Chapter Summaries

Chen Wei was summoned to Yang Jian’s Flying Boat after Yang Niansan told the True Lord about their proposed plan. Yang Jian confronted him under the Heavenly Eye’s golden light, and Chen Wei chose to lie about his lack of strategic ability to escape the accusation of making sport of the commander.

• Yang Niansan told Chen Wei that Yang Jian had summoned him to discuss the plan, and Chen Wei reluctantly agreed to go.
• Chen Wei and Yang Niansan reached Yang Jian’s Flying Boat, where Yang Jian dismissed her and spoke privately with Chen Wei while wiping his blade.
• Yang Jian asked Chen Wei about his plan to break the deadlock at the Heaven-Reaching River, and Chen Wei claimed the ideas were only trifling schemes.
• Yang Jian raised his Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Blade and used his Heavenly Eye to immobilize Chen Wei, accusing him of hiding his talent and making sport of the commander.
• Chen Wei decided to lie to Yang Jian.

Chen Wei convinced Yang Jian that his scheme to sow discord among the demons would spare Heavenly Court troops, and Yang Jian appointed him Vanguard with thirty thousand soldiers. Chen Wei interpreted the order to proceed gradually as permission to prolong the campaign, then left boasting to Yang Niansan about their success.

• Chen Wei defended his strategy to Yang Jian as a way to weaken the demons without sacrificing Heavenly Soldiers and Generals in a frontal assault.
• Yang Jian questioned Chen Wei about his fear and his admiration for the Third Holy Mother, then realized Chen Wei had never recognized Yang Chan in disguise.
• Yang Jian assigned Chen Wei thirty thousand heavenly soldiers and appointed him Vanguard, warning him to proceed gradually and avoid rushing the campaign.
• Chen Wei concluded that Yang Jian wanted a drawn-out show of resistance and promised to advance slowly and carefully.
• Chen Wei left Yang Jian's presence and told Yang Niansan that the True Lord had praised his strategy and granted him command of the troops.

Chen Wei received the Vanguard Officer post and prepared to lead his troops onto the Heaven-Reaching River, while Li Yin plotted to use Zhao Dakang to stir up trouble. Chen Wei ordered a conspicuous river patrol designed to avoid fighting, leaving the armies to face off across the water.

• The Holy Manifestation True Lord promoted Chen Wei to Vanguard Officer, and the decree sparked rumors among the immortal officials.
• Li Yin fumed over Chen Wei's promotion, dismissed him as expendable, and offered Zhao Dakang a True Immortal post in exchange for a task.
• Pang Long told Chen Wei that the Lion-Camel King planned to cross the Heaven-Reaching River and proposed that their troops cross to meet him.
• Chen Wei realized the troops could cross without attacking and ordered a highly visible patrol to the river's center.
• Chen Wei assigned Pang Long to coordinate the deployment, Ma Muzhi to handle logistics, and Xiao Yan to learn logistics from Ma Muzhi.

The Three Demons plotted to raid the Heavenly Court Vanguard Army’s supplies and frame the Five Demon Sages, while Zhao Dakang delivered Li Yin’s offer and negotiated a higher price. Chen Wei approved a plan to raid the Five Demon Sages’ supplies and frame the Three Demons, as the Demon Sages independently prepared to raid the Three Demons and blame them for the attack.

• Azure Lion, White Elephant, and Golden-Winged Great Peng planned to steal the Vanguard Army’s supplies and pin the theft on the Five Demon Sages.
• Zhao Dakang delivered Li Yin’s recorded message, and Azure Lion demanded a twenty percent increase in the price before agreeing to act.
• Azure Lion told his brothers that Spirit Mountain and the Heavenly Court had arranged a staged outcome, though Golden-Winged Great Peng worried about Yang Jian.
• Pang Long proposed that Chen Wei raid the Five Demon Sages’ supplies and leave behind the Three Demons’ tokens, and Chen Wei approved the plan.
• A wolf demon proposed that the Five Demon Sages raid the Three Demons’ supply Water Palace and leave Standard Immortal Swords to provoke a fight with the Heavenly Court.
• The Dragon Demon King accepted the wolf demon’s plan, and the gathered Demon Sages prepared to carry it out.

Chen Wei led a midnight raid on the Five Great Demon Sages' supply camp, where his soldiers drugged the guards, looted the provisions, and set the camp ablaze to frame Lion Camel Ridge. As the force withdrew, Chu Feng returned two bulging Storage Bags to Chen Wei, who praised him and invited him to his Flying Boat.

• Chen Wei ordered a thousand soldiers to raid the demon supply base and arranged for Ma Muzhi to keep Kang Anyu occupied at the logistics Flying Boat.
• At midnight, Chen Wei's force traveled through the clouds while the demon factions launched separate raids along the river and its bed.
• Chen Wei and his soldiers found the demon camp poorly guarded, and Chu Feng proposed using Immortal-Drunkenness Powder to incapacitate its occupants.
• After the demons fell asleep, the soldiers looted the camp, left Lion Camel Ridge weapons behind, set the supplies on fire, and retreated.
• Chu Feng returned two full Storage Bags to Chen Wei, who pocketed them and told Chu Feng to report to his Flying Boat.

