Recaps

Chen Wei returned home after leaving Taibai Jinxing to negotiate with Southern Dipper and Big Dipper, only to find Chen Xiang wreaking havoc on the Heavenly Court’s cloud road. After catching his son’s real body, Chen Wei brought him inside and found Yang Chan teaching Chen Xiaochan to make tangyuan.

• Chen Wei hurried home to deal with Chen Xiang, who was destroying the cloud road while Heavenly Soldiers watched without intervening.
• Chen Xiang used external incarnations to evade Chen Wei, then attacked him with a growing golden staff and shouted, “Take a strike from Old Chen!”
• Chen Wei caught the real Chen Xiang, scolded him, and carried him back into the residence despite his protests.
• Chen Wei found Yang Chan teaching Chen Xiaochan to make tangyuan, and Chen Xiaochan eagerly invited him to taste hers.

Chen Wei and Chen Xiang were forced to eat Chen Xiaochan’s unbearably sweet tangyuan after she became upset when they failed to praise them. Chen Xiang escaped a second serving by asking to accompany his father to the Camp, and Yang Chan agreed while saving the remaining tangyuan for them.

• Chen Wei praised Chen Xiaochan’s tangyuan and secretly fed one to the reluctant Chen Xiang.
• Chen Xiang struggled to hide his disgust, and Chen Xiaochan pretended to cry when he failed to praise her cooking.
• Yang Chan comforted Chen Xiaochan while Chen Wei insisted Chen Xiang loved the tangyuan and force-fed him a large bowlful.
• Chen Xiang asked Chen Wei to take him on patrol at the Camp, claiming he wanted to learn his duties and serve the Heavenly Court.
• Yang Chan agreed to let Chen Wei take Chen Xiang and said she would keep the remaining tangyuan warm for them.

Chen Wei inspected the Military Affairs Government Office and found its service window still disgracefully inadequate. Sun Immortal Officer blamed the failed improvements on a lack of merit, revealing that Martial Virtue Star Lord had borrowed against the next kalpa’s allocation.

• Chen Wei arrived at the Military Affairs Government Office with Chen Xiang and saw Mortal Realm gods lying on the ground to conduct business through the low window.
• Chen Wei entered the office and ordered Sun Immortal Officer to meet him at the window.
• Chen Wei made Sun Immortal Officer kneel on the tiny cushion outside while the waiting gods watched.
• Chen Wei questioned Sun Immortal Officer about the shabby improvements, and Sun explained that the office had received no merit because Martial Virtue Star Lord had borrowed against the next kalpa’s allocation.

Chen Wei exposed the Lunar Mansions Government Office’s diversion of merit, forcing Sun Immortal Officer to help recover it in exchange for a promotion. As Chen Wei and Chen Xiang left, Chen Wei taught his son about using officials and then boasted about his supposed exploits at Tongtian River.

• Chen Wei amplified Sun Immortal Officer’s confession about the Lunar Mansions Government Office taking the Military Affairs Government Office’s merit, turning the minor immortals against it.
• Chen Wei pressured Sun Immortal Officer into following his orders and appointed him Acting Chief Official, then sent him to demand the merit back from the Lunar Mansions Government Office.
• Chen Wei explained to Chen Xiang that an inactive official could be driven into a corner and made useful.
• A Heavenly General recognized Chen Wei from the Tongtian River battle and praised his command, though Chen Wei barely remembered him.
• Chen Wei exaggerated his battlefield feats to impress Chen Xiang, then changed the subject when his son asked to see an incarnation outside his body.

Sun Immortal Officer went to the Lunar Mansions Government Office to demand the return of merit, but Lian Zhen Star Lord humiliated him before a hall of officials. After enduring the insults, Sun Immortal Officer finally stood up and confronted him.

• Sun Immortal Officer arrived at the Lunar Mansions Government Office, where Lian Zhen Star Lord was presiding.
• Official Li invited Sun Immortal Officer to join a meeting, and he entered the council hall.
• Lian Zhen Star Lord scolded his officials and singled out Sun Immortal Officer as an example of the Military Affairs Government Office’s incompetence.
• Lian Zhen Star Lord mocked Sun Immortal Officer’s abilities, prompting the assembled officials to laugh.
• Sun Immortal Officer slammed the table, cursed Lian Zhen Star, and demanded to know what right he had to criticize him and the Military Affairs Government Office.

