Recaps

Chen Wei sought the Great Heavenly Venerable’s approval to marry Yang Chan and give their unborn children a legitimate birth. The Great Heavenly Venerable ordered a vast, unarmed Heavenly Court retinue to escort Yang Chan from Guanjiangkou and told Chen Wei to invite Sun Wukong, leaving him to wonder what lay behind that request.

• Chen Wei hurried to Lingxiao Palace after telling Yang Chan the good news, then waited while the Four Great Celestial Masters finished reporting.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable privately acknowledged that Yang Chan could no longer bear the stigma of an unmarried mother and ordered Chen Wei to take a huge contingent of immortals and Heavenly Soldiers to bring her back as his bride.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable stressed that the procession must go unarmed and in ordinary clothes, and reminded Chen Wei to keep matters harmonious with Erlang.
• Chen Wei accepted the decree and called the Great Heavenly Venerable “Uncle” after being told to use Yang Chan’s form of address.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable instructed Chen Wei to invite Sun Wukong to the wedding because the monkey shared a destined bond with the children, and Chen Wei wondered at the implication.

Chen Wei asked Xuanzang and his disciples to help him fetch the Third Holy Mother as his bride under the Great Heavenly Venerable’s decree. Sun Wukong agreed to go and began preparing a gift, while Zhu Bajie resisted joining the expedition to Guanjiangkou.

• Xuanzang scolded Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie for eating watermelon without dignity, and Sha Wujing warned that trouble was coming.
• Chen Wei explained his appointment as a Lingguan and asked the group to accompany him to Guanjiangkou to fetch the Third Holy Mother.
• Zhu Bajie tried to flee, but Sun Wukong grabbed him, and Xuanzang decided the whole group would go.
• Sha Wujing stopped Zhu Bajie from objecting, and Sun Wukong praised Chen Wei’s bold plan to bring the gods to Yang Jian’s gate.
• Sun Wukong recalled his battle with Yang Jian and offered Chen Wei another treasure for the journey.

Sun Wukong gave Chen Wei a Seven-Colored Auspicious Cloud so he could keep his promise to marry the Third Holy Mother. Chen Wei led a hundred thousand unarmed Heavenly Soldiers and Generals toward Guanjiangkou, where the Meishan Brothers blocked their way with a suspicious wedding gift.

• Sun Wukong gave Chen Wei a Seven-Colored Auspicious Cloud and urged him to prepare for the wedding.
• Chen Wei took command of the assembled Heavenly forces and led them toward Guanjiangkou to fetch the Third Holy Mother.
• The Meishan Brothers stopped the procession and presented Chen Wei with a formal hat on Yang Jian’s behalf.
• Nezha warned Li Jing that Yang Jian’s gift signaled ill intent.

Chen Wei endured the crushing weight of Yang Jian’s Red Ceremonial Hat and continued toward Guanjiangkou, impressing the watching gods and Buddhas. Yang Jian then confined Yang Chan to her boudoir after discovering she had dressed for the wedding, insisting Chen Wei pass every trial first.

• Chen Wei accepted Yang Jian’s Red Ceremonial Hat and used Sun Wukong’s body-tempering technique to withstand its immense weight.
• Kang Anyu resumed leading the army toward Guanjiangkou as the gods and Buddhas marveled at Chen Wei’s strength.
• Yang Jian watched Chen Wei endure the hat’s pressure and vowed to test him further.
• Yang Chan appeared in full bridal attire and urged Yang Jian to honor the wedding decree without more trials.
• Yang Jian sent Yang Chan back to her room, sealed the rear residence with formations, and forbade her from leaving until Chen Wei passed every trial.

Chen Wei’s wedding procession reached Guanjiangkou, where Yang Jian’s men laid a wine formation to test the groom. Chen Wei turned the challenge into a feast for the army, but the endlessly replenishing Immortal Brew left the formation unbroken, and Taibai Jinxing hinted that Sun Wukong’s Peach Banquet past held the key.

