Recaps

After Mahamayuri Bodhisattva broke the hostage exchange agreement and kept Bull Demon King, Heavenly King Li and the gods planned to use Bull Demon King as bait while Erlang infiltrated Banana Cave. Ao Tu anticipated their strategy, secretly moved the captives into Guanyin Bodhisattva’s Jade-Cleansing Bottle, and left to rescue Bull Demon King as Erlang searched the now-empty cave.

• Mahamayuri Bodhisattva took Bull Demon King and several hostages away, leaving Ao Tu to return to the cave with the demons.
• Princess Iron Fan pleaded with Ao Tu to rescue her husband, and Ao Tu promised that he would try.
• Mahamayuri Bodhisattva initially refused to help recover the other captives, but stayed after Nezha reminded him that Guanyin Bodhisattva was also imprisoned.
• Heavenly King Li proposed using Bull Demon King as bait and sending Erlang to investigate the demons’ cave; Mahamayuri Bodhisattva released Bull Demon King, and Nezha led an ambush.
• Ao Tu borrowed Guanyin Bodhisattva’s Jade-Cleansing Bottle and secretly sucked the imprisoned gods and soldiers into it before leaving to rescue Bull Demon King.
• Erlang infiltrated Banana Cave in moth form but found no captives; Guanyin Bodhisattva could not reveal their location, and Erlang failed to discover they were inside her bottle.

Ao Tu freed the Bull Demon King by impersonating Erlang, then protected Banana Cave through months of battles with Mahamayuri Bodhisattva. As he neared his goal, an Asura King ambushed him with the Karmic Fire Red Lotus and the Yuan Tu and Abi swords, forcing him to fight for his life.

• Ao Tu disguised himself as Erlang, freed the Bull Demon King, and fled while the gods pursued him.
• Ao Tu took Nezha hostage, then knocked away Heavenly King Li’s Pagoda and bound the gods with Nezha’s Universe-Splitting Silk.
• Ao Tu and Mahamayuri Bodhisattva fought repeatedly as Six Ears foiled the gods’ attacks, and Ao Tu’s Five-Colored Divine Light grew stronger until the two could fight to a draw.
• With only a few months left before the three-year mark, an Asura King ambushed Ao Tu during his usual battle with Mahamayuri Bodhisattva.
• Ao Tu failed to escape the Karmic Fire Red Lotus and prepared to fight the Asura King, whose Yuan Tu and Abi swords threatened his life.

Ao Tu fought the Asura King, who wielded Patriarch Styx’s weapons and treasures, and nearly died before the Blood Sea King rescued him with the Banana Leaf Fan. After deciding that Styx would attack again, Ao Tu and the Blood Sea King chose to stay and fight rather than retreat to the Flower Realm.

• Ao Tu unleashed his dragon form, formations, and Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity against the Asura King, but the Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus and twin swords overwhelmed his defenses.
• Ao Tu protected himself with the Black Origin Water-Control Banner as the Asura King’s attacks threatened to break through, while Azure Lion, the Bull Demon King, Heavenly King Li, and others fought outside Green Cloud Mountain.
• The Blood Sea King recognized Ao Tu’s peril, struck the unguarded Asura King with the Banana Leaf Fan, and drove him away, allowing Ao Tu to escape with the Blood Sea King.
• Ao Tu returned to Banana Leaf Cave and considered retreating to the Flower Realm, but he and the Blood Sea King agreed to stay and fight Patriarch Styx.

Six-Eared Macaque and Red Boy brought the Great Sun Demon King to Green Cloud Mountain to help the assembled demons prepare for the Asura King’s attack. At Heavenly King Li’s camp, the Asura King urged Mahamayuri Bodhisattva to join the fight against the Dragon Demon, and Mahamayuri promised his full support.

• Six-Eared Macaque and Red Boy searched the Sihali Kingdom for the Great Sun Demon King, whom Red Boy found cultivating inside the setting sun.
• Red Boy chased off Dragon Palace water folk who were collecting gold produced by the Great Sun Demon King’s Solar True Fire, then learned that the king had allowed them to take it to conceal his cultivation from the Heavenly Court.
• Six-Eared Macaque explained the crisis at Green Cloud Mountain, and the Great Sun Demon King agreed to help before returning there with him and Red Boy.
• The Bull Demon King, Ao Tu, and Blood Sea welcomed the Great Sun Demon King and gathered with their companions at Green Cloud Mountain.
• The Asura King arrived at Heavenly King Li’s camp, where Manjushri Bodhisattva returned with the Green Lion Spirit and said he could not help because he was gravely wounded.
• The Asura King asked Mahamayuri Bodhisattva to destroy the Dragon Demon on behalf of the Patriarch, and Mahamayuri promised to do all he could.