Sun Immortal Officer confronted Star Lord Lian Zhen over the Lunar Mansions Government Office’s misuse of Military Affairs funds and demanded repayment. Chen Wei arrived seeking refuge after Chen Xiang collapsed from being forced to eat Tangyuan, while Chen Wei plotted to make Yang Jian try his daughter’s cooking next.

• Sun Immortal Officer berated Star Lord Lian Zhen for draining the Military Affairs Government Office’s Merit and neglecting practical work in the Mortal Realm.
• Sun Immortal Officer invoked his appointment as acting Chief Official by Wude True Lord and dared Lian Zhen to strike him, then sat in the hall and demanded the stolen Merit back with interest.
• Official Li urged Lian Zhen not to be provoked and tried to delay settling the accounts, but Sun Immortal Officer refused to leave and insisted on staying for the meeting.
• Chen Wei and Chen Xiang left their Mansion after Yang Chan and Chen Xiaochan forced Chen Xiang to eat three more bowls of Tangyuan, leaving him collapsed beneath a chair.
• Chen Wei decided to send Chen Xiaochan to Yang Jian’s Daoist Grounds the next time she wanted to make Tangyuan.

Chen Wei confronted Lian Zhen Star at the Lunar Mansions Government Office over unpaid merit, turning the dispute into a clash of authority. When Lian Zhen refused to pay, Chen Wei let Chen Xiang prepare to tear the office apart, leaving Lian Zhen scrambling to stop him.

• Chen Wei arrived with Chen Xiang and ordered Sun Immortal Officer to stand, then reframed the disputed debt as internal resource reallocation.
• Chen Wei demanded that Lian Zhen Star repay the merit owed to the Military Affairs Government Office, but Lian Zhen denied that any debt existed.
• Chen Wei publicly rebuked Lian Zhen Star and insisted that he be addressed by his official title, while Sun Immortal Officer watched in admiration.
• Lian Zhen Star refused to pay and challenged Chen Wei to take the matter to the Southern Dipper and Big Dipper Star Lords.
• Chen Wei gave Chen Xiang permission to show Lian Zhen Star what he could do, and Chen Xiang drew his golden axe as Lian Zhen hurriedly told him to stop.

Chen Wei waited with Chen Xiang at the Lunar Mansions Government Office while Lian Zhen Star sought instructions from the South Dipper and Big Dipper Star Lords. They ordered Lian Zhen to return the Merit, leaving him to cover the shortfall and accept Chen Wei’s actions as a test of their faction’s political stance.

• Chen Wei called Chen Xiang back before the child could strike Lian Zhen Star with his axe.
• Lian Zhen asked the South Dipper and Big Dipper Star Lords for guidance on returning the Merit, while Chen Wei and Chen Xiang stayed at the office.
• The South Dipper and Big Dipper Star Lords told Lian Zhen to give Chen Wei the Merit and avoid provoking him.
• Lian Zhen realized he would have to make up the missing Merit himself and promised to satisfy Chen Wei.
• The South Dipper Star Lord scolded Lian Zhen for objecting to Chen Wei and said the office should prioritize stability.

After reclaiming his merit, Chen Wei followed Taibai Jinxing’s advice to stop pressing his case against the Lunar Mansions Government Office and prepare to investigate Spirit Mountain with the Great Sage’s backing. He returned home to find Yang Jian visiting, where family gifts and a joke appointment for Chen Xiang as deputy chief of the Flying Boat Government Office left the boy eager to become an official.

• Chen Wei reclaimed his share of merit, and Taibai Jinxing advised him to end his dispute with the Lunar Mansions Government Office rather than invite further retaliation.
• Taibai Jinxing told Chen Wei to seek the Great Sage Equal to Heaven’s support at Pure Heart Temple before investigating Spirit Mountain’s merit accounts.
• Chen Wei returned home and found Yang Jian entertaining Chen Xiang and Chen Xiaochan with gifts; Yang Jian ate Chen Xiaochan’s tangyuan without showing how difficult they were to swallow.
• Yang Jian gave Chen Xiang and Chen Xiaochan miniature Flying Boats and asked Chen Wei to approve the Flying Boat Military Affairs Government Office’s memorial.
• Yang Jian promised Chen Xiang that he could become deputy chief of the Flying Boat Government Office, prompting Chen Xiang to ask why he could not be chief instead.

