Recaps

Chen Wei sought Sun Wukong and Xuanzang’s help with the three demons imprisoned after the Tongtian River incident. Sun Wukong agreed to suppress them beneath a mountain, and Xuanzang devised a cover story; Chen Wei was left to arrange their plausible escape from the Heavenly Prison.

• Sun Wukong teased Chen Wei about Yang Chan, and Chen Wei quickly clarified their relationship to avoid offending her.
• Chen Wei and Yang Chan met Xuanzang, Xuan Lin, and Sha Wujing at Pure Heart Temple.
• Chen Wei explained that the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Azure Lion, and White Elephant Spirit were being held in the Heavenly Court’s Heavenly Prison, and Sun Wukong urged him to make a proper case against them.
• Chen Wei asked Sun Wukong to pin the three demons beneath a mountain, and Sun Wukong enthusiastically agreed, recalling his own imprisonment beneath one.
• Xuanzang proposed claiming that the demons escaped on their own and that Sun Wukong happened upon them and suppressed them as a lesson.
• Chen Wei accepted responsibility for arranging a believable escape from the heavily guarded Heavenly Prison.

Chen Wei returned to Tongming Hall and reported that Li Yin had spread rumors about the Three Demons on Spirit Mountain’s orders and accepted incense merit. He proposed putting Li Yin in charge of interrogating the demons, setting up a way for Li Yin to become responsible for their escape and face Yang Jian’s judgment.

• Yang Chan received an urgent message and left Chen Wei to return to the Heavenly Court alone.
• Chen Wei learned that Taibai Jinxing and the Four Great Celestial Masters were inspecting Tongming Hall’s offices, then waited six hours for Taibai Jinxing.
• Chen Wei reported that Zhao Dakang had implicated Li Yin in spreading rumors about the Three Demons and accepting incense merit from Spirit Mountain.
• Taibai Jinxing asked Chen Wei how Li Yin should be dealt with after praising Li Yin’s years of service.
• Chen Wei suggested that Li Yin lead the Three Demons’ interrogation in the Heavenly Prison and earn a chance to redeem himself.
• Taibai Jinxing approved Chen Wei’s proposal, which could pressure Li Yin into secretly releasing the Three Demons and give Yang Jian grounds to punish him.

Chen Wei delivered Taibai Jinxing’s decree appointing Li Yin to preside over the Three Demons’ trial, leaving Li Yin convinced he had been spared. Back at his mansion, Chen Wei discovered Yang Chan bathing in his pool and, while trying to avoid seeing her, was pulled into the water.

• Chen Wei presented Taibai Jinxing’s decree, and Li Yin learned he was to preside over the Three Demons’ trial and redeem himself through meritorious service.
• Li Yin cheerfully accepted the appointment and promised Chen Wei he would handle the matter perfectly.
• Returning to his mansion, Chen Wei sensed Yang Chan bathing in his pool and tried to leave before she noticed him.
• Yang Chan called for clean clothes, and Chen Wei covered his eyes before approaching with her robe.
• Chen Wei stretched his arm to hand Yang Chan the robe, but she grabbed his arm and yanked him into the pool.

Chen Wei nearly acted on his attraction to Yang Chan but remembered the danger posed by Yang Jian and followed her to eat tangyuan instead. Meanwhile, Taibai Jinxing let Li Yin proceed with his lenient verdict for the Three Demons, setting him up for a difficult reassignment.

• Yang Chan teased Chen Wei by removing his blindfold, and he stopped himself from approaching her when he remembered Yang Jian’s halberd.
• Yang Chan invited Chen Wei inside and served him his favorite tangyuan, while he guessed the filling was red bean.
• Li Yin argued to Taibai Jinxing that the Three Demons should not be executed to preserve harmony between the Heavenly Court and Spirit Mountain.
• Taibai Jinxing warned Li Yin not to rush to judgment, but Li Yin insisted the investigation was complete and pledged his divine soul as a guarantee.
• Taibai Jinxing approved Li Yin proceeding according to the rules and thanked him for his years of hard work, while Li Yin mistook the warning for praise.

Li Yin secretly arranged for the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the other demons to escape the Heavenly Prison, believing the plan would win him Spirit Mountain’s favor. Meanwhile, Chen Wei prepared to catch Li Yin in the act and reluctantly agreed to bring Yang Chan along to the Left Commissioner’s Office.

