Chapter Summaries

After the White Deer Old Monster’s death silenced the Hidden Accounts case, Chen Wei attended the Star of Longevity’s gathering with Yang Chan. Back at their mansion, he grew certain that the unusually decorous Yang Chan beside him was not behaving like herself, but he had not yet discovered why.

• The Star of Longevity declared that the White Deer Old Monster had died from cultivation deviation, then held an Immortal Friends’ Gathering to reassure the Heavenly Court that the dead monster could offer no testimony.
• Chen Wei attended the gathering with Yang Chan, drawing curious looks from the immortals, and left with her without incident.
• On the way home, the Matchmaker praised Chen Wei and Yang Chan’s pairing and advised Chen Wei to keep his eyes sharp because appearances could be misleading.
• Yang Chan served Chen Wei tangyuan that tasted perfect but lacked her usual playful touch, deepening his suspicions about her changed demeanor.
• Chen Wei tested Yang Chan by asking her to recite their poem from Mount Hua; she recited it correctly, but her tone convinced him something was still wrong.

Chen Wei realized that the gentle Yang Chan was likely an impostor, and Taibai Jinxing confirmed that something was wrong with her. Chen Wei set out for Western Spirit Mountain to seek Sun Wukong’s help, determined to rescue the real Yang Chan.

• Chen Wei secretly examined Yang Chan and found that her soul seemed to be missing, while her flawless aura made him suspect she had been replaced.
• Chen Wei considered warning Yang Jian and then the Great Heavenly Venerable, but decided both choices could cause trouble.
• Taibai Jinxing divined that something was amiss and warned Chen Wei not to act rashly.
• Taibai Jinxing told Chen Wei to seek the Victorious Fighting Buddha, recalling the Six-Eared Macaque affair as a similar case involving a true and false person.
• Chen Wei understood the strategy and immediately flew toward Western Spirit Mountain to find Sun Wukong.

Chen Wei sought Sun Wukong’s help after discovering that the Third Holy Mother he had encountered might be an impostor. Sun Wukong agreed to investigate, and he and Chen Wei headed for the Heavenly Court as Xuanzang warned that the matter might require the Great Heavenly Venerable’s judgment.

• Chen Wei flew toward Western Spirit Mountain and disrupted a Heavenly patrol, then told its general to contact his highest official if he wanted to report him.
• At Pure Heart Temple, Chen Wei told Sun Wukong that a real and fake Third Holy Mother might exist, but Sun Wukong initially refused to get involved.
• Chen Wei persuaded Sun Wukong by reminding him of the promised disciple he might never have if Chen Wei died before having a child.
• Xuanzang recalled how the Six-Eared Macaque had fooled even the gods and Buddhas, suggesting the Third Holy Mother case might need the Great Heavenly Venerable to resolve it.
• Sun Wukong urged Chen Wei to hurry back to the Heavenly Court, and they flew there together.

Chen Wei and Sun Wukong tested Yang Chan for signs of an impostor, but Sun Wukong's Fiery Golden Eyes found no demonic trace. To investigate further, Sun Wukong invited Chen Wei and Yang Chan to Cloud Tower Palace so he could use Heavenly King Li's Demon-Revealing Mirror.

• Chen Wei and Sun Wukong returned to the mansion, where Yang Chan welcomed them with tangyuan.
• Sun Wukong secretly examined Yang Chan with his Fiery Golden Eyes and found her Immortal Body, Divine Soul, and origin aura pure.
• The Little Macaque tasted Yang Chan's tangyuan, spat it out, and shattered his bowl, but Sun Wukong restored the bowl and ate the dish himself.
• Sun Wukong and Chen Wei endured the tangyuan while praising Yang Chan's cooking.
• Sun Wukong invented a disagreement with Heavenly King Li as an excuse to take Chen Wei and Yang Chan to Cloud Tower Palace and test her with the Demon-Revealing Mirror.
• Chen Wei agreed to go, and Yang Chan obediently followed his decision.

