushed to his side.

• The Bitter Bamboo Ruler struck Little White Dragon’s shoulder, expelled the black energy within him, and restored the flow of his dragon water-spirit power.
• Bajie laughed at Little White Dragon’s pain, then the Ruler tapped Sha Wujing’s chest and joined the black and white energies into a gray circular mark.
• Wukong complained that the others had gained benefits from being struck while he had only been hurt, and the Taoist replied that he had done it because he felt like it.
• The Ruler flew to Xuanzang and touched the Blood-Red Mole between his brows, making a scarlet slit pupil appear briefly and causing him to spit black-gold blood.
• Wukong leaped toward Xuanzang and shouted for his master.

Xuanzang received the Bitter Bamboo Ruler after it absorbed some of the Earth Vein Baleful Qi burdening him, and he thanked Yuanshi Tianzun. With the contest and its karma settled, the immortals and Bodhisattva departed, leaving Xuanzang and his disciples to continue their journey.

• The Bitter Bamboo Ruler absorbed Xuanzang’s black-and-gold blood and some Earth Vein Baleful Qi, then settled into his hand and formed a subtle connection with him.
• Xuanzang thanked Yuanshi Tianzun, who explained that the treasure had come into being because of Xuanzang; Wukong complained that nobody had told him sooner.
• Yuanshi Tianzun left to face a distant challenger, and the White Jade Arena dissolved as everyone returned to the official road.
• The Three Mao Lords exchanged farewells with Xuanzang and his disciples, then returned to their mountain.
• Taibai Jinxing teased Wukong about the lump on his forehead before flying back to the Heavenly Court.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva praised Wukong and the others for passing the trial, warned that future tribulations would be harsher, and departed.

After winning the contest of magic, Xuanzang and his companions prepared to enter Chechi Kingdom with the five hundred monks and the defeated power immortals. The frightened king learned they were approaching and led the court outside the city to welcome Xuanzang.

• Wukong complained that the Celestial Venerable had struck him, then accepted Bajie's offer of fruit and a month of service in exchange for his forgiveness.
• Sha Wujing gave Little White Dragon spare clothes, and Xuanzang concealed the Bitter Bamboo Ruler before asking the five hundred monks to accompany him into the city.
• Xuanzang asked the three power immortals to disguise themselves as ordinary monks, and they joined the group.
• The king learned that the three National Preceptors were missing and that Xuanzang's party was approaching Chechi Kingdom.
• The king stopped weeping, ordered the officials to welcome Xuanzang, and led them outside the city gates as Xuanzang and his companions approached.

Xuanzang and his companions returned to the Chechi Kingdom, where the ruler begged forgiveness and promised to endorse Xuanzang’s travel pass. When village elders arrived to request rain from the National Preceptor, Xuanzang asked to handle their petition himself.

• The ruler of the Chechi Kingdom and his officials knelt to welcome Xuanzang, who turned their attention to the five hundred monks and asked whether the ruler regretted his actions or merely feared him.
• The ruler struggled to answer Xuanzang’s challenge, then invited him and his companions into the city and promised to seal his travel pass.
• In the palace hall, Xuanzang waited silently as the ruler and officials grew uneasy, while the five hundred monks chanted sutras.
• A palace attendant announced that village elders had come to ask the National Preceptor to pray for rain after a rainless spring.
• Xuanzang asked the ruler for permission to handle the elders’ petition himself.

Xuanzang had the Three Powers summon rain in the Chechi Kingdom, and the downpour led the ruler to promise to restore Buddhism. Having seen how quickly the people turned from them, the Three Powers accepted their punishment and left the palace.

• Xuanzang asked Hu Li and his two brothers to summon rain while the ruler and village elders watched.
• Hu Li gathered Daoist ritual implements, and the Three Powers began their rite before the hall.
• Clouds gathered and rain fell, prompting the people to praise Xuanzang and the ruler to vow to rebuild monasteries.
• Xuanzang asked the Three Powers if they had seen clearly, and they thanked him and Wukong for enlightening them.
• The Three Powers said their punishment was not complete and departed through the crowd without being recognized.