• The Heavenly Court’s slow wedding procession frightened demons across the Four Great Continents, who feared the unarmed host signaled a major operation.
• At Guanjiangkou, Kang Anyu revealed rows of Immortal Brew vats arranged as a formation meant to get Chen Wei drunk.
• Chen Wei declared that Yang Jian had provided the wine to reward the army and ordered the immortals and soldiers to drink together.
• Zhu Bajie rushed into the formation to drink, and Chen Wei joined him, but the empty vats refilled with wine.
• Lü Dongbin recognized an ever-renewing array and explained that its secret lay within the wine and that the formation could not be beaten by drinking alone.
• Taibai Jinxing told Sun Wukong that the wine came from the Peach Banquet, prompting Wukong to lament that his old debts had caught up with him again.

Chen Wei, Lü Dongbin, and Sun Wukong broke Yang Jian’s Wine Formation and discovered an Imperial Decree Fragment tied to the old Peach Banquet. Sun Wukong apologized for his past havoc, dissolving the fragment, while Chen Wei realized the Great Heavenly Venerable and Yang Jian may have arranged the situation to settle old grievances.

• Chen Wei asked Sun Wukong to help him reach Guanjiangkou, and Sun Wukong recruited Lü Dongbin to break the Wine Formation.
• Lü Dongbin and Chen Wei found the formation eye, and Sun Wukong sealed its spring with the Golden Cudgel.
• A fragment of the Imperial Decree for the ruined Peach Banquet emerged, revealing the source of the formation’s lingering power.
• Taibai Jinxing suggested Sun Wukong had to resolve the karma from his past actions, and Sun Wukong apologized to the decree before it dissolved.
• Chen Wei suspected the Great Heavenly Venerable and Yang Jian had set up the situation to settle the grievances from Havoc in Heaven.

Chen Wei and the Heavenly army broke Yang Jian’s Wine Formation after the immortals covered up their drunkenness by calling it an illusion. As the army resumed its journey, the Howling Celestial Dog and Guanjiangkou’s spirit beasts blocked the road to demand wedding gifts.

• Jiao Mujiao and Zhu Bajie blamed their drunken behavior on an Illusion Formation, and the other immortals joined their story to save face.
• Chen Wei praised Yang Jian, then ordered the army to drink all the remaining Immortal Brew, breaking the Wine Formation.
• The Meishan Brothers sent Kang Anyu to confirm that the formation was the second of five trials, leaving three more ahead.
• A black mist brought the Howling Celestial Dog and Guanjiangkou’s spirit beasts to block the army’s path.
• The Howling Celestial Dog demanded a generous wedding gift, rejected the immortals’ offerings as scrap, and insisted that requesting a lucky gift was customary.

Chen Wei and the immortals overcame Howling Celestial Dog’s blockade with a performance by the Eight Immortals, but Chen Wei was suddenly snatched away by a black shadow. The heavenly forces stayed behind in confusion as Taibai Jinxing urged them to keep playing and wait.

• Chen Wei stopped the immortals from fighting Howling Celestial Dog and asked what treasure he wanted, but the dog refused to cooperate.
• Sun Wukong prompted Han Xiangzi to use his flute, and Han Xiangzi invited the other Eight Immortals to perform together.
• The Eight Immortals played “Drunken Wind, Carefree Song,” enchanting the spirit beasts and making Howling Celestial Dog roll blissfully on the clouds.
• Chen Wei declared the third hurdle cleared and prepared to thank the Eight Immortals.
• A black shadow swooped down and carried Chen Wei away, and Taibai Jinxing told the panicked heavenly troops to keep playing music and wait.

Chen Wei was swept into a perilous confrontation with Yang Jian, finding himself powerless in a mortal body beside Yang Chan and their newborn twins. When Yang Chan urged him to flee, he returned to protect her and challenged Yang Jian as the halberd struck.

