Chapter Summaries

After parting from Xin Xin, Xiao Hua discovered that the landscape from Profound Water Palace’s illusion existed in the real world and that he still possessed an object from it. He reached Wang Zhengfei’s village and found the boy’s home dark, leaving him uncertain whether the events in Wang Zhengfei’s dream had been real.

• Xiao Hua and Xin Xin reflected on Gunnian and Guzhen’s brotherly devotion before Xin Xin revealed her name and teased Xiao Hua about his surname.
• Xin Xin told Xiao Hua that he could ask at Jietai Temple near Pingxi City for directions to Golden Mountain Temple, then flew away.
• Xiao Hua used the Buddhist Lion’s Roar to thank Xin Xin and flew south, startling her and her strange bird.
• Xiao Hua found the exact landscape from the Profound Water Palace illusion and discovered that Gunnian’s black triangle was still in his robe.
• Xiao Hua compared Gunnian’s triangle with the matching one he had obtained from Qin Jian, then flew to Wang Zhengfei’s village and found the boy’s home dark.

Xiao Hua learned that Wang Zhengfei and his mother had gone to Pingxi City, then found them in danger after the Wang family steward tried to kill them and assault Wang Zhengfei’s mother. Xiao Hua stopped the steward’s attack and arrived to rescue his disciple.

• Xiao Hua visited a neighbor to ask where Wang Zhengfei had gone and learned he and his mother were staying in Pingxi City for a month.
• Xiao Hua sensed trouble and flew toward the road to Pingxi City.
• The Wang family steward threatened Wang Zhengfei’s mother and demanded that she submit to him, while Wang Zhengfei refused to leave her.
• Xiao Hua appeared as the steward tried to stab Wang Zhengfei’s mother, froze the knife, and protected her.
• Wang Zhengfei recognized Xiao Hua and called him Master as Xiao Hua arrived beside them.

Xiao Hua accepted Wang Zhengfei as his disciple, healed Wang Zhengfei’s mother, and taught him how the Wang family’s wealth and power could put them in danger. After Wang Zhengfei chose the steward’s punishment, Xiao Hua inflicted it and prepared to drive the family away from the village.

• Wang Zhengfei’s mother tried to kneel to Xiao Hua, and Wang Zhengfei formally kowtowed nine times to become his disciple.
• Xiao Hua healed Wang Zhengfei’s mother and questioned Wang Zhengfei about the steward’s attack and the gold he had earned painting a portrait for the Wang family’s young lady.
• Wang Zhengfei realized that returning to the village could put him and his mother at risk because people knew about the gold and the Wang family had power.
• Wang Zhengfei described a gruesome death for the steward, and Xiao Hua used demonic qi to make the steward suffer as the boy watched.
• Xiao Hua told Wang Zhengfei to bring over the carriage and offered to drive while Wang Zhengfei and his mother rested.

Xiao Hua took Wang Zhengfei and his mother away by carriage, learned how Wang Zhengfei had encountered Gunnian in his dreams, and brought them to a mountain cave. After Wang Zhengfei failed to sense Spiritual Qi despite mastering several techniques, Xiao Hua used the Soul Bridge to examine his mind.

• Xiao Hua killed the steward and drove Wang Zhengfei and his mother away in a carriage while Wang Zhengfei recounted his dreams of Gunnian.
• Xiao Hua pondered Wang Zhengfei's unusual gift, then traded the carriage and horse for silver after a merchant caravan caught up with them.
• Xiao Hua carried Wang Zhengfei and his mother to a mountain, where Wang Zhengfei's mother settled into a cave and Xiao Hua taught Wang Zhengfei cultivation techniques.
• When Wang Zhengfei could not sense Spiritual Qi after two days of practice, Xiao Hua used the Soul Bridge to examine him.
• The Soul Bridge entered Wang Zhengfei's mind and reached his faint, indistinct mysterious dark clouds.

Xiao Hua used the Soul Bridge to enter Wang Zhengfei’s Spiritual Qi Heaven and discovered a powerful star-powered seal blocking it. He told Wang Zhengfei about the restriction and asked for his consent to break it, then began explaining cultivation to him.