Asura King and Mahamayuri Bodhisattva joined forces against Ao Tu, but Blood Sea King and the Great Sun Demon King helped turn the battle against Asura King. When Mahamayuri intervened, Patriarch Styx took control of Asura King's battered body and prepared to pursue Ao Tu, as Blood Sea King mocked him.

• Asura King attacked Ao Tu with the Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus, but Ao Tu resisted with the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity and fought back with his treasures and dragon powers.
• Ao Tu transformed into a golden dragon and grappled Asura King while Blood Sea King struck with the Banana Leaf Fan.
• The Great Sun Demon King hit Asura King with the Ancient Buddha Jewel, and Blood Sea King damaged his soul with the Soul-Scattering Gourd, leaving him near defeat.
• Mahamayuri Bodhisattva attacked Ao Tu with Five-Colored Divine Light and swept away his weapons.
• Asura King's eye flashed red as Yuantu and Abi unleashed their killing intent, and Patriarch Styx took control of his body and summoned the Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus beneath his feet.
• Blood Sea King mocked Styx as he prepared to chase Ao Tu.

A wisp of Patriarch Styx’s consciousness descended into the Asura King, who attacked Ao Tu while the Blood Sea King and Great Sun Demon King tried to stop him. By the end, the Asura King had been consumed by his race’s savage instincts and sought only to slaughter his enemies.

• Patriarch Styx descended into the Asura King, who ignored the Blood Sea King’s taunts and prepared to kill Ao Tu.
• Mahamayuri Bodhisattva intercepted Ao Tu, while the Blood Sea King repeatedly attacked the Asura King’s Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus.
• The Asura King lost control of his anger, severed the Blood Sea King’s tail and arms, and then cut off both his legs.
• Mahamayuri Bodhisattva forced Ao Tu away from the battlefield, but Ao Tu stopped retreating and fought his way back toward the conflict.
• The Great Sun Demon King attacked the Asura King, but the Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus deflected his blows, and the Asura King wounded him with a sword.
• The Asura King pinned the Blood Sea King with Abi and succumbed fully to his savage instincts, abandoning his original objective in favor of slaughter.

Patriarch Styx revealed himself as the Asura King and attacked Ao Tu and the Blood Sea King, while Buddha Randeng intervened to seize the Ancient Buddha Jewel. Ao Tu shattered the Jewel’s inner worlds with a devastating divine light, but was left gravely weakened as Randeng escaped and the Asura King turned his fury on the helpless Blood Sea King.

• Patriarch Styx revealed his true nature as the Asura King and wounded the Great Sun Demon King after sealing off his escape with the Way of Slaughter.
• Buddha Randeng appeared, blocked the Asura King's attack, claimed the Ancient Buddha Jewel, and drew the Great Sun Demon King inside it.
• The Flaming Mountain Local God led the Great-Power Vajras and their forces underground toward Banana Cave to capture the Bull Demon King's family.
• Ao Tu burned himself into a great sun and unleashed a divine light that destroyed the Jewel's Heavenly Deities World and pierced Buddha Randeng's palm.
• Buddha Randeng concealed his injury and vanished, while Ao Tu coughed blood after losing a third of his source power and continued fighting Mahamayuri Bodhisattva.
• The Asura King blamed Randeng for the Great Sun Demon King's escape and vented his anger on the Blood Sea King, who lay pinned beneath the Abi Sword with his limbs and tail severed.

The Asura King killed the Blood Sea King, then charged Ao Tu, who reclaimed Ancestral Dragon Authority and defeated him. Heaven’s tribulation struck Ao Tu and forced the authority back, while the Blood Sea King’s scattered remains began reassembling behind the Asura King.

• The Asura King severed the Blood Sea King’s limbs and features before beheading him.
• The Asura King turned on the weakened Ao Tu, who reclaimed Ancestral Dragon Authority from heaven and earth.
• Mahamayuri Bodhisattva hesitated to take the Phoenix authority, and it dispersed along with the qilin authority.
• Ao Tu used his reclaimed authority to pin down the Asura King and knock Yuantu and Avici from his hands.
• Two bolts of Tribulation Lightning struck Ao Tu and drove the Ancestral Dragon Authority from his body.
• The Blood Sea King’s mangled remains absorbed his severed parts and formed an oval sphere behind the Asura King.

