Chapter Summaries

Jiang Liuer entered Nirvana at Golden Mountain Temple, leaving Xiao Hua amazed and worried about who could protect him there. Xiao Hua decided to use a fire ape and created an elaborate illusory mountain abode for it, naming the cave Spiritual Terrace and Square Inch Mountain, Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave.

• Jiang Liuer entered Nirvana as a rainbow and Buddhist light appeared above Golden Mountain Temple, and Great Chan Master Ji Mie recognized the signs and kowtowed toward the west.
• Great Chan Master Ji Mie gathered Jiang Liuer and his broken wooden basin and carried them into Golden Mountain Temple.
• Xiao Hua worried that Jiang Liuer would be unsafe without a protector and considered using one of his fire apes.
• Xiao Hua surveyed the surrounding area, entered his space, and created a thousand-mile illusion with a towering mountain, streams, and a cave abode.
• Xiao Hua named the cave Spiritual Terrace and Square Inch Mountain, Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua lured the freed fire ape into his fabricated Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave and, after the ape mistook him for a long-lost master, agreed to teach it divine abilities in exchange for protecting an ordinary monk. The fire ape followed him into the cave, where Xiao Hua continued to conceal the illusion’s flaws.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua released the fire ape and created a strange mountain and auspicious cave to draw it in.
• The fire ape wandered away, rejected Xiao Hua’s song, then became wary of the strange mountain and entered it to investigate.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua appeared as an immortal elder, and the fire ape rushed to him and called him Master.
• Xiao Hua denied being the fire ape’s former master, but agreed to teach it divine abilities if it protected an ordinary monk and never revealed his Daoist title.
• The fire ape pledged to obey and followed Xiao Hua into the cave, where he repaired the illusion as they walked.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua named the fire ape Yuan Tongtian and taught him several divine abilities, strengthening his primordial thought with Rainbow Bloom. When Yuan Tongtian mentioned the Six-Eared Macaque and Meng Mountain, Xiao Hua suspected the macaque had murdered Master Ke Qin, but he concealed his reaction and continued teaching.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua named the fire ape Yuan Tongtian and agreed to teach him despite his approaching tribulation.
• Yuan Tongtian requested staff techniques, shapeshifting, and a third ability to choose later, so Jade Slip Xiao Hua imparted several techniques and promised more instruction.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua used Rainbow Bloom to help Yuan Tongtian strengthen and control his primordial thought.
• Yuan Tongtian mentioned the Six-Eared Macaque and said he had searched for him on Meng Mountain, prompting Xiao Hua to connect the macaque to Master Ke Qin's death.
• Yuan Tongtian worried about Xiao Hua as the cave shook, but Xiao Hua insisted on continuing the lesson and prepared to teach him the key to shapeshifting.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua helped Yuan Tongtian master the Shapeshifting Technique, then ended their arrangement and sent him to secretly protect a young monk near the Chen River. Xiao Hua erased the Six-Eared Macaque’s memories and abandoned him in dangerous terrain before hurrying toward Great Snow Mountain with Jiang Liuer, worried about the time left before the spatial passageway collapsed.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua used a Mother-Child Spirit Fruit to help Yuan Tongtian transform, then reprimanded him for showing off.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua told Yuan Tongtian to find and secretly protect a five- or six-year-old monk near the Chen River, gave him a black iron staff, and ended their connection.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua spared the Six-Eared Macaque in deference to Master Ke Qin’s wishes, erased his memories, and collapsed Spiritual Terrace and Square Inch Mountain.
• Yuan Tongtian left to seek the young monk, while Xiao Hua watched him go and then headed toward Great Snow Mountain.
• Xiao Hua threw the injured Six-Eared Macaque into dangerous mountains and continued toward Great Chan Master Ji Mie, hoping he could help Jiang Liuer awaken before the spatial passageway collapsed.

Xiao Hua returned to Little Linglong Temple, remembered the old monk, and discovered the pills he had used to sustain himself. After reopening the spatial passageway and leaving the Pure Land, Xiao Hua sensed an ominous presence, while a distant hall revealed the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One.