• Xiao Hua pushed all eighteen layers of the Soul Bridge into Wang Zhengfei’s mysterious dark cloud and opened a passage through it.
• Xiao Hua entered Wang Zhengfei’s Spiritual Qi Heaven and found a strange restriction made of star power blocking the entrance.
• Xiao Hua touched the seal, felt its crushing pressure, and withdrew before it could harm him.
• Xiao Hua told Wang Zhengfei that someone had placed a formidable restriction inside him and asked permission to break it; Wang Zhengfei was shocked and worried about his mother’s advice.
• Xiao Hua explained the basics of cultivation and asked Wang Zhengfei to guess his age.

Xiao Hua began breaking the restriction in Wang Zhengfei’s mysterious dark clouds, drawing powerful star energy that shook the mountaintop and threatened to overwhelm his disciple. As the restriction neared breaking, a surge of starlight poured down from the shifting constellations.

• Xiao Hua advised Wang Zhengfei to cherish his mother’s love and told him that Gunnian and Master Guzhen had stayed behind in the illusion realm and been reborn together.
• Wang Zhengfei spoke with his mother, accepted the dates she had saved for him, and told Xiao Hua that looking at the sky had helped him remember his father.
• Xiao Hua connected the Soul Bridge to Wang Zhengfei and used the Heaven Cleansing Earth Purifying Art to send green seal characters into the restriction.
• Breaking the restriction stirred dark clouds and drew a pillar of starlight onto Wang Zhengfei, who trembled and bled from his nose as Xiao Hua steadied him.
• Xiao Hua unleashed more green seal characters, shattering the stars that replenished the restriction until a sudden torrent of starlight surged down from the constellations.

Xiao Hua broke Wang Zhengfei’s seal, allowing her to sense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and begin cultivation. After she recovered, he spoke with her and her mother about her future and his plans to take her to Xiaoyu Continent.

• Xiao Hua used the Heaven Cleansing Earth Purifying Art to remove Wang Zhengfei’s seal, and a strange heavenly phenomenon followed as sacred radiance entered the Buddha Sarira.
• Wang Zhengfei fainted, and Xiao Hua carried her to a cave, where she slept for three days and nights before waking with her head bald.
• Wang Zhengfei told Xiao Hua she felt refreshed and could sense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi when she meditated.
• Xiao Hua explained that spiritual roots enabled cultivation and said he would take Wang Zhengfei to Xiaoyu Continent after she made progress.
• Xiao Hua called Wang Zhengfei’s mother Madam Wang and clarified that he was a Daoist cultivator, not a monk.

Xiao Hua brought Wang Zhengfei and Madam Wang into his space and continued toward Pingxi City, then traveled with Liao Ming to Golden Mountain Temple. As the Pure Land’s Buddha Bells rang sixty-four times and Buddha light spread across the land, the chapter ended with Liao Ming staring at Xiao Hua in disbelief.

• Xiao Hua decided to take Wang Zhengfei and Madam Wang to the Cangxian Continent, then put them to sleep inside his space after realizing they would need to learn its language.
• Wang Zhengfei began cultivating the first layer of Qi Cultivation in his sleep, while Jiang Liuer remained silently within Xiao Hua’s space.
• Xiao Hua reached Pingxi City and, after a guest-receiving monk refused him entry to Jietai Temple, used his Buddhist sense to meet Abbot Xin Chan and ask his question.
• Xiao Hua traveled with Liao Ming to Golden Mountain Temple and asked how the Pure Land would know if someone had achieved the Bodhisattva Fruit.
• Golden Mountain Temple’s Buddha Bell rang sixty-four times, and Buddha light appeared throughout the Pure Land, leaving Liao Ming staring at Xiao Hua in disbelief.

Xiao Hua learned that Compassionate Young Monk had attained the fruit of Manjushri Bodhisattva, then went to Golden Mountain Temple to discuss Jiang Liuer’s passing into extinction. He entered the strangely quiet temple with Yongzhong and saw its monks gathered in a disorderly, dimly lit hall.