• Li Yin told the Golden-Winged Great Peng that Spirit Mountain could not openly intervene because Chen Wei had spread rumors about the demons, then persuaded him to agree to a prison break.
• The Golden-Winged Great Peng thanked Li Yin and promised that Spirit Mountain would welcome him, while Li Yin planned to loosen the prison formation and stage a convenient rescue by a bodhisattva.
• Chen Wei ordered Chu Feng and Xiao Yan to wait near the Left Ridge Office with arresting equipment and told Ma Muzhi and Pang Long to prepare Recording Stones as evidence.
• Yang Chan insisted on accompanying Chen Wei, and Ma Muzhi argued that her presence would help protect him and witness the law’s enforcement.
• Chen Wei agreed to take Yang Chan with him after she promised to obey his orders, though she had a reputation for defying authority.

Chen Wei took control of the Left Commissioner's Office under Taibai Jinxing’s decree and confronted Li Yin over secretly releasing the Three Demons. Yang Chan subdued Li Yin with the Treasure Lotus Lamp, leaving him captured and baffled by why she supported Chen Wei.

• Li Yin interpreted Taibai Jinxing’s promise to move him as a promotion and dismissed Chen Wei as an unworthy rival.
• Chen Wei presented a decree placing him in charge of the Left Commissioner's Office and ordered Li Yin to remain there under guard.
• After Li Yin rejected the decree, Chen Wei revealed that the Three Demons he had secretly released had been captured by the Great Sage.
• Li Yin pretended to surrender, then attacked Chen Wei with a black-light Magic Artifact.
• Yang Chan destroyed Li Yin’s attack and subdued him with the Treasure Lotus Lamp.
• Li Yin demanded to know why Yang Chan helped Chen Wei, and she answered that she liked how he loved eating tangyuan.

Sun Wukong captured the Three Demons beneath a mountain after they escaped the Heavenly Prison, and Zhu Bajie sealed them in place. Manjushri arrived to reclaim them, but Sun Wukong refused, and a new voice declared that the demons must not be released.

• Golden-Winged Great Peng, Azure Lion, and White Elephant Spirit fled toward Western Spirit Mountain, but Sun Wukong intercepted them and condemned them for their crimes.
• The Three Demons split up to escape, but Sun Wukong used Buddha Kingdom in the Palm to pin them beneath a mountain.
• Zhu Bajie placed Xuanzang's Restraining Seal on the mountain, making it impossible to move the demons without disturbing the earth veins.
• Chen Wei arrived and watched as Manjushri asked Sun Wukong to hand over the Three Demons, including Golden-Winged Great Peng.
• Sun Wukong addressed Manjushri by his official title and refused to release the demons, citing their crimes and the danger of damaging Southern Jambudvipa's feng shui.
• A voice rang out from the heavens and declared that the Three Demons must not be released.

Yang Jian arrived to enforce the Heavenly Court’s authority over the Three Demons and produced the Great Heavenly Venerable’s decree, which confirmed their imprisonment. He then confronted Chen Wei about Yang Chan’s romantic feelings, and the chapter ended with Yang Jian asking whether Chen Wei would really risk his cultivation and position to defend her.

• Yang Jian arrived as Justice Heavenly Deity, praised Chen Wei, and brought the Three Demons’ case under the Heavenly Laws.
• Yang Jian gave Chen Wei the Great Heavenly Venerable’s Imperial Decree, which authorized Sun Wukong’s punishment of the Three Demons and forced Bodhisattva Manjushri to accept the outcome.
• Bodhisattva Manjushri departed, and Sun Wukong flew off after hinting that he held a grudge against Tathagata Buddha.
• Yang Jian stopped Chen Wei and asked how he would handle Yang Chan’s romantic feelings.
• Chen Wei defended Yang Chan and offered to bear her punishment, so Yang Jian challenged him to give up his Golden Immortal cultivation and authority.

Chen Wei gave up his position rather than betray Yang Chan, only to discover she had impersonated Yang Jian to rescue him. After Yang Jian caught and confined her in Guanjiangkou for violating the Heavenly Laws, Chen Wei was left behind, unaware of her fate.