Sun Wukong brought Chen Wei, Yang Chan, and the Little Macaque to Cloud Tower Palace to use Li Jing’s Demon-Revealing Mirror and expose the fake Yang Chan. Li Jing tried to avoid getting involved, but Nezha agreed to produce the mirror, leaving Li Jing alarmed about what his son would do next.

• Li Jing received Sun Wukong’s message and discussed the request to use the Demon-Revealing Mirror with Yin Shiniang and Nezha.
• Sun Wukong, Chen Wei, and Yang Chan arrived at Cloud Tower Palace, where Chen Wei made polite conversation while Nezha recognized Yang Chan as a fake.
• Sun Wukong asked Li Jing to use the mirror on the Little Macaque to clear the mirror’s reputation and expose Yang Chan along the way.
• Li Jing claimed the mirror was broken, but Li Zhenying called him a liar, prompting Sun Wukong to ask to borrow it for repairs.
• Li Jing claimed Nezha had taken the mirror to Tusita Palace, and Nezha agreed to bring it out, making Li Jing fear trouble was coming.

Nezha used Li Jing’s Demon-Revealing Mirror to reveal Little Macaque’s Six-Eared Macaque form, while the mirror showed Yang Chan as genuine despite Sun Wukong, Nezha, and Li Jing recognizing the truth was more complicated. Sun Wukong then proposed taking the group to the Netherworld to consult Diting, and Chen Wei’s suspicion of the scheme deepened.

• Nezha revealed the Demon-Revealing Mirror and used it to display Little Macaque’s Six-Eared Macaque True-Body Dharma Form.
• Sun Wukong praised Li Jing and Nezha, while Nezha secretly swept the mirror’s light over the gathered immortals and Yang Chan.
• Chen Wei saw Yang Chan appear genuine in the mirror, but Sun Wukong, Nezha, and Li Jing silently recognized that she was both genuine and false in different ways.
• Nezha returned the mirror to his Storage Bag and teased Li Jing about borrowing the Exquisite Pagoda, which Li Jing denied was broken.
• Sun Wukong proposed visiting Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva so Diting could examine Little Macaque, and Chen Wei agreed to go with Yang Chan.
• Yang Chan obediently agreed to follow Chen Wei, deepening his unease and prompting a vague suspicion about who was behind the scheme.

Chen Wei, Sun Wukong, and Yang Chan traveled to the Netherworld to investigate the false Third Holy Mother. The Ten Kings of Hell learned of the impersonation and decided to pass the matter to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva at Emerald Cloud Palace, leaving Judge Lu to organize the reception.

• Chen Wei traveled with Sun Wukong and Yang Chan to the Netherworld, while he worried that Yang Chan's unusually gentle behavior was not like her.
• The Ten Kings of Hell sensed Sun Wukong and Yang Chan approaching and panicked over how to receive them.
• King Zhuanlun relayed Nezha's warning that someone had impersonated the Third Holy Mother, Yang Chan.
• The Ten Kings agreed to follow procedure and escort the visitors to Emerald Cloud Palace so Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva could handle the case.
• King Yanluo ordered Judge Lu to arrange the reception and notify Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's attendant in advance.

Chen Wei and Sun Wukong brought Little Macaque through the Netherworld and to Ksitigarbha, where the Bodhisattva hinted that Chen Wei might have to let go of what he sought. Chen Wei misunderstood the warning as encouragement to fight for the real Yang Chan and left determined to challenge the scheme behind the counterfeit.

• Sun Wukong brought Little Macaque to the Ten Yama Kings, who praised him and pretended not to notice Yang Chan.
• The Ten Yama Kings sent Sun Wukong and his companions to the Emerald Cloud Palace to have Ksitigarbha examine Little Macaque.
• Ksitigarbha told Chen Wei that gaining what he sought required letting go, while Diting pretended to sleep.
• Chen Wei rejected the counterfeit Yang Chan’s perfect attentiveness and held her hand while declaring they would go home.
• Chen Wei interpreted Ksitigarbha’s warning as a call to fight for the real Yang Chan, and Sun Wukong recognized that he had made up his mind.

