Recaps

After Yang Niansan stormed off, Chen Wei learned that the Golden-Winged Great Peng had been captured and celebrated, while Li Yin plotted to silence the remaining witnesses at Tongtian River. At the prebattle War Council, Chen Wei gave Yang Niansan a gift, and Yang Jian arrived to see his sister looking bashful beside him.

• Yang Niansan denied Chen Wei's teasing and retreated to the inner room, so Chen Wei left her alone and went to Ma Muzhi's Logistics Flying Boat.
• Ma Muzhi gave Chen Wei a secret report that the Golden-Winged Great Peng had been captured alive, and Chen Wei celebrated the good news with his subordinates.
• Li Yin learned that the Great Peng had been captured and feared his own schemes would be exposed, so he accepted Zhao Dakang's plan to spread reports of the Three Demons' atrocities and provoke Spirit Mountain into killing them.
• Yang Niansan left the docked Flying Boat in a huff, and Chen Wei followed her to the prebattle War Council.
• Chen Wei sat beside Yang Niansan and gave her a colorful Hand Ring, which she bashfully accepted.
• Yang Jian entered the hall, saw Chen Wei leaning toward Yang Chan as she looked bashful, and fixed him with killing intent.

Chen Wei was summoned by Yang Jian, who unexpectedly challenged him to a sparring match. Just as Chen Wei faced the prospect of fighting the True Lord, a graceful figure intervened.

• Yang Jian summoned Chen Wei alone after the military council, despite Yang Niansan's attempt to accompany him.
• Guo Shen led Chen Wei to a secluded training courtyard, where Yang Jian arrived and examined him.
• Yang Jian praised Chen Wei's bearing and proposed that they exchange a few moves.
• Chen Wei refused humbly, saying he feared accidentally offending or hurting Yang Jian.
• Yang Jian produced seven Immortal Swords and insisted that Chen Wei fight him while he remained barehanded.
• A graceful figure descended between Yang Jian and Chen Wei and called out to Second Brother.

Chen Wei tried to leave Yang Jian’s courtyard without getting caught up in a confrontation, but Yang Chan stopped him to serve him tangyuan. After Chen Wei fled, Yang Chan and Yang Jian argued over her violation of heavenly law, and she remained unafraid of her brother’s indulgence.

• Chen Wei kept his gaze away from Yang Chan until Yang Jian stepped between them and told him to leave.
• Yang Chan stopped Chen Wei, introduced herself, and insisted he taste the treats she had brought despite his claims of urgent military business.
• Yang Chan served Chen Wei tangyuan, and he praised the overly sweet dish before using his military duties as an excuse to depart.
• Chen Wei flew away, leaving Yang Chan unable to find another reason to detain him.
• Yang Jian scolded Yang Chan for violating heavenly law, but she challenged him to arrest her and looked toward the direction Chen Wei had gone.

Chen Wei escaped Yang Niansan’s Tangyuan by turning to a military order and devised a plan to divide the Five Demon Sages. At the Tongtian River, Yang Jian confronted the Azure Lion and White Elephant Spirit as they tried to flee, challenging their claim that a Bodhisattva had approved their retreat.

• Chen Wei returned to camp, where Yang Niansan insisted he eat her Tangyuan, but an urgent military order from the Holy Manifestation True Lord interrupted him.
• Chen Wei and Pang Long reviewed the order to encircle the Azure Lion and White Elephant Spirit and defeat the Five Demon Sages, then settled on a Sowing Discord Stratagem to exploit divisions among the demons.
• The Azure Lion and White Elephant Spirit began packing their treasures to flee after learning the Golden-Winged Great Peng had been captured.
• Yang Jian broke into the demons’ cave mansion and confronted the Azure Lion and White Elephant Spirit as they tried to pass their escape off as a delivery of supplies and a return to Spirit Mountain.
• The Azure Lion and White Elephant Spirit claimed a Bodhisattva had approved their repentance, and Yang Jian challenged them by asking whether Spirit Mountain’s Bodhisattvas colluded with demons.