Chen Wei told Xuanzang that the Heavenly Court planned to audit two thousand years of merit transactions between its offices and Spirit Mountain, prompting Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie to criticize how merit from the Journey to the West had been distributed. Chen Wei proposed having Spirit Mountain’s Bodhisattvas and Arhats investigate their own ranks.

• Chen Xiang and Chen Xiaochan visited Pure Heart Temple with Chen Wei and Yang Chan, where Sun Wukong welcomed his disciples and taught them.
• Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing each ate Chen Xiaochan’s tangyuan and struggled to suppress their sweetness by reciting Buddhist scriptures.
• Chen Wei told Xuanzang that the Heavenly Court planned to audit merit transactions between its offices and Spirit Mountain over the past two thousand years.
• Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie complained that they had received less merit than figures who had not fought during the Journey to the West.
• Xuanzang questioned how Chen Wei could investigate Spirit Mountain, and Chen Wei proposed that Bodhisattvas investigate Bodhisattvas and Arhats investigate Arhats.

Chen Wei and Xuanzang agreed to investigate Lingji Bodhisattva over his schemes involving the Yellow Wind Monster, with Xuanzang proposing that Guanyin oversee the inquiry. The plan left Chen Wei startled when Xuanzang accidentally called Guanyin “Sister Guanyin.”

• Chen Xiaochan declared that the Three Realms, including Spirit Mountain, belonged to her Maternal Great-Uncle, and Sha Wujing reflected bitterly on the Great Heavenly Venerable’s authority.
• Chen Wei apologized for his daughter’s blunt words, then named Lingji Bodhisattva as the first target of the investigation.
• Chen Wei explained that Lingji had released the Yellow Wind Monster into the Mortal Realm and later profited by subduing him during the Journey to the West.
• Xuanzang proposed inviting Guanyin Bodhisattva to oversee the investigation, and Sun Wukong worried that this would put her in a difficult position.
• Xuanzang said he would visit Guanyin on Mount Luojia and accidentally called her “Sister Guanyin,” surprising Chen Wei.
• Chen Wei praised Xuanzang’s plan, agreeing that Guanyin should represent Spirit Mountain in the inquiry.

Guanyin Bodhisattva warned Lingji Bodhisattva that Xuanzang and the Heavenly Court were pursuing the merit he had kept, then arranged a meeting with Chen Wei to settle the matter. Chen Wei used the Great Heavenly Venerable’s seal and his case files to force Lingji to return the merit, while Guanyin warned him that investigating the other Bodhisattvas could provoke trouble.

• Guanyin told Lingji that Xuanzang wanted him to return the merit and advised him not to confront Xuanzang because he was not as fast.
• Guanyin invited Chen Wei and Lingji to the South Sea to negotiate Lingji’s repayment.
• Lingji proposed returning the merit under a thirty-seventy split, with only thirty percent going to Chen Wei’s office.
• Chen Wei presented the Great Heavenly Venerable’s seal and his case files, and Lingji agreed to return all the merit voluntarily.
• Guanyin cautioned Chen Wei that investigating other Bodhisattvas could stir up powerful opposition.

Lian Zhen Star complained that Chen Wei was taking merit from the Lunar Mansions Government Office, while its Star Lords waited for an ally from Spirit Mountain. After Chen Wei recovered the merit from Lingji Bodhisattva, an unknown immortal beat the Grievance Drum at his office, and Chen Wei prepared to receive the visitor while recording everything.

• Lian Zhen Star urged the Lunar Mansions Government Office's Star Lords to act against Chen Wei, but South Dipper Star Lord and Big Dipper Star Lord remained silent until buddha light appeared outside the palace.
• Chen Wei reviewed the documents confirming that the merit recovered from Lingji Bodhisattva had been deposited in the treasury.
• An immortal outside Chen Wei's office beat the Grievance Drum and called on Lord Chen to uphold justice.
• Chen Wei ordered Xiao Yan to invite the visitor in politely and told Ma Muzhi and Pang Long to secure the documents and activate the Recording Stones.