Ao Tu waited inside Mahamayuri Bodhisattva while his three bloodlines neared their limits, as a giant emerged from a growing egg and defeated the Asura King before becoming a mountain. The giant’s birth and death drained most of Ao Tu’s origin, but the strain finally broke the balance among his bloodlines.

• Mahamayuri Bodhisattva swallowed Ao Tu, the Asura King’s sword light, and the attackers from Banana Cave, but only Ao Tu survived digestion and recovered the Eight Spiritual Treasures.
• Ao Tu waited inside Mahamayuri Bodhisattva as a giant egg grew, and its heartbeat shook living beings throughout the Three Realms.
• The Asura King split the egg with his sword, and the giant emerged, defeated him, destroyed the Yuantu Sword’s radiance, subdued the Abi Sword, and smashed the Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus.
• The giant grew to a hundred thousand feet, became a mountain, and restored life to the devastated land before the red lotus departed with the two swords.
• Ao Tu lost more than sixty percent of his origin to the giant’s birth and death, but the balance among his three bloodlines finally broke.

Ao Tu attempted to break through to Great Luo by choosing his own blurry figure and observing the past, but his weakened state made the attempt fail. Before his power vanished, he used the lingering ultimate truths of heaven and earth to escape the Great Peacock Wisdom King Bodhisattva’s belly.

• Ao Tu guided his three bloodline powers to fuse and chose his own figure for another attempt at breakthrough.
• Ao Tu watched time recede and glimpsed an ancient battle between the Three Pure Sages, Lady Nuwa, Great Immortal Zhenyuan, and a nameless old Daoist.
• Ao Tu saw fragments of the past move back toward Pangu’s creation of heaven and earth, but his weakening power could not sustain the vision.
• Ao Tu’s figure dissipated, ending his breakthrough attempt in failure.
• Ao Tu seized the remaining ultimate truths to break through the Great Peacock Wisdom King Bodhisattva’s five-colored divine light and escape from his belly.

Ao Tu escaped Mahamayuri Bodhisattva but was nearly captured again while fleeing, until White Crane Boy rescued him and brought him to the Jade Void Palace. Ao Tu awoke there and asked to meet the Celestial Venerable.

• Ao Tu fled Mahamayuri Bodhisattva while the gods and demons held back from fighting, wary of the giant’s remains and the dragon’s hidden strength.
• Mahamayuri Bodhisattva pursued Ao Tu across the seas and skies, then revealed that the Buddha intended to make him a guardian dragon and traveling mount.
• White Crane Boy struck Mahamayuri Bodhisattva with the Three Jewels Jade Ruyi and carried the exhausted Ao Tu toward Kunlun Mountain.
• An old Daoist pulled Mahamayuri Bodhisattva from the ground, healed his head, and vanished after disputing his accusations.
• Ao Tu awoke in the Jade Void Palace, thanked White Crane Boy, and asked to meet the Celestial Venerable.

Ao Tu visited Yuanshi Tianzun, Great Immortal Zhenyuan, and Old Mother Lishan to learn about the dangers facing his pursuit of the Dao. He left with warnings about powerful opponents, advice to cultivate the Five Elements Method, and a reason to eventually enter the Netherworld to find his father's soul.

• Yuanshi Tianzun gave Ao Tu nine blue lotuses to present to the Queen Mother of the West and explained that the belief that only Primordial Divine Saints could become sages was mistaken.
• Yuanshi Tianzun warned Ao Tu not to descend to the lower world for three days because petty villains were plotting against him.
• Great Immortal Zhenyuan named several figures who opposed others seeking the Dao and urged Ao Tu to diligently cultivate the Five Elements Method.
• Old Mother Lishan told Ao Tu that a great opportunity awaited him in the Netherworld and that his wronged father’s soul was still wandering there.
• Ao Tu decided he would visit the Netherworld when he was strong enough to protect himself from Patriarch Nether River.

Ao Tu visited the Queen Mother of the West and Doumu Yuanjun in Heaven, learned that the Bull Demon King was still resisting Heavenly King Li, and proposed that the Bull Demon King accept amnesty and join the Dipper Department. Doumu Yuanjun agreed, leaving the plan awaiting further discussion with the Jade Emperor.