Yang Jian captured Azure Lion and used his Heaven-Sweeping Cloak to retrieve the fleeing White Elephant Spirit. After ordering the Vanguard Battalion to secure the Tongtian River, he told Chen Wei to stay behind, leaving Chen worried that Yang Jian meant to question him about Third Holy Mother Yang Chan’s tangyuan.

• Chen Wei reported that the Vanguard Battalion had destroyed the demons’ strongholds and surrounded the cave.
• Azure Lion secretly planned to use White Elephant Spirit as a distraction so he could escape, but White Elephant Spirit fled first and left him behind.
• Yang Jian struck down Azure Lion’s attempted escape and had the Meishan Brothers bind and gag him.
• Yang Jian spread his Heaven-Sweeping Cloak over the Tongtian River and pulled White Elephant Spirit back, where the Meishan Brothers captured him too.
• Yang Jian ordered the Vanguard Battalion to guard the water palaces, then asked Chen Wei to stay behind.

Yang Jian asked Chen Wei for advice about an immortal friend’s younger sister developing mortal desires, and Chen Wei realized he might be the immortal she had fallen for. At Spirit Mountain, Tathagata refused to intervene for three demons captured by the Heavenly Court after they disrupted the Great Heavenly Venerable’s procession, but Ancient Buddha Randeng proposed sending the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

• Yang Jian described his immortal friend’s younger sister developing mortal desires, and Chen Wei advised that immortals must not fall in love.
• Yang Jian praised Chen Wei’s answer and departed, leaving Chen Wei to suspect that Yang Niansan had fallen for him.
• Bodhisattva Manjushri reported that the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Azure Lion, and White Elephant Spirit had been captured by the Heavenly Court after causing trouble at Tongtian River.
• Manjushri explained that the Golden-Winged Great Peng had charged into the Great Heavenly Venerable’s procession, so Tathagata decided Spirit Mountain should not interfere with the Heavenly Court’s judgment.
• Ancient Buddha Randeng proposed entrusting the matter to the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

At Spirit Mountain, Guanyin agreed to persuade Sun Wukong to help retrieve the Three Demons from the Heavenly Court. Meanwhile, Yang Niansan confronted Chen Wei aboard the Flying Boat, and their private conversation erupted into a storm as she punished him for interrupting her.

• Xuanzang refused to promise that Sun Wukong would go, so Tathagata and Ancient Buddha Randeng turned to Guanyin.
• Guanyin agreed to visit Sun Wukong and do her best to bring the Three Demons back safely.
• Ma Muzhi, Pang Long, Chu Feng, and Xiao Yan left Chen Wei and Yang Niansan alone in the War Room.
• Chen Wei urged Yang Niansan to speak plainly instead of hiding behind an invented immortal friend, and she accused him of snapping at her.
• Yang Niansan lifted Chen Wei into the air for interrupting her as thunder and lightning shook the Flying Boat.
• Ma Muzhi and Pang Long watched the storm from the deck and celebrated what they thought was their chance to advance.

Chen Wei learned that Lord Yang was actually Third Holy Mother Yang Chan, who revealed her identity and promised to help advance his immortal rank. After Yang Chan returned to the Heavenly Court, Chen Wei's subordinates misunderstood his claim that Lord Yang had felt unwell and he redirected the conversation to the five Demon Sages.

• Yang Chan revealed her true appearance as Third Holy Mother Yang Chan after forcing Chen Wei to listen to her.
• Chen Wei recognized Yang Chan and flattered her, then persuaded her to keep their relationship gradual so Yang Jian would not discover it.
• Yang Chan agreed and offered to lobby for Chen Wei's promotion after the Tongtian River rebellion was put down.
• Yang Chan returned to the Heavenly Court, leaving Chen Wei exhausted in the war room.
• Ma Muzhi and Pang Long entered and misinterpreted Chen Wei's claim that Lord Yang had been feeling unwell, so Chen Wei cut them off and brought up the five Demon Sages.