• Xiao Hua told Liao Ming that Compassionate Young Monk had become Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Liao Ming hurried back to Jietai Temple.
• Xiao Hua wondered how Buddhist practitioners attained fruition and why Compassionate Young Monk had not ascended, then decided to visit Golden Mountain Temple about Jiang Liuer.
• Xiao Hua climbed to the temple and caught Ming Shen sneaking out with wine and meat; after stopping him with a finger, Xiao Hua asked to see Great Chan Master Ji Mie.
• Yongzhong mistook Xiao Hua’s visit for a request for lodging and brought him inside, where Xiao Hua saw monks chanting listlessly before a Buddha statue.

Xiao Hua, posing as Tipu, visited Golden Mountain Temple to ask Great Chan Master Ji Mie how he escaped the Nirvana Realm, but learned that Ji Mie had shut himself away after a Bodhisattva attained fruition. The chapter ended with Miaochen questioning why Ci Hui had gone to Thunder Sound Temple.

• Old Monk Yongzhong brought Xiao Hua through Golden Mountain Temple, where Miaochen warned that seeing the abbot would be difficult.
• Miaochen hurried to Yongzhong to ask about the Bodhisattva who had attained fruition after Buddha Bells rang sixty-four times throughout the Pure Land World.
• Yongzhong explained that the abbot had received a Buddha decree from Thunder Sound Temple and remained in seclusion.
• Xiao Hua revealed that Ci Hui of Qinglian Temple had recommended him and said he wanted to ask Ji Mie how he escaped the Nirvana Realm.
• Miaochen accidentally splashed tea over Xiao Hua, then recognized his extraordinary cultivation when Xiao Hua sent the water away.
• Yongzhong said Ji Mie might discuss Nirvana with Ci Hui, and Xiao Hua said Ci Hui had likely already reached Thunder Sound Temple, surprising Miaochen.

Xiao Hua stayed at Golden Mountain Temple hoping to seek Great Chan Master Ji Mie's help with nirvana, but found the abbot withdrawn and the monks subjected to harsh discipline. When Xiao Hua finally met Ji Mie, their disagreement over Buddhist practice erupted into an argument, leaving Xiao Hua's request unresolved.

• Miao Chen was stunned to learn that Ci Hui had attained the Bodhisattva Fruit of Great Wisdom Manjushri, while Old Monk Yongzhong said the news had become a heart demon for Great Chan Master Ji Mie.
• Xiao Hua worried about returning to Black Wind Ridge and Xiaoyu Continent, but decided to wait rather than risk offending Ji Mie before asking for help with Jiang Liuer.
• During Xiao Hua's next three days at Golden Mountain Temple, Ji Mie remained unseen and the temple's monks and visitors acted anxious and distracted.
• Before dawn on the fifth day, Xiao Hua watched Ji Mie make the monks repeatedly fetch water and beat those whose buckets were not full.
• Xiao Hua introduced himself as Ti Pu and asked Ji Mie for guidance about nirvana, but Ji Mie dismissed him and told him to return after studying the scriptures.
• Xiao Hua challenged Ji Mie's harsh methods and interpretation of Buddhist devotion, and Ji Mie angrily accused him of coming to seek fame.

Xiao Hua provoked Great Chan Master Ji Mie into fighting at Golden Mountain Temple, hoping to learn his secrets through a clash. Ji Mie overwhelmed him with Red Lotus Karmic Fire and Mountain Power, leaving Xiao Hua and his Nine Dragon Scepter Staff at the bottom of the Chen River.

• Xiao Hua taunted Great Chan Master Ji Mie about Compassionate Young Monk’s attainment, and Ji Mie attacked him with a golden Buddha palm.
• Xiao Hua fled toward the Chen River as Ji Mie pursued him, and their staffs clashed above the river.
• Ji Mie used heavenly maidens and yakshas to attack Xiao Hua, but Xiao Hua shattered them with Mountain Power.
• Ji Mie revealed his two-headed, four-armed Dharma body and unleashed powerful Red Lotus Karmic Fire, which dissolved Xiao Hua’s mountain attack.
• Xiao Hua escaped through a gap in the karmic fire, but Ji Mie struck him with Mountain Power and sent him and the Nine Dragon Scepter Staff plunging into the Chen River.