• Heavenly King Li grew wary when Mahamayuri Bodhisattva failed to return, sent Erlang to scout, then surrounded Green Cloud Mountain again and requested reinforcements from Heaven.
• Ao Tu met the Queen Mother of the West and presented her with the Green Lotus, then found the Jade Emperor discussing Heavenly King Li's latest request for troops in Lingxiao Hall.
• Ao Tu learned from Kui Mulang that the Bull Demon King had not been subdued and that the star officials were busy reshaping the ancient stars.
• Little Alligator Dragon gave Ao Tu a box of star cores, including six wood-element cores intended as a gift for their uncle.
• Ao Tu visited Doumu Yuanjun and proposed that the Bull Demon King accept amnesty and join the Dipper Department, and Doumu Yuanjun agreed.

Ao Tu sought Taishang Laojun’s guidance, then learned the Jade Emperor would let the battle at Emerald Cloud Mountain reach a stalemate before he requested amnesty and recruitment for the Bull Demon King. As both armies called on Wukong to choose a side, Wukong remained torn between his promise to the Bull Demon King and helping the Heavenly Court.

• Ao Tu visited Taishang Laojun, who advised him to follow nature and do what he would do without concern.
• Ao Tu returned to Lingxiao Hall and learned that the Jade Emperor had ordered Wuqu Star Lord to reinforce Heavenly King Li.
• Taibai Jinxing privately told Ao Tu to seek amnesty and recruitment for the Bull Demon King once the fighting reached a stalemate, and said Ao Tu should accept three days’ confinement to avoid a calamity.
• Thousand-Mile Eye and Wind-Following Ear inspected the battle at Emerald Cloud Mountain and found the heavenly troops and demons locked in a stalemate.
• Heavenly King Li and the Bull Demon King each urged Wukong to help them, while Mucha and Red Boy appealed to his loyalties.
• Bajie and Sha Monk argued over whether Wukong should avoid the fighting or help the gods, and Wukong snapped at them to stop.

Wukong left the stalemated battlefield with Tang Sanzang and his companions, choosing to continue the pilgrimage west. In Heaven, the Jade Emperor approved Ao Tu’s plan to offer the Bull Demon King amnesty, and Ao Tu arrived to free the captured demons.

• Tang Sanzang rode into the battlefield calling for Wukong, and Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing left with him after bidding farewell to the gods and demons.
• Tang Sanzang explained that he had gone to plant trees and that the Lord of the Land had been asked to tell the disciples where he was.
• The group visited the temple, found leftover grain, and Tang Sanzang told Wukong to distribute it among the poor.
• Qianliyan and Wind-Following Ear reported to the Jade Emperor that Wukong had departed and the battle remained unresolved; Ao Tu and Taibai Jinxing persuaded the Jade Emperor to offer the Bull Demon King amnesty.
• Ao Tu brought the Jade Emperor’s edict to Heavenly King Li’s camp and ordered him to release the captured demons, including White Bone Spirit.

Ao Tu secured the Bull Demon King's amnesty and brought him to Heaven, where the Jade Emperor appointed him Golden Ox Star Lord. The other captive gods and Buddhas were freed and returned to their respective realms.

• Ao Tu retrieved the Soul-Scattering Gourd and Banana Leaf Fan from the mountain, then went to Banana Cave and persuaded the Bull Demon King to accept amnesty and a post in Heaven.
• Ao Tu told the Bull Demon King and Six-Eared Macaque that Great Sun had escaped, and Six-Eared Macaque agreed to remain behind and manage the demons.
• Red Boy stayed on the mountain, while Princess Iron Fan and the Jade-Faced Fox chose to accompany the Bull Demon King to Heaven; the Bull Demon King gave Ao Tu a roster of his demon forces.
• Ao Tu returned the Banana Leaf Fan to the Bull Demon King and escorted him to the Hall of Divine Firmament, where the Jade Emperor appointed him Golden Ox Star Lord.
• Ao Tu introduced the Bull Demon King to Heaven's Star Lords, while Guanyin Bodhisattva released the captive gods and Buddhas, who returned to Heaven as the remaining vajras and arhats went to the Western Heaven.

Ao Tu inspected the rewards for concluding the Flaming Mountain affair and gained a new Buddhist heart that triggered a powerful, disorienting breakthrough. He returned to the Flower Realm with his Buddhist cultivation greatly increased, but believed Ananda had once again obstructed his attempt to reach Daluo.