The Five Demon Sages argued over whether to resist the Heavenly Court, while several leaders secretly offered to betray their brothers. Chen Wei learned of their schemes and ordered the traitorous Flood Demon King, Roc Demon King, and sixth brother killed, intending to spare two leaders to control their troops.

• The Lion-Camel King and the second brother urged the Five Demon Sages to fight, while the Roc Demon King and sixth brother privately decided to defect.
• The Roc Demon King and sixth brother loudly swore loyalty after the Flood Demon King warned against betrayal.
• Pang Long told Chen Wei that the Flood Demon King had offered his four sworn brothers as a Pledge of Allegiance.
• Ma Muzhi reported that the Roc Demon King and sixth brother had separately offered to betray their other brothers.
• Chen Wei agreed that the Flood Demon King, Roc Demon King, and sixth brother were too treacherous to recruit and ordered them killed, while leaving two leaders alive to command the demon army.

Chen Wei and Pang Long manipulated the Roc Demon King and Macaque King into believing they had to kill the Flood Demon King to gain the Heavenly Court’s favor. When the Flood Demon King arrived, he learned his brothers had tried to surrender first and offered to bring back their heads as a pledge of loyalty.

• Chen Wei rejected the Roc Demon King and Macaque King’s offer to serve the Heavenly Court, saying the Flood Demon King had already earned its favor.
• Pang Long hinted that the two demons could gain sufficient status by taking the Flood Demon King’s place, and the Macaque King openly raised the idea of usurping him.
• The Roc Demon King bribed Pang Long, and both demons hurried home to kill the Flood Demon King and seize his position.
• Pang Long brought the Flood Demon King to Chen Wei’s boat, where he overheard that his brothers had offered to serve the Heavenly Court.
• The Flood Demon King declared his loyalty and offered to bring Chen Wei the heads of the four demons as a pledge.

The Flood Demon King agreed to help the Heavenly Court eliminate his four sworn brothers in exchange for a path toward becoming the Tongtian River Water God. After learning that the Roc Demon King planned a secret midnight meeting, he accepted the invitation while preparing to turn their trap against them.

• Chen Wei and Ma Muzhi pressured the Flood Demon King to deal with his four brothers and their hundred thousand Demon Soldiers that night.
• The Flood Demon King asked to become the Tongtian River Water God, but Chen Wei offered him a Land God post first and promised to recommend him for a future vacancy.
• The Flood Demon King accepted the lower office, believing that killing his brothers would give him leverage to secure a promotion.
• The Roc Demon King contacted the Flood Demon King and invited him to a secret midnight meeting, calling it a fishing trip.
• The Flood Demon King agreed to meet, crushed the Voice Transmission Jade Talisman, and resolved to make his brothers the bait.

The Roc Demon King and the Macaque King tried to persuade the Flood Demon King to take the blame, but all three revealed their plans to ambush one another and fought. Above them, Yang Jian praised Chen Wei for making the demon leaders turn on each other before ordering the Heavenly forces to attack.

• The Roc Demon King and the Macaque King prepared to make the Flood Demon King confess to the Heavenly Court and take the blame for them.
• The Flood Demon King recognized their scheme and pretended to consider their offer while preparing an attack.
• A carp's splash triggered all three Demon Sages to draw their weapons, and the former sworn brothers began fighting.
• Yang Jian watched the battle through his Heavenly Eye and praised Chen Wei for turning the demon leaders against one another.
• Chen Wei credited Yang Jian with the plan, and Yang Jian ordered the Heavenly forces to attack and suppress the demon uprising.

Yang Jian led the Heavenly Court’s forces against the Five Demon Sages, whose tangled schemes united them against the army. When the demons attacked Chen Wei’s command platform, Ma Muzhi summoned Sun Wukong with a Golden Hair, and the Monkey King appeared to protect them.