• Taibai Jinxing reassured the Eight Immortals that Chen Wei would survive, and they continued playing music to repay Yang Jian for once letting them cross the sea.
• The Heaven-Sweeping Cloak transported Chen Wei to a thatched cottage, where Yang Chan urged him to run because Yang Jian had found them.
• Chen Wei discovered that his immortal robe and Golden Immortal powers were gone and that he was holding Yang Chan and his two newborn children.
• Yang Jian arrived with the Grass-Headed Gods and Meishan Brothers, and Yang Chan told Chen Wei to take the children and escape with the Treasure Lotus Lamp.
• Chen Wei left the children inside, returned to stand in front of Yang Chan, and defied Yang Jian as his halberd came crashing down.

Chen Wei confronted the Yang Jian in the illusion, refusing to let him execute Yang Chan and their children. He baited the Justice Heavenly Deity into striking, but Yang Jian hesitated with his blade at Chen Wei's neck.

• Yang Jian stopped his halberd above Chen Wei's head and asked if he was afraid.
• Chen Wei threw a clod of dirt at Yang Jian and accused him of abusing his authority and violating Heavenly Court procedures.
• Chen Wei continued mocking Yang Jian and insisted that the real Holy Manifestation True Lord would protect Yang Chan.
• Yang Chan pleaded with Yang Jian to spare her family after the babies began crying.
• Chen Wei stepped toward Yang Jian's blade and dared him to strike, then taunted him when he hesitated.

Chen Wei survived Yang Jian’s illusion trial and found his Golden Immortal power restored, but Yang Jian immediately demanded that he defeat him in a final trial. The chapter ended with Yang Jian summoning the Mountain-Splitting Axe as Chen Wei tried to dodge and talk his way out of the fight.

• In the illusion, Yang Jian cut off Chen Wei’s head, and Yang Chan attacked Yang Jian in a rage before Chen Wei lost consciousness.
• Chen Wei awoke in a mountain ravine with his head restored and his magic power and Golden Immortal Dao Fruit intact.
• Yang Jian confronted Chen Wei, who apologized for his insults and explained away the mud on Yang Jian’s face as part of testing the illusion.
• Yang Jian retrieved the Yin-Yang Demon-Slaying Sword from Chen Wei’s sleeve and ordered him to defeat him as the final trial.
• When Chen Wei refused and tried to negotiate, Yang Jian summoned the Mountain-Splitting Axe, and Chen Wei dodged in alarm.

Chen Wei fought Yang Jian, who suppressed his cultivation to the Golden Immortal realm, and used the Formless Mind Ape Technique to imitate the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. After Chen Wei struck Yang Jian with Heavenly Law, Earthly Form, Yang Jian revealed his own genuine version and prepared to attack, just as a voice spoke from Chen Wei’s Sea of Consciousness.

• Yang Jian suppressed his cultivation to the Golden Immortal realm, but quickly defeated Chen Wei and attacked him with sword shadows created by his Heavenly Eye.
• Chen Wei transformed into the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and fought Yang Jian with an imitation Golden Cudgel, earning Yang Jian’s praise.
• Chen Wei used Heavenly Law, Earthly Form to enlarge himself and struck Yang Jian into a mountain.
• Yang Jian emerged in his own enormous form, revealing a genuine Heavenly Law, Earthly Form and preparing to strike Chen Wei.
• A strange voice in Chen Wei’s Sea of Consciousness told him that he was using a staff incorrectly.

Chen Wei endured Yang Jian’s trial in the Landscape, Mountains, Rivers, and Society Map, with help from a strand of Sun Wukong’s hair. Yang Jian conceded, and Chen Wei reached Guanjiangkou to marry Chan'er.

• Chen Wei discovered Sun Wukong’s hair on his Dharma Aspect, and the Great Sage took control of his body to fight Yang Jian.
• As the Great Sage’s power faded, he told Chen Wei to follow the cudgel’s momentum, and Chen Wei struck Yang Jian with the accumulated force.
• Chen Wei and Yang Jian returned to their true forms, and Yang Jian conceded, saying that if he had not won, he had lost.
• Yang Jian sent Chen Wei to Guanjiangkou and told him to hurry and marry Chan'er.
• Chen Wei found Sun Wukong, Taibai Jinxing, and the cleared cloud road at the temple, then learned that the ordeal had taken place inside Yang Jian’s map.

