Chapter Summaries

After a hundred years, Xiao Tian reviewed the fates of his disciples Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie before bringing Zi Xia and Qingxia to the Three Immortal Islands for protection. He announced that an old friend had returned, leaving the Three Skies about to meet him.

• Xiao Tian discovered Sun Wukong imprisoned beneath Five-Finger Mountain and judged the confinement a useful trial for his disciple.
• Xiao Tian learned that Zhu Bajie had become a wild boar, cultivated with help from Sister Mao, and joined the Western Sect after causing trouble in Gao Family Village.
• Xiao Tian decided to take Zi Xia and Qingxia to the Three Immortal Islands so they could live safely and avoid being refined into lamp wicks by Randeng.
• The Three Skies recalled how Jiang Ziya had deceived them during the Investiture of the Gods and how their old acquaintance had disappeared.
• Xiao Tian restored his handsome appearance and asked the Three Skies whether they would meet an old friend.

After reuniting with the Three Skies on the Three Immortal Islands, Xiao Tian explained his Jiang Ziya alias and asked them to shelter his disciples Zi Xia and Qingxia from Ancient Buddha Randeng. Yunxiao and her sisters agreed to protect the two women within the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation.

• Bixiao, Qiongxiao, and Yunxiao welcomed Xiao Tian after nearly five hundred years apart and invited him into the Three Immortal Islands.
• Yunxiao opened the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation, with the Primordial Chaos Golden Dipper as its core, and sealed the islands after Xiao Tian entered.
• Xiao Tian told the Three Skies that Jiang Shang and Jiang Ziya were aliases, and Bixiao and Qiongxiao thanked him for keeping Zhao Gongming and other Jiejiao disciples from the Investiture of the Gods.
• Xiao Tian introduced Zi Xia and Qingxia and explained their connection to Daoist Randeng and his Dao-Suppressing Treasure.
• Qiongxiao and Yunxiao agreed to let Zi Xia and Qingxia cultivate safely on the islands and warned that intruders below Saint level would not escape the formation.

Over four hundred years, Xiao Tian checked on his disciples and prepared for them and his family to take part in Sun Wukong’s future Journey to the West. As the scripture journey approached, Xiao Tian expected the pilgrims to face formidable obstacles and noted that Tathagata Buddha would lack the golden hoops used in the original story.

• Zhao Gongming and Golden Spirit Holy Mother visited Xiao Tian and celebrated after learning he was Jiang Shang.
• Xiao Tian visited Sun Wukong at Five-Finger Mountain, then improved Zhu Tianpeng’s aptitude, helping him reach the taiyi golden immortal initial stage.
• Xiao Tian observed that Six-Eared Macaque had reached taiyi golden immortal great perfection, while Yuan Hong had reached great luo golden immortal perfection and Sun Wukong’s cultivation had remained steady during his confinement.
• Xiao Tian planned to place Yuan Hong, his daughter, and his three concubines along the pilgrims’ route, equipping the concubines with innate spirit treasures to make them formidable opponents.
• Xiao Tian concluded that Tathagata Buddha would have no golden hoops for controlling the pilgrims because Golden-Hoop Immortal had gone into hiding after the changes to the Investiture of the Gods.

Xiao Tian prepared a love tribulation for Sun Wukong by arranging for Zi Xia and Qingxia to recreate the plot of A Big Talk Journey to the West 2. After Zhu Bajie completed the Four Sages Test the Chan Mind, Xiao Tian and his companions set out to stage the next trial for the scripture-fetching party.

• Xiao Tian reflected on the scattered Jiejiao disciples and advised Yang Jian to find a powerful mount among those who had become monster kings.
• Xiao Tian left the Three Immortal Islands with the Three Skies, Zixia Immortal Maiden, and Qingxia Immortal Maiden to pose as a cultivation clan and prepare Sun Wukong's love tribulation.
• Sun Wukong traveled with the scripture-fetching party after regaining his early-stage great luo golden immortal cultivation, while Zhu Tianpeng struggled against Sha Monk in the water.
• Seven months later, Zhu Tianpeng completed the Four Sages Test the Chan Mind and became Zhu Bajie, embarrassing Xiao Tian in front of the Three Skies.
• Xiao Tian, Zi Xia, and Qingxia prepared the Great Dream of Journey to the West, using illusion and reality to create extras and plan trials for Sun Wukong, Zhu Tianpeng, Sha Monk, and Tang Three Treasures.