• Xiao Hua reached Great Snow Mountain by way of Sage River and found Little Linglong Temple buried beneath snow.
• Xiao Hua swept the temple courtyard, considered leaving Wang Zhengfei and his mother there, then rejected the idea.
• Xiao Hua found black pills in the old monk’s cabinet and took one after recognizing them as life-sustaining pills.
• Xiao Hua searched within the mountain for a possible teleportation array site, left a spiritual-sense marker, and reopened the spatial passageway.
• Xiao Hua sensed danger as he approached the passageway and hurried through before the crack closed behind him.
• Far away, the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One sat in a vast hall surrounded by Buddhist light and countless minor worlds.

The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One preached the Ananda Scripture in a crowded Buddhist assembly as the Bodhisattvas returned to their places. Manjushri Bodhisattva took his seat, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva unexpectedly appeared, leaving the World Honored One concerned about the unusual events.

• The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One preached the Ananda Scripture and explained why he had taught it again after six hundred years.
• A Heavenly King announced that Manjushri Bodhisattva had returned, and Manjushri entered the hall and paid his respects.
• The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One warned Manjushri that he had only reached the first of the Nine Revolutions and still had much to learn.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva merged with the golden light and took his place, while powerful Buddha light and faith filled his golden body.
• Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s radiance appeared unexpectedly, prompting the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One to voice concern about the strange events.
• A Heavenly King reported that Samantabhadra Bodhisattva had descended, and Samantabhadra emerged from a lotus and paid his respects without entering the hall.

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva restored his golden body in the Pure Land World and vowed to find Maitreya Buddha, while the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One learned that Ananda had returned. Rāgaratna Tathagata arranged for Manjushri Bodhisattva to find someone to fetch the Mahayana Tripitaka Sutras, hinting that Ananda was connected to the task and revealing a secret involving the Great Tang Empire and a Stone Monkey.

• The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One had Samantabhadra Bodhisattva enter the Lotus Cleansing Pool, where he rebuilt his golden body and received an eighth-rank Lotus Platform.
• Arhat Subduing the Tiger and Ancient Buddha Dipankara praised the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One for spreading Buddhism, and Samantabhadra vowed to find Maitreya Buddha and invite him to Thunder Sound Temple.
• The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One sensed that Ananda had returned but admitted he could not determine where Ananda was.
• Rāgaratna Tathagata asked the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One to spread the Mahayana Tripitaka Sutras beyond the Pure Land World, and Manjushri Bodhisattva was ordered to find someone to fetch them.
• Rāgaratna Tathagata secretly told Manjushri Bodhisattva to look to Ananda, then hinted that the sutra-fetching journey recalled a past life in the Great Tang Empire and a Stone Monkey.

Xiao Hua explored the collapsing spatial passageways, discovered that his Nascent Soul could read the Wordless Heavenly Book, and learned it contained the Five Qi Ascending to the Origin cultivation method. The scene then shifted to Black Wind Ridge, where a disciplined gathering of demons faced a Golden Eagle and a White Lion.

• Xiao Hua flew through the spatial passageways with his improved Lightning Evasion Technique and used his instinctive sense of direction to avoid danger.
• Xiao Hua activated the three Heavenly Hearts and combined the three tortoise shells into a blank, three-colored Heavenly Book.
• Xiao Hua's Nascent Soul read the Heavenly Book and recognized the Five Qi Ascending to the Origin cultivation method, but the passageway around Xiao Hua began collapsing.
• Xiao Hua sent green-robed Xiao Hua to read the Heavenly Book while he continued forward through the void.
• Thousands of birds and beasts gathered at Black Wind Ridge beneath the Golden Eagle and White Lion.

Black Bear Spirit stalled Great King Golden Eagle and Great King Ten Thousand Lions, who had besieged Black Wind Ridge for a hundred days to force out the cultivator behind its powerful formation. The two kings revealed that hidden figures in Black Cloud Ridge had enlisted them as cover, and they resolved to keep obeying those figures to survive.