Chen Wei entered Guanjiangkou for his wedding and faced a formation of brides who were all Yang Chan, with only himself allowed to identify her. He exposed Yang Chan by insulting her cooking, then endured her furious elbow strikes and ear-twisting as the gathered immortals pretended the scene was wedding entertainment.

• Chen Wei led the wedding procession into Guanjiangkou and found brides covering the courtyard and surrounding mountains, each bearing Yang Chan’s identical aura.
• Yang Jian forbade Sun Wukong and the other immortals from helping Chen Wei identify his bride, leaving him to face the challenge alone.
• Chen Wei entered the formation and provoked the brides by claiming the Dragon Maiden’s tangyuan tasted better than Yang Chan’s.
• Yang Chan revealed herself by elbowing Chen Wei, then struck him again and seized his ear as he tried to explain himself.
• Yang Jian told the embarrassed wedding guests to treat the scuffle as a staged performance, and the immortals turned away and praised it.

Chen Wei and Yang Chan married in a ceremony blessed by the Great Heavenly Venerable, and the wedding merit elevated Chen Wei to a hollow Primordial Unity Golden Immortal. Years later, with their twins still unborn, Yang Chan hinted that she had planted a spy beside Chen Wei.

• Chen Wei and Yang Chan completed their wedding ceremony as the Great Heavenly Venerable officiated and blessed them.
• Marriage merit raised Chen Wei's cultivation to Primordial Unity Golden Immortal, though his magic power remained ordinary.
• Yang Jian congratulated the newlyweds and warned Chen Wei not to let Yang Chan suffer.
• Wildly distorted accounts of the wedding spread through unofficial histories until the Great Heavenly Venerable sealed them in the Heavenly Treasury.
• Years later, Chen Wei cared for Yang Chan while their twins remained in her womb, and Yang Chan said she had planted a spy at his side.

Chen Wei placated Yang Chan when she asked about investigating her informants, then discussed his duties and the new mansion being prepared for their family. Meanwhile, Ma Muzhi and the Discipline Censorate officials praised Chen Wei’s painting, “Phoenix's Proud Spirit,” as a work of profound Dao insight.

• Chen Wei praised Yang Chan until she was satisfied, then refused to leave her side until she urged him back to his official duties.
• Chen Wei recalled that the Great Heavenly Venerable had approved a vast mansion for him and Yang Chan, publicly describing it as a temporary loan to protect her from criticism.
• Ma Muzhi gathered the Discipline Censorate officials to study Chen Wei’s painting, which had earned thirty thousand merit at Tongming Hall’s 173rd literary assessment.
• Ma Bide interpreted the painting’s distorted phoenix, three tail feathers, and grain of rice as symbols of the Great Dao and the Discipline Inspection Court’s mission.
• The other Immortal Officials echoed Ma Bide’s praise and claimed the painting had cleared their minds and nearly advanced their cultivation.

Chen Wei rewarded his trusted Discipline Inspection Court officials with promotions and stipends, then hurried home when Yang Chan called him. After Chen Wei left, Ma Muzhi began arranging Heavenly Court posts for his relatives.

• Ma Muzhi praised Ma Bide and lectured the Censorate officials about loyalty and serving their superiors.
• Chen Wei arrived with an Imperial Decree and summoned Pang Long, Xiao Yan, Chu Feng, Han Li, and his other trusted officials.
• Chen Wei read the decree promoting Ma Muzhi and Pang Long to Golden Immortals and Xiao Yan, Chu Feng, and Han Li to True Immortals.
• The promoted officials pledged loyalty to Chen Wei, who then left after Yang Chan called him home to taste her osmanthus tangyuan.
• Ma Muzhi asked Ma Bide which Ma family relatives lacked Heavenly Court posts and ordered him to bring them all to the Discipline Inspection Court.