Chen Wei discovered that the Yang Chan in his Mansion was a spirit puppet containing only one of her three souls and two of her seven spirits, and suspected the Heavenly Court had taken the rest. Unable to recover them through Yang Jian, he persuaded Taibai Jinxing to help and set out with him for Mount Putuo to seek Guanyin Bodhisattva.

• After returning from the Netherworld, Chen Wei tested Yang Chan and realized she could not act like the real Yang Chan.
• Yang Chan transformed into an innate purple radiance jade spirit puppet, and Chen Wei confirmed that two souls and five spirits were missing.
• Chen Wei suspected the Heavenly Court had taken Yang Chan's missing souls and spirits, and decided that confronting Yang Jian would be too dangerous.
• Chen Wei told Taibai Jinxing what had happened and pleaded for help, warning that the Censorate could fall into chaos if he broke under the pressure.
• Taibai Jinxing agreed to help Chen Wei seek Guanyin Bodhisattva's advice and summoned an Auspicious Cloud to take them to Mount Putuo.

Taibai Jinxing brought Chen Wei to Mount Potalaka and asked Guanyin Bodhisattva to help save the Third Holy Mother, whose souls and spirits were badly depleted by a love tribulation. Guanyin explained that restoring her would require Chen Wei to sacrifice his immortal position and cultivation, leaving his willingness unresolved.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva taught Mu Zha and Niu Aimin that cultivators should avoid entanglement in the Three Realms’ karma and handle affairs impartially.
• Dragon Maiden announced that Taibai Jinxing and Chen Wei had arrived at the mountain gate, and Guanyin Bodhisattva received them.
• Taibai Jinxing told Guanyin Bodhisattva that the Third Holy Mother had lost more than half her souls and spirits in a love tribulation and asked her for help.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva considered refusing but accepted the request because she owed Taibai Jinxing a debt from the Journey to the West.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva told Chen Wei that the Third Holy Mother needed energy of the same origin and asked whether he would surrender his immortal position, disperse his dao fruit, and use his origin essence to restore her.

Chen Wei sacrificed his dao fruit and combined two pills to save Yang Chan, then lost consciousness. He awoke in Lingxiao Palace surrounded by immortals, with the outcome of Yang Chan’s recovery still unclear.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva gave Chen Wei three willow leaves to protect a wisp of Yang Chan’s divine soul, and Taibai Jinxing supplied him with an Immortal Pill.
• Chen Wei went to Guanjiangkou, where Yang Jian warned him that sacrificing his dao fruit could destroy his immortality and even his life.
• Chen Wei entered Yang Chan’s bedchamber and decided to fuse his dao fruit with her, adding the Great Sage’s medicine and Laojun’s Immortal Pill.
• Chen Wei’s cultivation drained away as he completed the fusion, and he lost consciousness after hearing a mysterious question about whether he loved the Heavenly Court or Yang Chan.
• Chen Wei woke in Lingxiao Palace and found the assembled immortals watching him.

Chen Wei survived the ordeal with his dao fruit strengthened, then faced scrutiny over his bond with Yang Chan at the Heavenly Court assembly. The Matchmaker revealed their forty-nine intertwined Red Threads, leaving the Fire Virtue Star Lord publicly embarrassed.

• Taibai Jinxing helped Chen Wei cover for his outburst, and Chen Wei discovered that he had survived with his dao fruit intact and strengthened.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable praised Chen Wei for helping the Third Holy Mother overcome her love tribulation and preserving the Heavenly Court’s dignity.
• The Queen Mother of the West prompted the Matchmaker to confirm that Chen Wei and the Third Holy Mother had intertwined Marriage Threads.
• The Fire Virtue Star Lord challenged the Matchmaker to review the bond, and the Matchmaker asked the Great Heavenly Venerable for permission to display the evidence.
• The Matchmaker revealed forty-nine Red Threads connecting Chen Wei’s and Yang Chan’s fate tablets, and he mocked the Fire Virtue Star Lord’s suggestion that they formed a formation.