Xiao Hua failed to persuade Great Chan Master Ji Mie to help him, then met Ming Shen in a cave and questioned him about the abbot. Ming Shen described Ji Mie’s bizarre temperament, leaving Xiao Hua with a clearer sense of how difficult it would be to approach him.

• Great Chan Master Ji Mie ended the confrontation, warned Chen Jiang to leave, and returned to Golden Mountain Temple.
• Xiao Hua emerged from the Chen River and lamented that his attempt to win Ji Mie’s help had failed.
• Xiao Hua found Ming Shen roasting a rabbit in a cave and promised not to report his forbidden meal.
• Xiao Hua gave Ming Shen spiritual wine, and Ming Shen eagerly accepted it before complaining that ordinary food and drink could no longer satisfy him.
• Xiao Hua asked Ming Shen about Great Chan Master Ji Mie, and Ming Shen explained that the abbot was harsh, unpredictable, and unwilling to help anyone.

Xiao Hua learned that Great Chan Master Ji Mie returned each New Year's Eve to meditate by the Chen River, and he realized the river might help Jiang Liuer awaken from Nirvana. He placed Jiang Liuer in a wooden basin on the river, where Ji Mie discovered him entering Nirvana.

• Ming Shen told Xiao Hua that Ji Mie sat all night on a riverside stone each New Year's Eve, and Xiao Hua warned him not to spy again.
• Xiao Hua meditated for several days, then remembered it was the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month and went to observe Ji Mie.
• Xiao Hua saw Ji Mie meditating in the rain and spotted a dead body floating downstream, which gave him an idea about Jiang Liuer.
• Xiao Hua placed Jiang Liuer in a seven-colored lotus and set it afloat, but withdrew the conspicuous lotus when Ji Mie began to stir.
• Xiao Hua put Jiang Liuer in a broken wooden basin and hid as dawn broke, and Ji Mie opened his eyes to find the boy entering Nirvana in the basin.

Jiang Liuer entered Nirvana at Golden Mountain Temple, and Xiao Hua left him in Great Chan Master Ji Mie’s care before deciding he needed a protector. Xiao Hua prepared an illusory mountain and cave to persuade a fire ape to guard Jiang Liuer.

• Great Chan Master Ji Mie recognized the signs of Jiang Liuer entering Nirvana, witnessed the rainbow and Buddha light, and carried Jiang Liuer and his broken wooden basin into Golden Mountain Temple.
• Xiao Hua worried that Jiang Liuer might reveal his origins to Ji Mie, then left for Great Snow Mountain before turning back because he feared leaving Jiang Liuer unprotected.
• Xiao Hua considered several possible guardians and settled on using one of his fire apes, deciding to tempt it with benefits despite distrusting it.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua created a thousand-mile illusion containing a towering mountain, streams, wildlife, and a cave abode.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua named the cave’s stone stele “Spiritual Terrace and Square Inch Mountain, Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave.”

Jade Slip Xiao Hua staged an immortal cave to draw the fire ape in and unexpectedly gained its devotion, with the ape mistaking him for its long-lost master. He agreed to teach it divine abilities in exchange for protecting an ordinary monk, then led it into the hastily improvised cave.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua released the fire ape and removed its Sun Moon Crown, and the ape celebrated its freedom before wandering away from the strange mountain.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua lured the fire ape toward the strange mountain with a song, and the ape entered Slanting Moon Three Stars Cave after becoming wary of the cave’s signs and voices.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua appeared as an immortal old man, and the fire ape rushed to him and called him Master, claiming he had been its childhood master.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua identified himself as Bodhi Patriarch and denied ever having met the fire ape, but the ape insisted on becoming his disciple.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua agreed to teach the fire ape divine abilities if it protected an ordinary monk and never revealed his Daoist title.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua led the fire ape into the grand but flawed cave hall, where the obedient ape followed without noticing the hastily made illusion.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua named the fire ape Yuan Tongtian and taught him several divine abilities, helping him learn to control his primal thought. When Yuan Tongtian mentioned the Six-Eared Macaque, Xiao Hua connected him to Master Ke Qin’s death and began teaching Yuan Tongtian more before his approaching tribulation.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua named the fire ape Yuan Tongtian and agreed to teach him despite his impending tribulation.
• Yuan Tongtian requested a staff technique, shapeshifting, and a third ability he had yet to choose; Jade Slip Xiao Hua passed on techniques and corrected his understanding.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua used Rainbow Bloom to strengthen Yuan Tongtian’s primal thought so he could practice the Divine Thought Technique.
• Yuan Tongtian mentioned the Six-Eared Macaque and his inability to find him on Meng Mountain, prompting Jade Slip Xiao Hua to connect the macaque to Master Ke Qin’s murder.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua’s anger shook the illusion, but Yuan Tongtian showed concern for him and asked to learn the transformation technique; Xiao Hua told him to close his eyes and open his mouth.