• Ao Tu returned to the Flower Realm and arranged to have the Jade Emperor confine him for three days so his true body could not descend.
• Ao Tu distributed the Cold Marrow to White Chi and inspected the other rewards, including a new Earth Blaze Array, Shangqing Sword Intent, and Sun-Shooting Divine Bow.
• The Ancient Buddha's Relic and Vow Power joined the Ancient Buddha's Buddha Heart, showing Ao Tu a vision of the fallen Buddha before all three rewards merged into him.
• Buddha-Light and spontaneous Buddhist chants filled the Flower Realm, while Ao Tu's compassion grew until he tried to erase Ananda and all worldly karma.
• Ao Tu exhausted his essence, energy, and spirit before he could act, then returned to himself with unclear memories and greatly increased Buddhist cultivation.

After failing to break through to Great Luo, Ao Tu used the Hetu Luoshu to survey the Three Realms and locate Ananda’s reincarnation near Spirit Mountain. Hong'er and the Azure-Robed Immortal Maiden then came to him for help finding the Queen Mother of the West’s stolen Nine-Leaf Ganoderma Herb, and Ao Tu pretended to calculate its whereabouts.

• Ao Tu suspected his fixation on Ananda had contributed to his failed breakthrough and used the Hetu Luoshu to examine events across the Three Realms.
• Ao Tu discovered that Ananda had reincarnated near Spirit Mountain, though Tathagata had concealed his exact location.
• Ao Tu learned through the Hetu Luoshu that Hong'er was coming to visit and sent Jiangzhu to welcome her.
• Hong'er arrived with the Azure-Robed Immortal Maiden, who revealed that the Queen Mother of the West’s Nine-Leaf Ganoderma Herb had been stolen from before Lingxiao Hall.
• Ao Tu reassured the anxious women and began pretending to calculate where the stolen herb was.

Ao Tu traced the stolen Nine-Leaf Ganoderma Herb to Princess Wansheng and set out to arrest her and Nine-Headed Bug before Wukong could recover the treasures. Meanwhile, Tang Sanzang and his disciples entered Jisai Kingdom, where soldiers netted Tang Sanzang as a runaway monk.

• Ao Tu divined that Princess Wansheng had stolen the Queen Mother of the West's Nine-Leaf Ganoderma Herb and promised Hong'er he would capture the thieves within a day.
• Ao Tu sent Blood Sea King to gather Bull Demon King's subordinates and sent Great Sun Demon King to Flaming Mountain, where he restored the Fusang Tree's verdant projection but found its true body still weak.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples crossed into Jisai Kingdom and shared scorched rice after Wukong begged for food.
• Ao Tu, disguised as the monk Buzheng, asked Tang Sanzang whether he had encountered suspicious people, then left after Tang Sanzang said he had not.
• Wukong spotted monks hiding in a grove, and mounted soldiers netted Tang Sanzang, prompting Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Monk to prepare to rescue him.

Wukong and his companions were mistaken for fugitive monks in Jisai Kingdom, where soldiers were hunting monks accused of stealing the national treasure. After learning the prisoners included monks who claimed to be innocent, Tang Sanzang and his disciples headed toward the capital, where Wukong noticed signs of decline and they resolved to learn why the King had ordered the arrests.

• Wukong stopped the soldiers who had netted Tang Sanzang, and the soldiers released him after learning the group came from the Great Tang.
• Bajie spotted monks hiding in the grass, and the soldiers arrested them for allegedly stealing Jisai Kingdom's national treasure.
• Several captured monks claimed they could not have stolen the treasure, but Tang Sanzang could not stop the soldiers from taking them away.
• Wukong promised to question the King, and the disciples continued toward the capital.
• Tang Sanzang praised the city's grandeur, while Wukong pointed out its signs of decay and Bajie speculated that the King had neglected his rule.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples freed the persecuted monks of Golden Light Temple and learned that they had been blamed for the disappearance of the kingdom’s national treasure. Ao Tu arrived, healed the monks, and went to investigate the pagoda, where Benbo'erba and Babo'erben were waiting.

• Tang Sanzang and his disciples saw monks being abused in Jisai Kingdom and learned that monks from Golden Light Temple were accused of stealing the national treasure.
• Wukong immobilized the guards and helped free the monks, then led them into Golden Light Temple, where they found more monks imprisoned and tortured.
• The monks explained that the pagoda’s treasure had vanished thirteen years earlier, ending the kingdom’s golden light and the tribute paid by four neighboring kingdoms.
• Soldiers discovered the monks had escaped, but Ao Tu drove them away with Buddhist power, healed the monks, and went up the pagoda to find the culprit.
• Benbo'erba and Babo'erben, two minor monsters sent by Nine-Headed Bug, waited atop the pagoda.