• Black Bear Spirit questioned Golden Eagle and Ten Thousand Lions about the siege, while the kings demanded to know who had created the formation protecting Black Wind Ridge.
• Black Bear Spirit claimed the cultivator had left, but Golden Eagle insisted he bring out everyone at Black Wind Ridge who was not a demon, especially the cultivator.
• Black Bear Spirit warned the kings not to risk their lives for someone else's promises, then slipped through the formation and disappeared.
• Golden Eagle and Ten Thousand Lions discussed how Black Bear Spirit had stayed close to the formation and concluded they would need to break it to reach their objective.
• Golden Eagle and Ten Thousand Lions admitted that powerful hidden figures had made them unwitting cover, and decided to continue serving them so they could stay alive.

Great King Ten Thousand Lions and Great King Golden Eagle discussed the siege of Black Wind Ridge, while Black Bear Spirit struggled to keep his starving demons from attacking Princess Changling’s soldiers. Inside the formation, Qin Qingyu explained how he had joined the trapped forces and realized Xiao Hua was likely the true target of the siege.

• Great King Ten Thousand Lions and Great King Golden Eagle decided to keep surrounding Black Wind Ridge and kill Black Bear Spirit’s forces if they tried to escape.
• Black Bear Spirit stopped his hungry demons from approaching the soldiers and warned them not to eat humans.
• Black Bear Spirit urged Qin Qingyu and the others to decide when they would break out, warning that the demons were nearing disorder.
• Qin Qingyu recalled joining Black Wind Ridge with Qin Xiaoyao and leading Daoist soldiers into Xiao Hua’s formation after the enemy attack overwhelmed the local demons.
• Qin Qingyu concluded that the siege was meant to starve the defenders and draw out Xiao Hua, while he had been mistaken for the absent Nascent Soul cultivator.

Qin Qingyu and Xiao Jian debated how to save Black Wind Ridge’s trapped defenders from the demon encirclement and their dwindling provisions. Qin Qingyu agreed to break out to seek food, but the plan was interrupted when a soldier reported that more than ten demons had charged up the ridge.

• Liu Yi left the discussion, and the Black Bear Spirit soon followed him out.
• Qin Qingyu argued that the defenders had to escape because their soldiers and demons would soon run out of food and water.
• Xiao Jian proposed that Qin Qingyu seek provisions while the Black Wind Ridge forces launched a diversionary attack.
• Princess Changling urged Qin Qingyu to risk leaving for the sake of the hundreds of soldiers and demons, and he agreed to go.
• Qian Li and Kang Li offered to lead the soldiers in the attack, but a soldier rushed in and announced that more than ten demons had charged up.

Qin Qingyu and the defenders of Black Wind Ridge launched a coordinated breakout against the demons surrounding them. The chapter ended with the starving bear demons overwhelming Lion Mountain’s forces as the battle spread across the ridge.

• Qian Li learned that Great King Black Wind and Liu Yi had gone up the mountain, while Xiao Jian ordered Yuan Ya to hold back the demons and organized a breakout with Princess Changling and Qin Xiaoyao.
• Qin Qingyu saw the starving demons massed outside the cave and joined the Black Bear Spirit, who persuaded them to attack Mo Yun Ridge and Lion Mountain instead of the Jiang Kingdom soldiers.
• Princess Changling, Qin Xiaoyao, Qian Li, and Kang Li led their forces to separate positions, while Xiao Jian prepared to coordinate the assault.
• Xiao Jian revealed the surrounding beasts and birds with a spell, then ordered the Jiang Kingdom soldiers and Daoist soldiers to charge.
• The Black Bear Spirit’s starving bear demons attacked Lion Mountain’s forces with frantic bites, frightening their opponents and pushing them down the mountain.

Qin Qingyu tried to escape Black Wind Ridge with Princess Changling, but Jiang Yuming intercepted them and revealed that other Confucian grandmasters had come. Qin Qingyu seized the Princess as leverage, but Jiang Yuming said her death would not disrupt their plan to lure Xiao Hua.