Xuanzang confronted the king of the Chechi Kingdom after rain fell, revealing that the three former National Preceptors had summoned it. He challenged the court to govern responsibly rather than rely on supernatural powers, leaving the king and officials unable to answer.

• The king promised to restore Buddhism and punish the Daoists, while Xuanzang watched the rain and ignored the court's praise.
• Xuanzang told the king that Hu Li, Lu Li, and Yang Li—the three former National Preceptors—had prayed for rain.
• The Grand Preceptor called the three Daoists demonic and urged Xuanzang to spread Buddhism, but Xuanzang refused to teach rainmaking.
• Xuanzang questioned the king and officials about their reliance on rainmaking instead of maintaining irrigation, reservoirs, and granaries.
• Xuanzang asked whether the court would condemn him if he failed to summon rain, then challenged the king and officials by asking what use they were if they relied on supernatural powers to govern.

Xuanzang revealed that Chechi Kingdom’s rain and prosperity had been bought with the deaths of persecuted monks and innocent people, whose vengeful spirits now haunted the kingdom. Though Xuanzang refused to ask the dead for forgiveness, the five hundred monks pleaded for him to save the living, and he began to tell them a story.

• Xuanzang told the king, officials, and village elders that their favorable weather had been purchased with the lives of imprisoned and abused monks and commoners.
• Xuanzang explained that the victims’ unresolved resentment had turned most of their souls into Vengeful Ghosts wandering Chechi Kingdom.
• An official and others panicked, admitting they had followed orders, while the king and the assembled people begged Xuanzang to save the kingdom.
• Xuanzang refused to persuade the dead to forgive their persecutors, saying he could do nothing now that retribution had come.
• The five hundred monks asked Xuanzang to protect the kingdom’s innocent people, and he agreed to tell them a story.

Xuanzang recounted how the Yuezhi king relied on a physician, a minister, and Bodhisattva Ashvaghosha before ordering five hundred criminals blinded and abandoned in the mountains. Ashvaghosha went with them, and after days of suffering asked whether they had realized their wrongdoing or merely feared death; the men grabbed his robe as they begged for help.

• Xuanzang told the hall how King Chandana Kanishka accepted counsel from Charaka, Mojara, and Ashvaghosha to care for his health, kingdom, and conduct.
• After five hundred evildoers terrorized the Yuezhi Kingdom, the king ordered their eyes gouged out and their bodies abandoned in the mountains despite Charaka and Mojara's counsel.
• Ashvaghosha asked the king to let him accompany the blinded men into the wilderness, and the king agreed.
• The five hundred men cursed, suffered injuries, fought over food, and eventually begged for mercy while Ashvaghosha watched in silence.
• Ashvaghosha asked the men whether they had realized they were wrong or only that they were going to die, and they lunged toward him and clutched his robe.

Xuanzang recounted how Bodhisattva Ashvaghosha saved five hundred villains while teaching them to repent, and how the King of the Yuezhi held them accountable while allowing them to atone. He used the story to warn the Ruler of Chechi Kingdom against replacing persecution of Buddhists with persecution of Taoists, leaving the ruler to choose whether to follow a just path.

• Bodhisattva Ashvaghosha questioned the five hundred blind villains, endured their attacks, and sustained them with blood that became sweet milk.
• Bodhisattva Ashvaghosha taught the villains the Dharma until they began to repent, and his milk restored their sight.
• Xuanzang told the Ruler of Chechi Kingdom how the King of the Yuezhi ordered restitution, punishment, and labor according to each villain's crimes.
• Xuanzang warned the ruler that turning against Taoists in favor of Buddhism would repeat his earlier wrongdoing under a different name.
• Xuanzang urged the ruler to use law, punishment, teaching, and care as needed, then left him to decide whether to follow that path.