At the Heavenly Court, Chen Wei was drawn into a dispute between the Matchmaker, the Fire Virtue Star Lord, and the Martial Virtue Star Lord over his Red Threads. Chen Wei turned the Martial Virtue Star Lord’s taunts against him, but Great Emperor Ziwei used Chen Wei’s suggestion to order the Discipline Inspection Court to descend to the Mortal Realm and subdue demons.

• The Matchmaker challenged the Fire Virtue Star Lord to exchange blows, while the Martial Virtue Star Lord intervened and mocked the Matchmaker’s work as comfortable and leisurely.
• The Matchmaker appealed to the Great Heavenly Venerable for permission to fight the Fire Virtue Star Lord, and the Martial Virtue Star Lord redirected the dispute toward Chen Wei’s Red Threads.
• Great Emperor Ziwei asked Chen Wei to judge the Star Lords, and Chen Wei praised their service before sarcastically accusing the Martial Virtue Star Lord of meddling in civil affairs.
• Chen Wei proposed that civil and military officials swap duties, including military officers handling paperwork and civil officials slaying demons.
• Great Emperor Ziwei approved the idea and ordered Chen Wei’s Discipline Inspection Court to descend to the Mortal Realm to subdue demons.

Chen Wei received the title of Nine Heavens Demon-Suppressing Grand Commander and learned that the new post would bring extra duties. After testing whether Yang Chan was truly herself, he received an urgent report from the Mortal Realm and found its contents unexpectedly appealing.

• The Great Heavenly Venerable appointed Chen Wei Nine Heavens Demon-Suppressing Grand Commander, adding demon-slaying cases and reports to his responsibilities.
• Ma Muzhi, Pang Long, Xiao Yan, and Chu Feng congratulated Chen Wei, then quickly fled after Yang Chan served them tangyuan.
• Chen Wei tested Yang Chan by criticizing her tangyuan and praising Ao Rui’s; her jealous outburst convinced him she was genuine.
• A Heavenly General named Han Li arrived with an urgent Mortal Realm report while Chen Wei was recovering from Yang Chan’s elbow strike.
• Chen Wei read the jade slip and inwardly decided the assignment was a great one.

Han Li escaped punishment after stumbling upon Chen Wei’s secret and was appointed Chen Wei’s personal guard. Chen Wei then faced Yang Chan’s invitation to visit Guanjiangkou, and the chapter ended when Yang Chan asked to see his Dao Fruit and it emerged on its own.

• Han Li offered Chen Wei a Storage Bag, then claimed he had found it and meant to turn it in.
• Chen Wei appointed Han Li as his personal guard and sent him to deliver a military report to Lord Ma.
• Chen Wei returned to Yang Chan and massaged her shoulders while she teased him about showing his feelings in other ways.
• Yang Chan told Chen Wei that Yang Jian wanted her to bring him to Guanjiangkou, and Chen Wei eagerly agreed to go rather than face Yang Jian visiting him.
• Yang Chan asked Chen Wei to show her his Dao Fruit, and it emerged from his body without him using magic power.

Chen Wei reviewed a spirit insect’s offer to join the Heavenly Court and secured approval to investigate it in the Mortal Realm. The Demon-Suppressing Patriarch warned him the case might be dangerous and advised him to seek Sun Wukong’s help if needed.

• Ma Muzhi, Pang Long, Xiao Yan, and the other aides analyzed Han Li’s report about a spirit insect offering a spirit vein in exchange for the title of Merit Demon King.
• Chen Wei arrived at the office exhausted after his dao fruit fused with Yang Chan’s, then reviewed the case and ordered Han Li to accompany him to the Mortal Realm.
• Chen Wei gave Ma Muzhi and Pang Long authority over the office while he traveled to the North Heaven Gate to register the assignment.
• The Demon-Suppressing Patriarch approved Chen Wei’s mission and warned him that the spirit insect might be dangerous.
• The Patriarch advised Chen Wei to ask the Victorious Fighting Buddha for help if the case proved beyond his power, and Chen Wei resolved to stay vigilant.