• The Golden Eagle struck the Duotian Star Array and was hurled into a hillside while the White Lion attacked the defenders.
• Qin Qingyu carried Princess Changling from the battlefield, and Qin Xiaoyao, Granny Ji, Yuan Ya, and the female generals moved to cover their escape.
• Jiang Yuming struck Qin Qingyu’s flying stone with Vast Righteous Qi and declared that other Confucian grandmasters had also come to Black Wind Ridge.
• Qin Qingyu realized that the Confucian cultivators sought both Xiao Hua and Princess Changling, then raised the Princess as a hostage to bargain for his escape.
• Qin Xiaoyao refused to support Qin Qingyu’s betrayal, while Jiang Yuming dismissed the hostage threat and said Princess Changling’s death would not affect their plan.

Qin Jian’s fireball talisman saved Princess Changling from Qin Qingyu, though Xiao Jian was gravely injured while shielding her. After Jiang Yuming stopped Qin Qingyu from escaping, Qin Qingyu turned on Black Wind Ridge and attacked Qin Xiaoyao when he tried to intervene.

• Qin Qingyu seized Princess Changling by the throat, but a fireball suddenly erupted and blew off his arm.
• Xiao Jian appeared in the flames and shielded Princess Changling with his body before she caught him and descended toward Granny Ji and the others.
• Jiang Yuming extinguished the fire, forced Qin Qingyu back, and struck down the Golden Eagle when it tried to attack him.
• Qin Qingyu swallowed pills, threatened to slaughter Black Wind Ridge, and ordered his disciples and Daoist soldiers to attack.
• Qin Qingyu attacked Qin Xiaoyao with the Art of Golden Spears and Iron Maces, and Qin Xiaoyao countered by spitting out a fire pearl.

Xiao Hua returned to Black Wind Ridge and effortlessly turned the battle against the attacking forces, rescuing Qin Xiaoyao and stopping the invading demons. After learning Qin Qingyu had plotted against Jiang Kingdom, Xiao Hua prepared to face the Confucian formation surrounding the ridge.

• Xiao Hua’s lightning shattered Qin Qingyu’s spears before they could kill Qin Xiaoyao, and the Black Bear Spirit rallied the defenders at the sound of his return.
• Xiao Hua’s thunderbolts struck down Mo Yun Ridge’s raptors, and his fire magic drove the beasts of Lion Mountain to flee.
• Xiao Hua intercepted Great King Golden Eagle and White Lion, forced them and their followers to kneel, and returned to Black Wind Ridge.
• Princess Changling recounted the battle to Xiao Hua, who gave Yuan Ya a medicinal pill for the unconscious Xiao Jian and learned Liu Yi had arranged Xiao Jian’s actions.
• Xiao Hua asked Qin Xiaoyao whether the account of Qin Qingyu’s plot was true, then declared that he would protect everyone on Black Wind Ridge despite the surrounding Confucian formation.

Xiao Hua punished Qin Qingyu for his betrayal, spared the other Daoist disciples, and considered how to deal with the demon kings who had attacked Black Wind Ridge. He began binding Golden Eagle and White Lion to the Black Bear Spirit, but the chapter ended before the process was complete.

• Xiao Hua rejected Qin Xiaoyao’s plea for mercy and crushed Qin Qingyu to death when he tried to flee.
• Xiao Hua let Qin Xiaoyao decide the fate of the other Daoist disciples, who were spared.
• Golden Eagle and White Lion begged for their lives, and the Black Bear Spirit proposed that they help him govern their followers under Xiao Hua.
• Xiao Hua extracted shadows from Golden Eagle and White Lion, melted two jade tablets, and added drops of blood as the binding ritual began.

After securing Black Cloud Ridge and hearing how Liu Yi sensed Qin Qingyu’s intentions, Xiao Hua learned that Liu Yi possessed an unusual ability to read thoughts and danger. Xiao Hua then prepared the demons for an approaching Confucian formation and took Liu Yi to meet a new junior brother.