• Yang Jian and a hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals surrounded the Five Demon Sages, revealing that the Heavenly Court had never meant to recruit them.
• The Flood Demon King, Roc Demon King, Macaque King, Lion-Camel King, and Macaque King joined forces after their layered ambush plans came to light.
• The Flood Demon King urged his brothers to kill Chen Wei, and the three Demon Sages charged the command platform.
• Yang Jian blocked the Roc Demon King and Macaque King, but the Flood Demon King slipped past him and lunged at Chen Wei, Ma Muzhi, and Pang Long.
• Ma Muzhi threw the Golden Hair, summoning Sun Wukong, who kicked the Flood Demon King into the Tongtian River and appeared before Yang Jian.

Sun Wukong and Yang Jian captured the Five Demon Sages and ended their rebellion at the Tongtian River. After Sun Wukong revealed that he had come to take the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Azure Lion, and White Elephant Spirit to Spirit Mountain, Yang Jian left the decision to Chen Wei.

• Yang Jian knocked the Roc Demon King and Macaque King into the Tongtian River while Sun Wukong captured the Flood Demon King, Roc Demon King, and Macaque King with a giant hand of water.
• Yang Jian seized the Lion-Camel King and Macaque King, and Sun Wukong handed his three captives over to Yang Jian.
• The Five Demon Sages pleaded with Sun Wukong, who turned them over to Yang Jian for arrest and transport to the Heavenly Prison.
• Chen Wei recognized Sun Wukong and apologized for failing to recognize him earlier, and Sun Wukong invited him to send any future descendants to Flower-Fruit Mountain for training.
• Sun Wukong told Yang Jian that Tathagata Buddha had ordered him to take the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Azure Lion, and White Elephant Spirit to Spirit Mountain, and Yang Jian told Chen Wei to decide the matter.

Chen Wei helped Yang Jian refuse Sun Wukong’s request to take the Three Demons, allowing Sun Wukong to return to Spirit Mountain empty-handed. Back in the Heavenly Court, Chen Wei discovered Yang Chan had arranged an enormous floating-island residence for him, leaving him uneasy about both her temper and his sudden good fortune.

• Chen Wei cited Heavenly Court procedure and the Three Demons’ grave crimes to deny Sun Wukong’s request, and Sun Wukong accepted the refusal and left for Spirit Mountain.
• Yang Jian praised Chen Wei, ordered the army to withdraw, and led the Heavenly forces back to the Heavenly Court.
• Chen Wei realized that returning meant facing Yang Chan, whose fiery temper worried him.
• After Chen Wei submitted his duty report, an Immortal Works Bureau official led him to the residence Yang Chan had arranged near Tongming Hall.
• Chen Wei saw that his new residence was a lavish floating island and asked Official Li to find him a smaller courtyard, but Official Li said the decree assigned him that one.

Chen Wei struggled to relax around Yang Chan despite her efforts to put him at ease, then learned that his reward for suppressing the Tongtian River rebellion had been approved. The chapter left him waiting to discover his new immortal rank.

• Chen Wei sat nervously as Yang Chan tended an immortal herb in his residence.
• Yang Chan asked Chen Wei to stop accommodating her because of her uncle and second brother, and urged him to call her Chan'er.
• Chen Wei asked why Yang Chan looked after him, and she said she found him interesting and felt they had two children together.
• Yang Chan showed Chen Wei a Jade Slip confirming his reward for suppressing the Tongtian River rebellion and said he was no longer a True Immortal.

Chen Wei learned that he had been promoted to golden immortal rank and given the nominal post of Inspector of Tongming Hall, while Yang Chan revealed the Great Heavenly Venerable had arranged the reward. At the Red Luan Star Manor, Yang Jian learned Yang Chan’s Red Thread was bound to the mortal Liu Yanchang, and the Matchmaker proposed finding a compatible immortal to undo the bond.

• Chen Wei read that he would retain his post as chief official of the Folk Customs and Morals Inspection Bureau and become Inspector of Tongming Hall, a title equivalent to golden immortal rank.
• Yang Chan hinted that she was tired, but Chen Wei gave her a Bamboo Mallet instead of massaging her shoulders.
• Yang Chan explained that the Great Heavenly Venerable had arranged Chen Wei’s nominal post and planned to give him further rewards after he earned solid merit.
• At the Red Luan Star Manor, Yang Jian watched the Matchmaker fail to sever Yang Chan’s Red Thread, which had joined with the mortal Liu Yanchang’s.
• Yang Jian threatened to destroy the Book of Marriages, and the Matchmaker stopped him by explaining that Yang Chan’s living knot could be undone by matching her Red Thread with a compatible immortal’s.