Chen Wei investigated a recording that showed one of his six confidants extorting a minor earth god for three hundred thousand years' worth of Merit Gold Bricks. Yang Chan used the Treasure Lotus Lamp to reveal Ma Muzhi's face in the recording, but Chen Wei declared the evidence false and Ma Muzhi innocent.

• A minor earth god beat the Grievance Drum and accused Discipline Inspection Court officials of extortion, presenting a recording of an Immortal Official demanding three hundred thousand years' worth of Merit Gold Bricks.
• Chen Wei gathered Ma Muzhi, Pang Long, Xiao Yan, Chu Feng, Han Li, and Lu Beiwang, and each denied being responsible while offering reasons the crime did not fit their methods or motives.
• Unable to break the Divine Ability concealing the Immortal Official's face, Chen Wei summoned Yang Chan to examine the recording.
• Yang Chan used the Treasure Lotus Lamp to dispel the concealment and reveal Ma Muzhi's face.
• Ma Muzhi protested that he had been framed, and Chen Wei agreed that the recording was a false accusation.

Chen Wei exposed the flaw in the accusation against Ma Muzhi and turned the interrogation against Land God Li, who could not explain how he supposedly possessed three hundred thousand years of merit. Ma Muzhi recast the incident as an investigation into illegal accounts, and Chen Wei ordered Pang Long to show Li what a surprise meant.

• Chen Wei dismissed the Recording Stone as a frame-up and ordered his subordinates to bring in Land God Li without revealing their suspicions.
• Chen Wei questioned Land God Li about his post and salary, and Pang Long calculated that saving three hundred thousand years of merit would take six thousand kalpas.
• Chen Wei challenged Li to explain where the merit came from, then accused him of trafficking in incense offerings and falsely accusing the Censorate.
• Ma Muzhi claimed he had secretly investigated Cangwu Mountain and seized its illegal merit fund rather than extorting Li.
• Chen Wei approved Ma Muzhi's explanation and told Pang Long to explain what a surprise meant to Land God Li.

Chen Wei interrogated Land God Li over his false accusation, but a hidden curse silenced him before he could name his orders. A search found no evidence, while rumors of torture spread through the Heavenly Court and left Chen Wei blamed for the incident.

• Land God Li recanted his accusation, then admitted that unnamed higher-ups had promised him immortal status and a Heavenly Immortal post for making it.
• As Chen Wei pressed for the names of those involved, a death curse struck Land God Li; Yang Chan’s Treasure Lotus Lamp shielded Chen Wei from the curse’s backlash.
• Chen Wei sent Ma Muzhi and Pang Long to search Land God Li’s cave abode on Cangwu Mountain.
• Rumors spread that Chen Wei had tortured Land God Li, causing officials to avoid the Censorate.
• Ma Muzhi and Pang Long returned with no evidence, and Chen Wei realized the spotless cave and silenced witness had been arranged to frame him.

Ma Muzhi met with a mysterious High Immortal, who assured him Chen Wei was safe and instructed him to nudge Chen toward a plan. Chen Wei returned home to his family, but Great Emperor Ziwei’s unexpected invitation left him wary.

• Ma Muzhi reported to a mysterious High Immortal that Southern Dipper and Randeng had trapped Chen Wei and damaged the Censorate’s reputation.
• The High Immortal told Ma Muzhi that Chen Wei would be fine and secretly instructed him to give Chen a nudge without revealing the source.
• Chen Wei returned to the Chen Residence and reunited with Yang Chan, Chen Xiang, and Chen Xiaochan.
• Chen Xiang tried to demonstrate Heaven-Sweeping Cloak, but the cloak slapped Chen Wei in the face.
• A Heavenly General told Chen Wei that an Immortal Official from North Pole Ziwei Palace had arrived with Great Emperor Ziwei’s invitation, and Chen Wei grew wary.