Chen Wei took the spoils from the burned supply camp, while Peng Demon King and Macaque King staged serious injuries to escape blame. Azure Lion Spirit and White Elephant Spirit abandoned their raid on the Heavenly Court after hearing that their own camp was under attack.

• Chen Wei accepted the spoils from Chu Feng and left with his men.
• Peng Demon King and Macaque King returned to find their supply camp destroyed, then injured each other and blamed the attack on Lion Camel Ridge.
• Azure Lion Spirit and White Elephant Spirit found no Heavenly Court defenses along the Heaven-Reaching River and prepared to raid its Flying Boats.
• Golden-Winged Great Peng warned them that Dragon Demon King was raiding their camp, so Azure Lion Spirit ordered everyone to retreat.
• Ma Muzhi toasted Kang Anyu aboard the Heavenly Court's supply Flying Boat and praised its secure supply lines.

After Chen Wei’s scheme sparked a battle between the Three Demons and the Five Great Demon Sages, he ordered a victory report that claimed the Heavenly Court had won without losses. The demon coalition split apart, and the Golden-Winged Great Peng flew toward the Heavenly Court’s main camp while his brothers stayed behind.

• Chen Wei learned that the Three Demons and the Five Great Demon Sages were fighting, then dictated a dispatch crediting the Heavenly Court’s victory to his plan.
• Kang Anyu recognized the success of Chen Wei’s scheme and sent intelligence to Yang Jian.
• The Lion-Camel King insulted the Golden-Winged Great Peng, and the Azure Lion Spirit realized that someone had manipulated both sides into fighting.
• The Azure Lion Spirit persuaded the Dragon Demon King to call a halt, and the Five Great Demon Sages withdrew from the river.
• The Azure Lion Spirit’s hints enraged the Golden-Winged Great Peng, who flew toward the Heavenly Court’s main camp while the Azure Lion Spirit and White Elephant Spirit stayed behind.

Yang Chan traveled incognito with the Great Heavenly Venerable and Taibai Jinxing to the Heaven-Reaching River, where they discussed her feelings for Chen Wei. As the Golden-Winged Great Peng attacked their Flying Boat, the Great Heavenly Venerable sent Taibai Jinxing to confront him.

• Yang Chan asked the Great Heavenly Venerable to keep her identity secret when they reached the Vanguard's camp.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable recognized Yang Chan's feelings for Chen Wei and agreed to help her see what kind of immortal he was.
• The Flying Boat shuddered as a surge of demonic aura approached, and the Great Heavenly Venerable told Taibai Jinxing to discipline whoever was responsible.
• The angry and hungry Golden-Winged Great Peng spotted the unmarked Flying Boat and decided to attack it as a target for his rage.

The Great Heavenly Venerable arrived at the front-line camp with Yang Niansan and startled Chen Wei and the other immortals with his overwhelming presence. He ordered Chen Wei to accompany him and Niansan on a trip, leaving Chen Wei nervous as he piloted their Flying Boat.

• A sudden thunderclap shook the immortals, and Chen Wei gathered his subordinates while insisting the Heavenly Court would not strike its own camp.
• Yang Niansan arrived with the Great Heavenly Venerable, whom Kang Anyu and Ma Muzhi recognized, though Chen Wei mistook him for one of her elders.
• The Great Heavenly Venerable tested Chen Wei with his divine presence, then eased the pressure when Yang Niansan asked him not to scare Chen Wei.
• Chen Wei praised Yang Niansan lavishly, and the Great Heavenly Venerable told him to board the Flying Boat and accompany them on a trip.
• Chen Wei piloted the boat while Yang Niansan teased him and edged closer, until the Great Heavenly Venerable called her back to his side.

Chen Wei impressed the Great Heavenly Venerable by arguing that the Heavenly Court should give demons honest livelihoods and bring them under its administration instead of simply slaughtering them. After the Great Heavenly Venerable departed, Yang Niansan stayed behind and asked Chen Wei for advice on behalf of a supposedly troubled immortal friend.

• Chen Wei served tea to the Great Heavenly Venerable, who asked what he had learned from his trip to the lower realm.
• Chen Wei said demons lived bitter lives and argued that the Heavenly Court should reorganize them, provide livelihoods, and guide them onto the proper path.
• Yang Niansan praised Chen Wei's proposal, and the Great Heavenly Venerable said serving as a True Immortal was beneath Chen Wei's talents.
• Chen Wei humbly declared that immortals should shoulder their responsibilities, and the Great Heavenly Venerable told him to remember his words before returning to the Heavenly Court.
• Yang Niansan stayed at the Vanguard Camp, then asked Chen Wei for advice about an immortal friend; Chen Wei guessed that she meant herself.

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.