Yang Jian had the Matchmaker redirect Yang Chan’s troublesome mortal red thread onto Chen Wei, and Yang Chan’s thread bound Chen Wei’s jade plaque with overwhelming force. At Clear Pool, jealous Li Yin decided to report Chen Wei to Yang Jian.

• Yang Jian authorized the Matchmaker to find a Heavenly Court official whose red thread could take the place of Yang Chan’s mortal match.
• Yang Chan’s red thread lashed Li Yin’s jade plaque away, then seized Chen Wei’s plaque and bound it until the mortal thread’s slipknot loosened.
• Chen Wei felt a sudden chill while traveling with Yang Chan to Clear Pool, where he was due to meet Taibai Jinxing.
• Li Yin watched Yang Chan arrive with Chen Wei and grew jealous when she ignored him and walked in beside Chen Wei.
• Li Yin abandoned his duty post and flew to the Divine Hall of Justice to report Chen Wei to Yang Jian.

Yang Jian heard Li Yin accuse Chen Wei of endangering the Heavenly Laws through his closeness with Yang Chan, then sent Chen Wei a message instead of acting against him. At Taibai Jinxing’s Clear Pool, Chen Wei formally met his new superior while Yang Chan openly urged Taibai to give him important work.

• Li Yin reported Chen Wei’s closeness with Yang Chan to Yang Jian and claimed it risked violating the Heavenly Laws.
• Yang Jian dismissed Li Yin, recorded a message on a Jade Slip, and ordered Kang Anyu to deliver it personally to Chen Wei.
• Chen Wei served tea to Taibai Jinxing at the Clear Pool while Yang Chan praised his work and asked Taibai to give him important assignments.
• Taibai Jinxing accepted Chen Wei’s careful response to his warning and agreed to rely on him for Tongming Hall’s Discipline Inspection Bureau work.

Chen Wei accepted Taibai Jinxing’s test and was tasked with handling Spirit Mountain’s Three Demons, with the Great Sage suggested as a potential ally. A secret order from Yang Jian complicated the case by naming Li Yin, while Yang Chan ignored Chen Wei’s attempts to keep a formal distance.

• Taibai Jinxing explained that Spirit Mountain wanted the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Azure Lion, and White Elephant Spirit punished only for lax discipline, and Chen Wei volunteered to handle the dispute.
• Taibai Jinxing advised Chen Wei to seek the Great Sage if he met resistance from Spirit Mountain.
• Yang Chan returned to her Yang Niansan disguise, and she and Chen Wei exchanged teasing remarks at the inspection bureau.
• Kang Anyu delivered Yang Jian’s Jade Slip ordering Chen Wei to investigate rumors of the Three Demons’ crimes, and the slip noted that Li Yin knew of the matter.
• Yang Chan moved close to Chen Wei, who slid away, so she used a spell to pull him back and ordered him to sit still.

Yang Chan pinned Chen Wei in the Main Hall until her subordinates walked in and caught them, then fled in embarrassment. After meeting Weaver Girl at the Magpie Bridge, Yang Chan worried that if she and Chen Wei broke the heavenly laws, Yang Jian would enforce the rules and leave them seeing each other only once a year.

• Yang Chan pinned Chen Wei to his chair and demanded that he look at her, but Ma Muzhi, Pang Long, Xiao Yan, and Chu Feng walked in and caught them.
• Ma Muzhi and Pang Long pretended that Yang Chan and Chen Wei had left to inspect discipline, and Xiao Yan and Chu Feng followed them out and shut the doors.
• Yang Chan released Chen Wei and claimed she had been fixing a crease in his Immortal Robe; Chen Wei used magic to make the wrinkles real, and Yang Chan hurried away.
• Yang Chan flew aimlessly through the Heavenly Court and encountered Weaver Girl by the Magpie Bridge on the Double Seventh Festival.
• After Weaver Girl described her reunion with Cowherd, Yang Chan wondered whether Yang Jian would enforce the heavenly laws against her and Chen Wei and confine them to their rooms.