The Ruler of Chechi Kingdom began taking responsibility for the kingdom’s abuses by writing an edict and recording the names of those who had died or suffered under forced labor. As the monks’ testimonies eased the spirits’ resentment, Sha Wujing argued that the ruler’s first act of remorse could inspire others to change.

• Wukong urged the Ruler of Chechi Kingdom to confess the kingdom’s wrongs, restore justice, and stop relying blindly on gods or immortals.
• The Ruler of Chechi Kingdom wrote an edict admitting his failures and ordering investigations into those harmed over the past twenty years.
• An elderly monk told the ruler that the edict must include the names of the dead, and the monks began recounting them as the Grand Tutor wrote each one down.
• As the names were recorded through the night, the black vapor around the watching spirits gradually faded.
• Bajie doubted the officials and people would change after Xuanzang and the travelers left, but Sha Wujing said small acts of kindness and repentance could inspire more people.

The Ruler of Chechi Kingdom issued sweeping edicts to investigate abuses and began making amends to the monks and the dead. As Xuanzang and his companions departed, Wukong encouraged Shanbao to stand up for the oppressed and gave him a hair to summon help.

• The Ruler of Chechi Kingdom ordered officials to identify the dead, restore temple lands, compensate families, review wrongful convictions, and repair neglected public works.
• The Ruler knelt to apologize to the five hundred monks, and Xuanzang told him that admitting wrongdoing was only the beginning of making things right.
• The next morning, Chechi Kingdom posted the Ruler's proclamations, and Xuanzang and his companions departed without waiting for a royal send-off.
• Shanbao asked Wukong if he could become like him, and Wukong urged him to study, cultivate, and stand against those who bullied the weak.
• Wukong gave Shanbao one of his hairs and told him to call for the Great Sage Equal to Heaven if he faced trouble he could not handle.
• Shanbao promised to cultivate diligently and help people in danger as Wukong and the others continued down the road.

Xuanzang and his companions traveled through Chechi Kingdom, investigating wrongful cases and helping communities as the ruler’s edict exposed widespread abuses. As monks and Daoists began working together to settle the kingdom’s troubles, Wukong asked Xuanzang whether their growing involvement had gone too far.

• Xuanzang stopped along the road to hear pleas from commoners and helped investigate wrongful convictions, while Wukong checked reports of ghosts and demons.
• Bajie, Sha Wujing, and Little White Dragon helped villagers repair waterways and dig wells, and Little White Dragon asked Bajie questions about ordinary people’s lives.
• Wukong saw a Daoist and a novice monk sharing a meal and bickering like companions.
• Chechi Kingdom’s ruler registered Daoists and called for monks to work alongside them, capturing ghosts, delivering their souls, and helping authorities provide restitution.
• Wukong gave hairs to Daoists, monks, and petitioners so they could call on him for protection.
• That night, Wukong asked Xuanzang whether they were doing too much by getting involved in so many cases and slowing their journey.

Wukong questioned Xuanzang’s role in Chechi Kingdom’s suffering and confessed that his deeper unease came from Xuanzang seeming too perfect and unreal. He wondered whether their pilgrimage and companions were only a dream beneath Five Elements Mountain, leaving Xuanzang silent as he voiced his doubts.

• Wukong challenged Xuanzang’s decision to help Chechi Kingdom, and Xuanzang explained that he could only do what lay within his reach while leaving the kingdom’s fate to its people and rulers.
• Wukong told Xuanzang that he and the other disciples would follow him anywhere, but worried that Xuanzang had never faced a trial or found his path as they had.
• Wukong described how Bajie, Little White, Sha Wujing, and A-Hu had changed, then asked what Xuanzang’s own path and flaws were.
• Wukong questioned whether Xuanzang was truly human, wondered whose awakened wisdom he carried, and asked whether he might be a fake who had already made the pilgrimage.
• Wukong wondered if the journey and his companions were only a dream beneath Five Elements Mountain, and feared they could instead be as cruel and broken as his imagined alternatives.