• Xiao Hua gave the Black Bear Spirit jade plaques controlling the golden roc and White Lion, then declared that the three demon kings would rule Black Cloud Ridge together.
• Xiao Hua praised Xiao Jian for protecting Princess Changling, promised to help his cultivation, and asked the group to search for the captured Second National Teacher, Li Xiangli.
• Liu Yi told Xiao Hua how he sensed Qin Qingyu’s intentions and arranged for Xiao Jian to protect Princess Changling with the Invisibility Talisman and Fire Talisman.
• Xiao Hua recognized Liu Yi’s innate ability, promised to keep it secret, and said he would later teach him the Buddhist Sect ability Mind Reading.
• Xiao Hua warned Liu Yi that the Confucian cultivators’ formation was meant to wipe out the demons of Mo Yun Ridge and Lion Mountain as well, and ordered all the demons to enter the formation.
• Xiao Hua took Liu Yi to meet a new junior brother and joked about making Xiao Yun his jade maiden attendant.

Xiao Hua entered the cave dwelling as Jiang Yuming and the Confucian scholars prepared the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram to trap him. Bei Guo Zhenming and Du Shanjun discussed Xiao Hua’s motives and the political stakes of the battle, while Du Shanjun declined an offer to pursue an official career.

• Xiao Hua took Liu Yi into the cave dwelling, while Jiang Yuming warned the gathered scholars that Xiao Hua was powerful and urged them to rely on the Five Brocade Cloud Diagram.
• Jiang Yuming revealed that the king of Tongzhu Kingdom had obtained the Immortal Palace formation diagram, and the scholars began channeling Vast Righteous Qi into it.
• Du Shanjun asked Bei Guo Zhenming why Xiao Hua had entered the trap, and Bei Guo Zhenming said they could only respond to events as they unfolded.
• Bei Guo Zhenming explained that the king sought control of Black Cloud Ridge and its Qi Stone mine, while Du Shanjun acknowledged he was unsuited to court politics.
• Bei Guo Zhenming offered to recommend Du Shanjun for an official post, but Du Shanjun said he preferred to follow his own path.

Xiao Hua confronted Leng Qingge, the National Preceptor of Tongzhu Kingdom, as Leng Qingge activated the Golden Spears and Iron Horses formation around Black Cloud Ridge. The battle began with Leng Qingge unleashing a charge of giant warhorses and Vast Righteous Qi, while Xiao Hua found his thunder techniques suppressed.

• Xiao Hua ordered Wang Zhengfei and Liu Yi to guard the cave entrance, told Liu Yi to gather the demons inside the expanded formation, and warned them not to leave during the battle.
• Xiao Hua flew out to face the blood-red clouds and war chants as the Black Bear Spirit, the Golden Eagle, the White Lion, and the other demons knelt to send him off.
• Leng Qingge appeared in blood-red armor and identified himself as Tongzhu Kingdom’s National Preceptor, while Xiao Hua declared his name and challenged him.
• Leng Qingge retreated rather than fight Xiao Hua directly, and Xiao Hua’s attempt to use Imperial Thunder Shock failed inside the Confucian formation.
• Leng Qingge commanded the formation’s ten thousand warhorses to charge Xiao Hua, while pillars of Qi blasted Black Cloud Ridge and shattered its peaks, trees, and rivers.

Xiao Hua overwhelmed Leng Qingge’s Golden Spears and Iron Horses, then defeated him in direct combat. As Xiao Hua trapped Leng Qingge’s Golden Spears with his Nascent Soul hand, an azure cloud brocade appeared and blocked his path.

• Xiao Hua shattered the Righteous Qi Pillars and crushed Tongzhu Kingdom’s iron horses while resisting its Golden Spears.
• The Immortal Slaying Crossbows and God Slaying Bows failed to pierce Xiao Hua’s tempered body, and he used the Sea-Overturning Seal to smash the remaining horses.
• Leng Qingge challenged Xiao Hua, but Xiao Hua overpowered him in their exchanges and forced him to unleash the Golden Spears of Golden Qi Dawn.
• Xiao Hua’s Nascent Soul hand trapped Leng Qingge’s Golden Spears, but an azure cloud brocade descended with Wind Volcano Forest manifestations and blocked Xiao Hua.