Chen Wei and Yang Chan met Great Emperor Ziwei, who tried to halt Chen Wei’s corruption investigation by citing the death of Land God Li and unrest among the immortals. Yang Chan invoked the Great Heavenly Venerable’s authority and firmly refused to let the investigation stop, leaving Great Emperor Ziwei silent.

• Yang Chan insisted on accompanying Chen Wei to Great Emperor Ziwei’s palace, while Chen Wei arranged for Lu Beiwang to watch Chen Xiang and Chen Xiaochan.
• Chen Wei and Yang Chan entered the Ziwei Palace and waited as Great Emperor Ziwei let them stand before the Star Throne.
• Great Emperor Ziwei questioned Chen Wei about Land God Li’s death and urged him to explain himself to the assembled immortals.
• Yang Chan countered that the Great Heavenly Venerable had appointed Chen Wei to investigate corruption and asked whether Great Emperor Ziwei meant to oppose that decree.
• Great Emperor Ziwei argued that suspending the investigation would protect the Heavenly Court from panic and preserve stability.
• Yang Chan rejected his reasoning and vowed to investigate the corruption and whoever was using the greater picture as cover, leaving Great Emperor Ziwei silent.

Chen Wei and Yang Chan confronted Great Emperor Ziwei over corruption in the Heavenly Court, but his pressure on them ended when Yang Jian arrived with the Great Heavenly Venerable’s order. Yang Jian took the couple to the Lingxiao Palace for an inquiry into Heavenly Court discipline.

• Yang Chan rejected Great Emperor Ziwei’s defense of minor misconduct, arguing that the Heavenly Laws could not shield corrupt officials.
• Chen Wei stepped in front of Yang Chan and sarcastically praised Great Emperor Ziwei for protecting rotten officials and beasts drawing salaries.
• Great Emperor Ziwei challenged Chen Wei over Land God Li’s death and pressed the couple with the power of the stars.
• Yang Jian arrived at the Ziwei Palace and presented the Great Heavenly Venerable’s order to bring Chen Wei and Yang Chan to the Lingxiao Palace.
• Great Emperor Ziwei accepted the order, and Yang Jian led the couple away.

Chen Wei returned to the Discipline Inspection Court and calmed his anxious officials by pretending his transfer to the Heavenly Court had been for the sake of his family. Pang Long and Ma Muzhi then arrived, and a recording showed Ma skillfully evading the Lunar Mansions Government Office’s interrogation while accusing its officials of corruption and silencing Land God Li.

• Yang Jian gave Chen Wei a blank imperial decree and told Yang Chan and Qingquan to take shelter in Guanjiangkou if trouble worsened.
• Xiao Yan informed Chen Wei that Lunar Mansions Government Office investigators had taken Ma Muzhi for questioning, so Chen Wei and Yang Chan went to the Discipline Inspection Court.
• Chen Wei reassured his anxious subordinates and claimed he had transferred to the Heavenly Court because living apart from Yang Chan had been unbearable.
• Pang Long brought Ma Muzhi back and played a recording of the investigators questioning him.
• Ma Muzhi denied taking a bribe, claimed he had been investigating illegal trade in Heavenly Court incense offerings, and accused the investigators of forcing Land God Li to make a false accusation before silencing him.

Ma Muzhi devised a memorial that recast Land God Li as a loyal undercover agent and requested that he be posthumously named Loyal Martyr Star Lord. Yang Chan agreed on the Great Heavenly Venerable’s behalf and revealed that she had his seal, allowing the memorial to be stamped and submitted without the usual procedures.

• After the Recording Stone’s images ended, Ma Muzhi warned Chen Wei that his earlier performance would not withstand scrutiny and said he had a plan.
• Chen Wei cleared the hall and gathered his trusted men with Yang Chan to hear Ma Muzhi’s proposal.
• Ma Muzhi presented a memorial claiming Land God Li had uncovered a scheme to sell Heavenly Court incense offerings and had been killed before naming the mastermind.
• The memorial requested that Land God Li receive the posthumous title of Loyal Martyr Star Lord, which would make it difficult for him to return to life.
• Yang Chan said she could agree on her uncle’s behalf, and Chen Wei stamped the memorial with his Official Seal.
• Yang Chan took the memorial and revealed that she also had the Great Heavenly Venerable’s seal.