Chen Wei and Yang Chan visited Sun Wukong to ask for help investigating a spirit insect on Mistcloud Mountain, and Han Li’s findings linked it to the pilgrimage’s old affairs. Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie volunteered to handle the assignment, leaving Chen Wei suspicious of their sudden eagerness.

• Chen Wei and Yang Chan arrived at Pure Heart Temple, where Sun Wukong complained about being disturbed and asked why they had not used the pills he had given them to have a child.
• Chen Wei explained the spirit insect’s offer of a spirit vein and request for amnesty, adding that the Demon-Subduing Patriarch had told him to consult Sun Wukong.
• Han Li sent intelligence identifying the spirit insect’s background and lair, and Sun Wukong connected the matter to Zhu Bajie’s encounter with the spider demons of Pansi Cave.
• Sun Wukong secretly spoke with Zhu Bajie, then the two offered to travel to the Mortal Realm and settle Chen Wei’s assignment.
• Chen Wei accepted their help while privately suspecting their sudden enthusiasm concealed a catch.

The Silkworm Spirit prepared Mistcloud Mountain for Lord Chen’s inspection while secretly reporting to his godfather about a trap. Han Li and Xu Jiang infiltrated the lair, and Xu Jiang killed the Bèi Military Advisor and assumed his form to investigate from within.

• The Silkworm Spirit ordered his demons to clean the lair and prepare gifts for the Heavenly Court’s inspectors, insisting that they call him Daoist Qingsang.
• The Silkworm Spirit spoke with his godfather, who warned him that the trap’s success depended on his performance.
• Xu Jiang ambushed and killed the Bèi Military Advisor while he ate tofu and pickled greens.
• Han Li asked Xu Jiang to enter the lair and investigate the Silkworm Spirit’s connections, while Han Li stayed hidden to watch the mountain.
• Xu Jiang transformed into the Bèi Military Advisor and headed toward the lair.

Chen Wei arrived at Mistcloud Mountain with Yang Chan, Sun Wukong, and Zhu Bajie to inspect the spirit vein Daoist Qingsang had offered to the Heavenly Court. As the procession entered the cave abode, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie recognized the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord’s scent and suspected a trap, while Sun Wukong began plotting to push Chen Wei and Yang Chan together.

• Chen Wei descended from his Flying Boat at Mistcloud Mountain, accompanied by Yang Chan, Sun Wukong, and Zhu Bajie disguised as Heavenly Generals.
• Daoist Qingsang sent the snake demon Xiaomei to welcome Chen Wei, but Chen Wei refused the display and declared that he had come to inspect Mistcloud Mountain’s submission.
• Daoist Qingsang claimed his demons had reformed and offered a spirit vein, while Chen Wei questioned him about his past dealings and mountain conquests.
• Chen Wei told Daoist Qingsang to lead the way to the spirit vein, and the procession entered the depths of Mistcloud Mountain’s cave abode.
• Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie recognized the scent of the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord and suspected that he was plotting against Chen Wei.
• Sun Wukong noticed that Chen Wei and Yang Chan were making no move toward each other and decided to help bring them together.

Chen Wei and his companions inspected Daoist Qingsang’s untouched spirit vein and pretended to accept his attempted bribe while he secretly recorded them to frame Chen Wei. Qingsang boasted of knowing the Victorious Fighting Buddha, unaware that Sun Wukong was the Buddha himself, and the chapter ended as Sun Wukong led him aside to continue the act.

• Chen Wei recognized that the spirit vein was untouched, sent the Heavenly soldiers outside, and began a show of careful inspection with Yang Chan, Sun Wukong, and Zhu Bajie.
• Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie coaxed Daoist Qingsang into admitting he wanted to bribe them, while hidden Recording Stones captured their exchange.
• Qingsang proposed a business deal and a thirty-seventy split, then claimed that his connections reached the Victorious Fighting Buddha.
• Sun Wukong played along and asked Qingsang to introduce him to the Buddha, while Qingsang remained unaware that Sun Wukong was the very figure he had been boasting about.