• Chen Wei declared that he could give up his power and position, and Yang Jian revealed himself to be Yang Chan in disguise, using a genuine Imperial Decree to intervene.
• Chen Wei took Yang Chan by the hand and fled to the Eastern Victory Divine Continent, while Yang Chan quietly treasured his concern and the warmth of his touch.
• After Yang Chan flew away just as Chen Wei reached to touch her shoulder, Yang Jian pulled her back and sealed her Treasure Lotus Lamp before she could resist.
• Yang Jian rebuked Yang Chan for impersonating him and proclaiming a fabricated Imperial Decree, but she remained unconcerned and did not heed his warning.
• Yang Jian sentenced Yang Chan to confinement in Guanjiangkou and sent her to the Mortal Realm with a golden-light talisman, then prepared to clean up the incident.

After rewarding his subordinates for their work on Li Yin’s case, Chen Wei passed Taibai Jinxing’s loyalty test and was appointed to oversee Li Yin’s vacant office. Taibai Jinxing then sent him to help Yang Chan, who had run into trouble.

• Chen Wei promoted Ma Muzhi and Pang Long to True Immortals, granted Chu Feng True Immortal treatment, and promoted Xiao Yan to Heavenly Immortal.
• Taibai Jinxing summoned Chen Wei to Clear Pool, where Chen Wei leaped into the water and caught the Dragon Carp he had been watching.
• Taibai Jinxing praised Chen Wei’s loyalty and handed him an Imperial Decree appointing him to take charge of Li Yin’s vacant Left Commissioner’s Office.
• Taibai Jinxing told Chen Wei that Yang Chan had run into trouble and asked him to help her, and Chen Wei immediately accepted.

Chen Wei returned to a newly renovated Tongming Hall office and learned that Yang Chan had been confined at the Mansion in Guanjiangkou. He left his subordinates in charge and flew to the Mortal Realm to bring her back.

• Ma Muzhi showed Chen Wei the renovated office, where Zhong Heng nervously sought his approval for the work.
• Ma Muzhi told Chen Wei that Yang Chan had been taken to the Mansion in Guanjiangkou and forbidden to leave.
• Chen Wei realized his subordinates knew about his closeness with Yang Chan and ordered Ma Muzhi and Pang Long to manage the office while he was away.
• Chen Wei flew toward Guanjiangkou to retrieve Yang Chan.
• Xiao Yan praised Ma Muzhi's insight, and Ma Muzhi advised him that serving an exalted immortal meant taking care of that immortal's troubles.

Chen Wei went to Guanjiangkou to retrieve Yang Chan, who Yang Jian had confined for violating the Heavenly Laws. After Sun Wukong helped him disguise himself as Yang Jian, Chen Wei reached Yang Chan’s chamber but was repelled by its seal, leaving his attempt to free her unresolved.

• Chen Wei found Yang Chan’s messages unanswered and decided to seek a powerful ally before approaching Guanjiangkou.
• Yang Jian kept Yang Chan confined in her chamber, declared it a Heavenly Prison, and warned that Chen Qingquan’s safety depended on her obedience.
• Yang Jian sensed Sun Wukong arriving at Guanjiangkou and left the chamber, while his seal prevented Yang Chan from contacting anyone.
• Chen Wei used Sun Wukong’s abilities to disguise himself as Yang Jian and enter Yang Chan’s courtyard.
• Yang Chan urged Chen Wei to flee, but he declared he would take her back to the Heavenly Court and was thrown back by the sealed door.

Chen Wei used Yang Chan’s Brocade Pouch to break Yang Jian’s seal and escaped with her toward Lingxiao Palace. Sun Wukong stalled Yang Jian in battle, but Yang Jian realized something was wrong as the fugitives fled.

• Chen Wei opened Yang Chan’s Brocade Pouch, releasing the Treasure Lotus Lamp’s power and shattering Yang Jian’s Restraining Seal.
• Yang Chan regained her magic, reunited with Chen Wei, and created a convincing seal and sleeping double to conceal her escape.
• Yang Chan and Chen Wei slipped out of Guanjiangkou and headed for the South Heaven Gate, planning to seek protection at Lingxiao Palace.
• Sun Wukong explained that Chen Wei had recruited him by promising him a future child as a disciple, and he kept Yang Jian occupied in a drawn battle.
• Yang Jian grew suspicious of Sun Wukong’s sudden visit and stalling, then realized something was wrong.