Chen Wei and Yang Chan used the Heavenly Dao Seal to approve a commendation petition, then Chen Wei told the supposedly dead Land God Li that the Great Heavenly Venerable had posthumously honored him as a Loyal Martyr Star Lord. Land God Li realized that revealing he was alive would make him a threat to the Heavenly Court’s schemers, leaving him trapped and in danger of being killed for real.

• Yang Chan stamped the commendation petition with the Heavenly Dao Seal while Chen Wei’s subordinates pretended they had seen nothing.
• Chen Wei ordered Ma Muzhi to pursue the petition and urged him to make a major commotion.
• Chen Wei went to the Rear Hall, where Land God Li lay bound under a spell that made him appear dead.
• Chen Wei told Land God Li that the Great Heavenly Venerable had named him a Loyal Martyr Star Lord and arranged a grand funeral.
• Land God Li understood that his masters would not dare rescue him and that his false death could become real.

Chen Wei forced Land God Li to confess that Lian Zhen Star Lord had ordered him to frame Chen Wei, then killed him because a dead witness better served the Heavenly Court’s interests. In Lingxiao Palace, the Great Heavenly Venerable approved Chen Wei’s handling of the case and offered his seal to Chen Xiang and Chen Xiaochan, who chose it while Chen Xiang declined.

• Chen Wei revived Land God Li, who confessed that Lian Zhen Star Lord had ordered him to die in the Censorate and frame Chen Wei.
• Chen Wei explained that Land God Li’s absence mattered more than his testimony or the three hundred thousand merit points, and Land God Li died.
• Chen Xiang returned the Heavenly Dao Seal to the Great Heavenly Venerable, while Yang Chan acted innocent about taking it.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable approved Chen Wei’s use of the Loyal Martyr Star Lord appointment to silence the Constellations Faction and settle the merit-point matter.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable offered his seal to Chen Xiang and Chen Xiaochan; Chen Xiang declined, and Chen Xiaochan accepted it after letting her older brother choose first.

The Heavenly Court held a grand memorial for Li Xuantong, the land god posthumously named Loyal Martyr Star Lord. Chen Wei used the ceremony to unsettle the Lian Zhen Star Lord, and the chapter ended when Li Xuantong moved inside his coffin.

• The Great Heavenly Venerable named Li Xuantong Loyal Martyr Star Lord and ordered a memorial service at the Discipline Inspection Court.
• Representatives from across the Heavenly Court and the Netherworld attended, while the South Dipper Star Lord and the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions arrived as rival factions.
• Chen Wei delivered a eulogy praising Li Xuantong and invited officials to offer condolences to his frightened disciple.
• The South Dipper Star Lord and other immortals assured Li Xuantong's disciple that the Lunar Mansions Government Office would support him.
• After the Lian Zhen Star Lord offered incense, Chen Wei loudly told him that Li Xuantong had admired him, making the star lord recoil nervously.
• Ma Muzhi cried out that Li Xuantong had moved inside the coffin, claiming that even in death he admired the Lian Zhen Star Lord who had him killed.

Chen Wei used Li Xuantong’s death to unsettle Lian Zhen Star and watched tensions erupt between the civil officials and the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions. Ancient Buddha Randeng arrived before the factions could fight and praised Chen Wei, saying he had an affinity with the Western Paradise.

• Chen Wei and Ma Muzhi confronted Lian Zhen Star over Li Xuantong’s assassination, and Lian Zhen Star retreated after denying any wrongdoing.
• Kang Jinlong and Xin Yuehu mocked the Lunar Mansions Government Office, prompting the Star of Literary Excellence to insult the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions and ignite a confrontation between the civil and military constellations.
• Chen Wei held back from intervening while the South Dipper and Big Dipper Star Lords watched the escalating dispute.
• Ancient Buddha Randeng arrived at the Discipline Inspection Court, and both factions put away their weapons.
• The South Dipper and Big Dipper Star Lords welcomed Ancient Buddha Randeng ahead of Chen Wei, who restrained Ma Muzhi from objecting.
• Ancient Buddha Randeng praised Chen Wei’s composure and said he had an affinity with the Western Paradise.