Chen Wei confronted Li Yin at the Left Commissioner's Office over rumors about Spirit Mountain's Three Demons and presented a Recording Stone implicating Zhao Dakang. He then called the evidence a false accusation and demanded that Zhao confess, leaving Li Yin and Zhao Dakang under pressure.

• Chen Wei arrived at the Left Commissioner's Office and politely greeted the immortal clerks and officials who recognized him.
• Li Yin greeted Chen Wei coolly and defended the workload and importance of his office while Chen praised him.
• Chen Wei raised the rumors about the Three Demons' crimes at the Tongtian River and said they appeared to come from a single source.
• Li Yin denied responsibility for spreading rumors and challenged Chen to investigate, while Zhao Dakang grew anxious because he had helped spread them on Li Yin's orders.
• Chen Wei revealed a Recording Stone and said a captured agent had named Zhao Dakang, then claimed the accusation was false and demanded that Zhao confess.

Chen Wei confronted Li Yin in Tongming Hall and used evidence and official authorization to arrest Zhao Dakang over his dealings with the Three Demons. Li Yin abandoned his subordinate after Chen Wei presented credentials from both the Holy Manifestation True Lord and Taibai Jinxing, leaving Chen Wei to take Zhao Dakang away for questioning.

• Chen Wei accused Zhao Dakang of coordinating rumors with the Three Demons, citing their confession and a Recording Stone.
• Li Yin secretly silenced Zhao Dakang and declined to protect him, but insisted Chen Wei needed proper authorization to remove him.
• Chen Wei produced a decree from the Holy Manifestation True Lord and a Command Token from Taibai Jinxing.
• Li Yin accepted that Chen Wei had authority and allowed him to take Zhao Dakang away.
• Chen Wei bound Zhao Dakang with immortal power and left to continue the Three Demons case.

Chen Wei weighed how to handle the Spirit Mountain Three Demons case without angering Spirit Mountain or violating Yang Jian’s and Taibai Jinxing’s orders. Yang Chan suggested consulting Sun Wukong, and Chen Wei set out for Spirit Mountain with her while leaving his aides to secure Zhao Dakang’s confession.

• Chen Wei detained Zhao Dakang and ordered Chu Feng to keep him locked up until he returned.
• Pang Long explained that the Bureau’s report on the rumors would influence whether the Three Demons could be rescued or sentenced, while Chen Wei suspected Li Yin had backed Zhao Dakang.
• Chen Wei struggled to satisfy Spirit Mountain, Yang Jian, and Taibai Jinxing, while Yang Chan paid little attention to the case and focused on her feelings for Chen Wei.
• Yang Chan suggested asking Sun Wukong for advice, and Chen Wei realized Taibai Jinxing had already recommended seeking the Great Sage’s help.
• Chen Wei told his aides to secure Zhao Dakang’s confession and leave Li Yin alone, then agreed to take Yang Chan with him to Spirit Mountain.

Chen Wei and Yang Chan traveled to Spirit Mountain to seek Sun Wukong’s help with the Three Demons case. At Pure Heart Temple, Sun Wukong mistook them for a couple with a child and demanded to know where the kid was.

• Chen Wei tried to summon the Auspicious Cloud, but Yang Chan revealed it was her treasure and took it with them to Spirit Mountain.
• After Chen Wei and Yang Chan departed, Pang Long and Ma Muzhi praised Ma Muzhi for attaching himself to Chen Wei early.
• Chen Wei and Yang Chan arrived at Pure Heart Temple, where Xuanzang continued to nag Bajie, Wujing, and Wukong.
• Sun Wukong teased Chen Wei and Yang Chan about arriving together, then asked where they had hidden their child.
• Yang Chan blushed furiously at Sun Wukong’s question, while Chen Wei stood speechless.