Chen Wei handled the Martial Virtue Star Lord’s attempt to secure Wu Wen’s release and reported the matter to Taibai Jinxing, who backed Chen Wei’s investigation. Taibai Jinxing then told Chen Wei that the Great Heavenly Venerable wanted to give the unborn children of the Third Holy Mother more responsibility.

• The Martial Virtue Star Lord secretly sent lavish gifts to Ma Muzhi, and Chen Wei decided to question Wu Wen himself.
• Wu Wen refused to cooperate, so Xiao Yan arranged for the Recording Stone to stop recording while Chen Wei left the interrogation room.
• Chen Wei visited Taibai Jinxing at Clear Pool and helped him treat the Martial Virtue Star Lord’s gifts as fish bait rather than a violation.
• Chen Wei reported that Wu Wen remained stubborn and that his colleagues were helping clear Wu Wen’s meridians.
• Taibai Jinxing said Wu Wen had disturbed mortal incense offerings and fortune, then told Chen Wei to handle the case.
• Taibai Jinxing revealed that the Great Heavenly Venerable wanted to give the unborn children of the Third Holy Mother more responsibility, delighting Chen Wei.

Chen Wei learned that his unborn twins had been appointed Star Lords and tasked with overseeing mortal Incense Offerings, leaving him to handle the work until they were born. As he agreed to investigate the accounts, Yang Chan used the Treasure Lotus Lamp to protect her belly from outside disturbance.

• Chen Wei received an Imperial Decree naming his unborn son Jade Pivot Numina Star Lord and his unborn daughter Illuminating Vows Star Lord.
• Yang Chan told the twins about their titles, and they kicked in response while Chen Wei playfully tried to get their attention.
• Chen Wei realized the twins’ duties involved auditing mortal Incense Offerings and suspected the assignment was connected to the Martial Virtue Star Lord.
• Chen Wei refused Yang Chan’s suggestion to ask Yang Jian for help and promised to handle the investigation himself.
• Yang Chan summoned the Treasure Lotus Lamp, which flattened her belly and insulated the twins from outside disturbance, astonishing Chen Wei.

Chen Wei reviewed evidence of Wu Wen's interference with mortal incense offerings and prepared to punish him despite the Martial Virtue Star Lord's influence. When the Star Lord arrived to seek leniency, Chen Wei showed him the case files, and the Star Lord reacted with fury at his son.

• Chen Wei's Immortal Officials competed to serve him, while Xiao Yan's work secured Wu Wen's confession and Ma Muzhi and Pang Long gathered evidence in the Mortal Realm.
• Chen Wei told Ma Muzhi and Pang Long that Wu Wen must be punished and that the rules could not be broken, even if the shortfall was repaid.
• The Martial Virtue Star Lord came to the Censorate and asked Chen Wei to show discretion toward Wu Wen.
• Chen Wei gave the Star Lord the case files, and after reading them, the Star Lord condemned Wu Wen's actions and vowed to punish his unfilial son.

Chen Wei maneuvered the Martial Virtue Star Lord into accepting a detailed case file that placed the blame for widespread embezzlement on Wu Wen. The Star Lord learned that Wu Wen could live only if he accepted the charges and served time in the Heavenly Prison, leaving him to decide whether to persuade his son to confess.

• Chen Wei recognized that the Martial Virtue Star Lord was trying to secure leniency for Wu Wen while hiding his request from the Recording Stones.
• Chen Wei had Ma Muzhi and Pang Long remove the Recording Stones and leave the room so the Star Lord could speak privately.
• The Martial Virtue Star Lord asked Chen Wei to spare Wu Wen, and Chen Wei claimed he would try the case however the Star Lord wished before handing him the case files.
• The Martial Virtue Star Lord read the documents and saw that they assigned Wu Wen extensive charges backed by a closed chain of evidence and a confession awaiting his thumbprint.
• The Martial Virtue Star Lord asked whether Wu Wen could survive the charges, and Chen Wei said he could live if he served time in the Heavenly Prison and the Star Lord persuaded him to accept the blame.