Yang Jian discovered that Chen Wei had taken Yang Chan from the Yang Mansion while Sun Wukong distracted him. Chen Wei’s jade slip claimed full responsibility and invoked Yang Chan’s official duties, leaving Yang Jian furious but without grounds to immediately retrieve her.

• Sun Wukong distracted Yang Jian while waiting for Chen Qingquan to escape, then left when the time was up.
• Yang Jian found Yang Chan’s sleeping figure was a clone and realized Chen Wei had taken her after breaking the seal.
• Yang Jian prepared to confront Chen Wei, but found a jade slip explaining that Chen Wei alone had arranged Yang Chan’s return to official work.
• Yang Jian’s anger stirred a storm, but he calmed down after recognizing Chen Wei had taken responsibility and used Heavenly Court rules to justify his actions.

After escaping Guanjiangkou with Yang Chan, Chen Wei soothed her worries about Yang Jian and grew closer to her in the garden. Taibai Jinxing interrupted their near-kiss with an urgent assignment, but Chen Wei embraced Yang Chan before leaving.

• Chen Wei and Yang Chan reached the Chen Residence, where Yang Chan asked how he had persuaded the Victorious Fighting Buddha to distract Yang Jian, and Chen Wei dodged the question.
• Yang Chan explained that Yang Jian had always cared for her, and Chen Wei praised the True Lord to reassure her.
• Yang Chan admired the flowers in the rear garden, and Chen Wei complimented her when she asked how the Purple Jade Immortal Orchid looked in her hair.
• Yang Chan cornered Chen Wei by a pillar, but Taibai Jinxing's urgent summons interrupted their intimate moment.
• Yang Chan complained that Chen Wei was leaving for his duties, and Chen Wei pulled her into a tight embrace from behind.

Chen Wei received an assignment from Taibai Jinxing to deal with the Yellow Eyebrow Monster and Yellow Wind Monster, whose escape from Spirit Mountain had become a political matter involving Maitreya Buddha and the Heavenly Court. After Chen Wei proposed bringing in Sun Wukong, Taibai Jinxing took him to meet the Great Heavenly Venerable, leaving Chen Wei anxious that the ruler might notice Yang Chan’s scent on him.

• Chen Wei recovered from Yang Chan’s elbow strike and went to meet Taibai Jinxing beside the Clear Pool.
• Taibai Jinxing noticed Yang Chan’s fragrance on Chen Wei, but accepted his excuse that he had been tending orchids.
• Taibai Jinxing assigned Chen Wei to handle the Yellow Eyebrow Monster and Yellow Wind Monster, explaining the political tensions between Maitreya Buddha and Tathagata Buddha.
• Chen Wei proposed seeking help from Sun Wukong, and Taibai Jinxing approved the plan as a way to serve the Heavenly Court’s interests.
• Taibai Jinxing told Chen Wei that the Great Heavenly Venerable was waiting to question him and led him toward Lingxiao Palace.
• Chen Wei worried that the Great Heavenly Venerable would recognize Yang Chan’s scent on him.

Chen Wei accompanied Taibai Jinxing to Lingxiao Palace, where Yang Chan used her closeness to the Great Heavenly Venerable to ease the formal atmosphere. The Great Heavenly Venerable nevertheless announced that he would thoroughly test Chen Wei, leaving him anxious as he prepared to answer.

• Chen Wei recalled that patronage, rather than cultivation alone, had enabled him to approach Lingxiao Palace, and Taibai Jinxing affirmed that an unsupported Loose Immortal could never enter its doors.
• Taibai Jinxing and Chen Wei reached Lingxiao Palace and entered without an announcement from Wang Lingguan.
• Chen Wei saw Yang Chan in the quiet hall, and she winked at him before the Great Heavenly Venerable noticed her amusement.
• Yang Chan called the people present their own and persuaded the Great Heavenly Venerable to treat the meeting as a casual chat.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable told Chen Wei that he would give him a thorough test, and Chen Wei answered with a formal salute and humble praise.