Jade Slip Xiao Hua taught Yuan Tongtian the Shapeshifting Technique, then sent him to secretly protect a young monk near the Chen River and expelled him from the collapsing space. Xiao Hua erased the Six-Eared Macaque’s memories and abandoned him in dangerous terrain before hurrying toward Great Snow Mountain with Jiang Liuer, while worrying about the time left before the spatial vein collapsed.

• Jade Slip Xiao Hua used a Mother-Child Spirit Fruit to help Yuan Tongtian transform, then warned him not to call himself his disciple.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua told Yuan Tongtian to find and secretly protect a five- or six-year-old monk near the Chen River, and gave him a black iron staff.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua spared the Six-Eared Macaque because Master Ke Qin had forbidden revenge, but erased its memories of him.
• Jade Slip Xiao Hua collapsed Spiritual Terrace and Square Inch Mountain, sent Yuan Tongtian out, and watched him set off to fulfill his orders.
• Xiao Hua erased the Six-Eared Macaque’s memories and dropped him into dangerous terrain, then hurried toward Great Snow Mountain with Jiang Liuer.
• Xiao Hua trusted Great Chan Master Ji Mie to keep Jiang Liuer safe but worried that the spatial vein would collapse soon.

Xiao Hua returned to Little Linglong Temple, remembered the old monk, and discovered the pills he had used to sustain himself. After opening a spatial passage back toward Cangxian Continent, Xiao Hua sensed a distant presence and fled, while a vision of the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One revealed the immense power watching from afar.

• Xiao Hua found his way back to Great Snow Mountain and descended into Little Linglong Temple, where he swept the snow and mourned the absent old monk.
• Xiao Hua considered leaving Wang Zhengfei and his mother at the temple, but rejected the idea because the mountain would be dangerous for them.
• Xiao Hua searched the old monk’s wooden cabinets, discovered medicinal pills, and took one before leaving the temple.
• Xiao Hua tried to establish a Teleportation Array beneath the mountain but decided to leave a spiritual sense marker and build the array later in Cangxian Continent.
• Xiao Hua opened a spatial passage with his Eye of Delusion Breaking, sensed a chill from afar, and hurried through before the crack closed.
• A vast hall far away revealed the golden body of the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One amid boundless Buddhist light and power of faith.

The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One convened the Buddha assembly and welcomed Manjushri Bodhisattva back to his place after he attained true fruition. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva then descended unexpectedly, leaving the assembly uncertain about the significance of his return.

• The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One expounded the Ananda Sutra, and a Dragon-Subduing Arhat asked why he had taught it again after six hundred years.
• A Heavenly King announced that Manjushri Bodhisattva had returned, and Manjushri entered the hall after the Buddha children chanted for him.
• The Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One warned Manjushri that he had completed only the first of the Nine Revolutions before directing him to take his place.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva merged with the golden light beside the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One, and powers of faith descended into his golden body.
• A powerful phantom formed beside Manjushri and Ksitigarbha, and Ancient Buddha Dipankara identified it as Samantabhadra Bodhisattva returning to his place.
• Samantabhadra Bodhisattva emerged from a lotus in the Reception Pool and bowed to the Great Sun Tathagata World Honored One without entering the hall.