Tang Three Treasures and his companions sought lodging at the Xiao Mansion, where Xiao Tian drew them into an elaborate illusion recreating A Chinese Odyssey: Moonlight Box. After the dreamlike story ended, the pilgrims returned to the mansion entrance and struggled to understand what had happened.

• Sun Wukong found a large, apparently ordinary residence where the pilgrims could seek shelter for the night.
• Tang Three Treasures knocked at the Xiao Mansion and asked to lodge there, and steward Hua An welcomed the group inside.
• As soon as the pilgrims crossed the threshold, Xiao Tian's illusion sealed their memories and made them experience a reincarnation within the story of Moonlight Box.
• The illusion ended after the Bull Demon King killed Zixia Immortal Maiden, and the pilgrimage party returned to the entrance with their memories restored.
• Su Daji asked the dazed monks whether they still wanted to eat.

After the scripture-fetching party recovered from the love trial, Xiao Tian invited them to meet his household, where several familiar figures appeared and stirred Sun Wukong’s unresolved feelings. Xiao Tian offered his daughters in marriage, leaving Sun Wukong facing a new test as the chapter ended.

• Sun Wukong and the others reflected on how the illusion had affected them, while Zhu Bajie suspected that Patriarch Grape had resembled Patriarch Bodhi.
• Yang Jiao, disguised as a burly maid, led the party to the Guest Reception Hall to meet Xiao Tian and his four wives.
• Sun Wukong and Tang Three Treasures recognized Yaoji as the woman who had played Guanyin Bodhisattva in the illusion.
• Zixia Immortal Maiden, Qingxia Immortal Maiden, and several others rushed in to meet the visitors, and Sun Wukong found himself torn again by his feelings for Zixia.
• Xiao Tian offered his daughters in marriage to the scripture-fetching party, and Sun Wukong faced the new test while the others refused.

Sun Wukong broke through to the middle-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, and the pilgrimage party continued west until they reached Ten Thousand Caves Mountain, where Xiao Tian’s three concubines prepared to capture them. Zhu Bajie was caught, and Sun Wukong flew ahead to investigate after the others grew concerned.

• Sun Wukong advanced to the middle-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal realm and reflected on the illusion and the need to become stronger.
• The pilgrimage party continued through several trials and eventually reached Ten Thousand Caves Mountain, where the earth god Yuan Hong warned them about three demon kings and their forces.
• Tang Three Treasures sent Zhu Bajie to scout the mountain, and Bai Ling’s Illusion-Heaven Mirror led him into the Monster Cave, where the Nine-Headed Pheasant Spirit captured him with the Nine-Colored Primordial Chaos Umbrella.
• Bai Ling instructed the White Jade Pipa Spirit and the Nine-Headed Pheasant Spirit to separate the pilgrimage party and capture Little White Dragon for his dragon blood.
• When Zhu Bajie failed to return, Tang Three Treasures asked Sun Wukong to check on him, and Sun Wukong flew into the sky.

After the scripture-seeking journey ended, Xiao Tian grew powerful enough to reach the origin of the universe and discover its creator’s fate. His final check-in gave him a primordial chaos treasure, and he settled at the Eerie Plateau, where he greeted Shi Hao, Ye Fan, and Chu Feng as they arrived.

• Yang Chan arrived with the Lotus Lantern, and the Three Demons of Xuanyuan Tomb cooperated and surrendered, ending the capture of Tang Three Treasures and his companions.
• Over the next fourteen years, Sun Wukong, Six-Eared Macaque, Yuan Hong, and Yang Jian reached the false saint beginner realm, while Xiao Tian advanced to the late quasi-saint stage and transformed his Double-Yolk Universe.
• Xiao Tian entered ten years of seclusion, inscribed powerful formations into his body, obtained essence blood from the Ancestral Dragon, Primordial Phoenix, and Primordial Qilin, and advanced to quasi-saint perfection and great accomplishment above sacrificial Dao.
• Xiao Tian traveled to the Perfect World, gathered his wives and children, and later traced the universe to its beginning, where he discovered that its creator had died after splitting heaven and earth and that the creator’s lingering power had contaminated the Ten Strange Ancestors.
• At the Eerie Plateau, Xiao Tian completed his final check-in and received the Great Dream Through a Thousand Autumns-what year is it tonight treasure, then caught three escaped contaminated Secretive Ancestors on his fishing line.
• When Shi Hao, Ye Fan, and Chu Feng reached the deepest part of the High Plateau, Xiao Tian invited them to sit and have tea.