Chen Wei accepted the Great Heavenly Venerable’s order to retrieve Yellow Brows and Yellow Wind, receiving authority as Imperial Heavenly Envoy for Realm Inspection. In Immortal Mist Mountain, the Rhinoceros Spirit was attacked by two gods who revealed themselves as imperial envoys investigating his embezzlement of merit.

• Chen Wei remained formal in the Lingxiao Palace, passed the Great Heavenly Venerable’s assessment, and accepted the mission to bring Yellow Brows and Yellow Wind back unharmed.
• Yang Chan secured Chen Wei an Imperial Decree appointing him Imperial Heavenly Envoy for Realm Inspection.
• The Rhinoceros Spirit told his demons that Yellow Wind had wounded him after attacking without respecting his local authority.
• The Earth God and Mountain God arrived at the Rhinoceros Spirit’s cave and accused him of embezzling merit under orders from the Heavenly Court.
• The Mountain God attacked the Rhinoceros Spirit with yellow wind while the Earth God mocked him for using the same gear.

Chen Wei and Ma Muzhi arrived at Immortal Mist Mountain to investigate its demons and discovered the local gods were distributing confiscated merit without authorization. Chen Wei began auditing the temple’s records and confronted a Land God whose appearance did not match the official register, leaving Ma Muzhi curious about him.

• Chen Wei and Ma Muzhi traveled to Immortal Mist Mountain without Yang Chan and found crowds gathering at the Land God Temple to collect Merit Gold Bricks.
• A Gray-Robed Old Daoist told them that the Land God and Mountain God had raided the Rhinoceros Spirit’s cave and were distributing the confiscated merit.
• Chen Wei and Ma Muzhi entered the temple’s rear hall, revealed their authority, and demanded five hundred years of accounts, personnel registers, and merit records.
• Chen Wei audited the records for six hours and found them disorganized, inconsistent, and inaccurate while the Land God remained absent.
• Xu Jiang arrived and claimed responsibility for distributing the merit, but Chen Wei noticed that his appearance did not match the portrait in the Immortal Register Album.
• Xu Jiang insisted he was the registered Land God, and Ma Muzhi wondered why the man seemed familiar.

Chen Wei confronted Xu Jiang over the demons and the unauthorized distribution of Heavenly Treasury merit, while Xu Jiang and his nephew Xu Jiahao tried to redirect suspicion with an elaborate blame-taking performance. Chen Wei revealed that he had come under the Great Heavenly Venerable’s decree to discuss cooperation with Yellow Eyebrow and the Yellow Wind Monster, and Xu Jiang concluded that it was still about merit.

• Chen Wei questioned Xu Jiang about Yellow Eyebrow and the Yellow Wind Monster, then accused him of privately distributing Heavenly Treasury merit.
• Ma Muzhi cited the Heavenly Court law that made unauthorized diversion of merit a capital offense.
• Xu Jiahao burst in and, along with Xu Jiang, repeatedly tried to take sole responsibility for the merit distribution.
• Xu Jiahao feigned ignorance of the demons, while Xu Jiang implied Chen Wei was using the demon investigation to extort merit.
• Chen Wei disclosed that he had come under the Great Heavenly Venerable’s Imperial Decree to discuss cooperation with the two demons.
• Xu Jiang suddenly understood and declared that the matter was still about merit.

Chen Wei uncovered that Xu Jiang was Yellow-Brow in disguise, then agreed to accept the claim that Yellow-Brow and the Yellow Wind Monster had died in a fight. He closed the case and gave Xu Jiang and Xu Jiahao time to inventory the demons’ possessions, leaving their new identities protected by the Heavenly Court’s official account.

• Xu Jiang explained that distributing the Rhinoceros Spirit’s confiscated Merit Gold Bricks would win devotion and generate merit.
• Chen Wei identified Xu Jiang as Yellow-Brow, but Xu Jiang and Xu Jiahao insisted they were Immortal Mist Mountain’s local gods and claimed the two great demons had died fighting.
• Xu Jiang described the deaths as an accident and offered the demons’ possessions as evidence, while Ma Muzhi understood that the story would conceal their survival.
• Chen Wei accepted the account, promised to report Xu Jiang and Xu Jiahao’s contributions, and ordered Xu Jiahao to finish inventorying the possessions.