Martial Virtue Star Lord accepted Chen Wei’s terms and tried to make Wu Wen confess to his crimes and accept imprisonment in the Heavenly Prison. Wu Wen’s outburst revealed that the missing merit had gone into his father’s treasury, but Martial Virtue forced him to sign anyway.

• Martial Virtue Star Lord agreed to persuade Wu Wen and hinted that Chen Wei should understand his fear as a father-to-be, making Chen Wei suspect he had threatened Yang Chan’s unborn children.
• Martial Virtue Star Lord visited Wu Wen in the Discipline Inspection Court, where Xiao Yan’s harsh methods had made the prisoner far more subdued.
• Wu Wen complained to his father and cursed the Discipline Inspection Court, but Martial Virtue presented Chen Wei’s confession and told him to accept punishment in the Heavenly Prison.
• Wu Wen protested that the missing merit had gone into his father’s treasury, alarming Martial Virtue, who silenced him and warned that staying in prison was his only chance to survive.
• Martial Virtue overpowered Wu Wen and forced his signature, personal mark, and blood seal onto the confession.

Wu Wen accepted responsibility for his crimes and was sent to the Heavenly Prison, while Chen Wei returned to find Yang Jian visiting Yang Chan. The unborn twins spoke their first word—“Uncle”—to Yang Jian and revealed they could leave Yang Chan’s womb as tiny spirit forms.

• Wu Wen confessed to embezzling merit and disrupting incense offerings, accepted the Heavenly Dao’s backlash, and was escorted to the Heavenly Prison.
• Wu Wen threatened Chen Wei as he left, and Chen Wei warned him that he might not last long enough to take revenge.
• Chen Wei returned to the Mansion and found Yang Jian shaking a rattle drum for Yang Chan’s unborn twins.
• The twins called Yang Jian “Uncle,” delighting him and leaving Chen Wei jealous that their first word was not “Father.”
• Yang Chan sent the twins’ tiny black-and-white spirit forms out of her belly, and Chen Wei changed the subject after realizing she had concealed this from him.

Chen Wei and Yang Chan’s children, Chen Xiaochan and Chen Xiang, visited with their family as Yang Jian doted on them and took Chen Xiang flying with the Mountain-Splitting Axe. Chen Xiang accidentally activated the weapon and damaged the Heavenly Court’s Cloud Road, and Yang Jian encouraged him to keep swinging as they headed toward Lingxiao Palace.

• Yang Jian gave Chen Xiang the Mountain-Splitting Axe after the boy reached for his Storage Bag, while Chen Xiaochan called Chen Wei and Yang Chan Mommy.
• The family’s children were named Chen Xiaochan and Chen Xiang.
• Yang Jian took Chen Xiang flying along the Heavenly Court’s Cloud Road with the axe.
• Chen Xiang activated the Mountain-Splitting Axe and cleaved a huge breach in the Cloud Road.
• A Heavenly General saw Yang Jian and Chen Xiang, declared the Cloud Road had collapsed on its own, and withdrew with his soldiers.
• Yang Jian praised Chen Xiang and took him toward Lingxiao Palace, telling him to swing the axe at whoever they saw.

Chen Wei went to investigate a breach in the South Heaven Gate’s Cloud Road, caused by his unborn son, and found that Lu Beiwang had once covered up the road’s shoddy construction. After Chen Wei ordered repairs instead of pursuing the old scandal, Lu Beiwang begged him for a post.

• A Heavenly General told Chen Wei that the Cloud Road at the South Heaven Gate had been split open, and Chen Wei realized his unborn son had caused it with the Mountain-Splitting Axe.
• Chen Wei returned Chen Xiaochan to Yang Chan’s belly, then flew to inspect the damaged Cloud Road.
• Chen Wei recognized the breach as the same poorly built stretch Lu Beiwang had once tried to get him to approve.
• Lu Beiwang claimed the road had collapsed on its own, then admitted fault and blamed his former superiors when Chen Wei pressed him.
• Chen Wei ordered Lu Beiwang to arrange repairs, and Lu Beiwang knelt and asked Chen Wei to give him a post.