Wukong and Ao Tu discovered that the Nine-Headed Bug and Old Dragon King Wansheng had stolen the Sarira, while Bajie drove the soldiers away from Tang Sanzang. Ao Tu took the captured monsters to Jade Wave Pool, where they warned the Dragon King that he and the prince consort were being summoned.

• Wukong followed Ao Tu to the pagoda’s top and found Bengboliba and Baboliben guarding the empty Sarira vase.
• Wukong and Ao Tu subdued the monsters, who confessed that the Nine-Headed Bug and Old Dragon King Wansheng had stolen the Sarira and that the Princess had taken the Queen Mother of the West’s Nine-Leaf Ganoderma Herb.
• Bengboliba and Baboliben revealed that the prince consort had sent them to watch for Wukong, who was expected to pass through the kingdom.
• As soldiers surrounded the temple, Bajie transformed into a great pig and scattered them while Sha Wujing guarded Tang Sanzang.
• Ao Tu took the two monsters to Jade Wave Pool and ordered the Princess and prince consort to come out and surrender.
• The monsters rushed into the palace and told Old Dragon King Wansheng that Ao Tu was waiting outside.

Ao Tu raided the Aquatic Palace, recovered the stolen treasures, and learned Princess Wansheng had helped Nine-Headed Bug steal Jisai Kingdom’s sarira. He released her and Old Dragon King Wansheng on the condition that they help capture Nine-Headed Bug, while Wukong prepared to clear Tang Sanzang and the monks of the false charges.

• Old Dragon King Wansheng panicked when he heard Sun Wukong had supposedly come to attack, but Bengboliba and Baboliben explained that only a monk had arrived.
• Ao Tu captured Old Dragon King Wansheng, overwhelmed the aquatic soldiers, and found Princess Wansheng hiding in her boudoir.
• Ao Tu forced Princess Wansheng to reveal that Nine-Headed Bug was away and that she had the Queen Mother’s Nine-Leaf Ganoderma Herb and the stolen sarira.
• Princess Wansheng admitted that Nine-Headed Bug had ordered her to steal the herb to preserve the sarira, then claimed kinship with Ao Tu and pleaded to wait for her husband’s return.
• After confirming that Princess Wansheng was a distant relative, Ao Tu released her, Old Dragon King Wansheng, and the aquatic creatures on the condition that they help capture Nine-Headed Bug.
• Wukong told Tang Sanzang that the truth about the stolen national treasure was clear, and Tang Sanzang asked him to let the soldiers take them before the king to clear the monks’ names.

Tang Sanzang convinced the King of the Jisai Kingdom that the Golden Light Temple monks were innocent and that monsters had stolen the National Treasure. Wukong went to find the monsters, and Bajie followed to help; Wukong arrived at Rocky Mountain and Emerald Wave Pool, where he found Buzheng roasting a crab.

• The Imperial Guards surrounded the Golden Light Temple, but the general hesitated to confront Tang Sanzang and his unusual-looking disciples.
• Tang Sanzang showed the general his Passbook and asked to explain the National Treasure theft to the King of the Jisai Kingdom.
• Tang Sanzang told the King that monsters, not the Golden Light Temple monks, had stolen the National Treasure, and Wukong explained that the Nine-Headed Bug was responsible.
• When the King demanded witnesses, Wukong promised to capture the monsters and left for Rocky Mountain and Emerald Wave Pool.
• Tang Sanzang sent Bajie after Wukong, who found Buzheng fishing beside a fire and roasting a large green crab.

Ao Tu, Wukong, and Bajie returned to the palace without the National Treasure, and Ao Tu urged the King of Jisai Kingdom to release the imprisoned monks. The King refused, so Ao Tu condemned his rule and left, while the King dismissed court in anger.

• Ao Tu waited for Nine-Headed Bug to return, explaining that he had released the two lesser demons because they were only following orders.
• Wukong and Bajie worried about returning empty-handed, and Bajie suggested they lie to the King, but Ao Tu refused to blame the crab he had accidentally killed.
• Ao Tu went with Wukong and Bajie to the palace and told the King of Jisai Kingdom that he had not recovered the National Treasure, but had come to seek the monks' release.
• The King refused to free the monks until the National Treasure was recovered, and Ao Tu called him foolish and argued that good rule—not a treasure—secured a kingdom's prosperity.
• The King ordered the guards to remove Ao Tu, but Ao Tu walked out before they could strike him, and the King angrily dismissed court.