Chen Wei arranged for ten chests of Merit Gold Bricks to be delivered to Flower-Fruit Mountain so Sun Wukong would authenticate the demons’ remains, then returned to Yang Chan, who asked him to visit her second brother at Guanjiangkou. He reluctantly agreed, while the author’s closing note asked readers to vote on whether the novel should continue or a new one should begin.

• Chen Wei ordered Ma Muzhi to report 120 chests of Merit Gold Bricks to the Heavenly Treasury and secretly send the other ten to Flower-Fruit Mountain with a Jade Slip for Sun Wukong.
• Chen Wei left Ma Muzhi in charge and returned to the Heavenly Court, intending for Sun Wukong to verify the demons’ remains for Spirit Mountain.
• Yang Chan served Chen Wei tangyuan, and he flattered her into promising to make them for him every day.
• Yang Chan asked Chen Wei to accompany her to Guanjiangkou to visit her second brother, and he agreed after failing to dissuade her with bureaucratic excuses.
• The author asked readers to vote on whether to continue the story or start a new one.

Chen Wei brought Sun Wukong to Lingxiao Palace to verify the identities of Yellow Brows and the Yellow Wind Monster, whose deaths he reported as the result of a clash over stolen spoils. After Samantabhadra called for a further inspection, Maitreya agreed to let him handle the matter, revealing a dispute within Spirit Mountain.

• Chen Wei left Yang Chan after she struck him for invoking official business as an excuse to go to Lingxiao Palace.
• Chen Wei met Sun Wukong outside the palace and heard him recall his past assault on the Heavenly Court and offer to teach Chen Wei’s future child to cause havoc.
• Sun Wukong carried Chen Wei past the palace’s flight ban, while the heavenly guards chose not to stop him.
• Chen Wei reported to the Great Heavenly Venerable that Yellow Brows and the Yellow Wind Monster had died fighting over an uneven division of spoils, and Sun Wukong had verified their identities with his Fiery Golden Eyes.
• Samantabhadra insisted that the demons be inspected further, and Maitreya agreed that Samantabhadra should handle the matter.

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva withdrew his challenge to Sun Wukong’s judgment, but the Great Heavenly Venerable ordered Chen Wei to present the demons’ fake corpses anyway. With the assembled powers publicly declaring the bodies genuine, Yellow Brows and the Yellow Wind Monster were officially recorded as dead and the case was closed.

• Taibai Jinxing and Sun Wukong pressured Samantabhadra Bodhisattva to examine the demons’ bodies, while Guanyin Bodhisattva tried to defuse the dispute.
• Samantabhadra Bodhisattva apologized to Sun Wukong and withdrew his suggestion to inspect the corpses.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable ordered Chen Wei to bring out the bodies, and Chen Wei produced the disguised corpses of Yellow Brows and the Yellow Wind Monster.
• Maitreya Buddha and Lingji Bodhisattva recognized the corpses as fake but publicly accepted them as genuine, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva did the same.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva declared the demons’ karma ended, and Chen Wei put the corpses away as the case was officially closed.

After closing the case against the Three Demons, Chen Wei refused to interfere in the selection of Immortal Mist Mountain’s next Merit Demon King and encouraged Xu Jiang to follow proper procedures. He then returned home, where Yang Chan prepared to take him to Guanjiangkou to meet her second brother, leaving Chen Wei anxious and nursing an elbow after trying to redefine their terms of address.

• Chen Wei told Xu Jiang and Xu Jiahao that the Lingxiao Palace case had been closed and that Yellow Brows and Yellow Wind Monster no longer existed in the Three Realms.
• Xu Jiang offered Chen Wei a roster of candidates for the next Merit Demon King, but Chen Wei refused to choose and told him to follow procedure and consult others.
• Chen Wei agreed to stay in contact with Xu Jiang, then headed back to his mansion instead of returning directly to the Heavenly Court.
• Yang Chan told Chen Wei that her second brother was happy about his visit and would be waiting outside the main gate to welcome him.
• Chen Wei said he wanted to visit Yang Chan’s second brother as his own kind of family, suggesting they call each other by their own terms, and Yang Chan elbowed him.