Chapter Summaries

Ao Tu was punished for missing his bell-ringing duty after accusing Ananda of drugging him to force him into obstructing the Pilgrim. He reflected on how the system’s true dragon essence blood had made him strong enough to become Ananda’s target, and Tathagata ordered Ananda punished as well.

• Ananda accused Ao Tu of neglecting his duty and asked Tathagata to punish him.
• Ao Tu said Ananda had cast a spell to put him to sleep and had tried to make him descend to the mortal realm to obstruct the Pilgrim.
• Tathagata sentenced Ao Tu to Three Thousand Incense Boards for missing the appointed hour and said Ananda would receive his own punishment.
• Ao Tu recalled that he had used the system’s true dragon essence blood to break through to the Profound Immortal realm.
• Ao Tu realized Ananda had targeted him as a trial for the pilgrimage, intending to subdue him and gain merit.

Ao Tu watched Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong reach Guanyin Monastery and planned to delay their pilgrimage for half a month to earn the system’s True Dragon Pearl. After the Black Bear Spirit stole the kasaya and Sun Wukong left to pursue him, Ao Tu waited for the chance to put his own scheme into action.

• Ao Tu received the Journey-to-the-West roadblock quest and decided to delay Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong around Guanyin Monastery for half a month.
• Elder Jinchi coveted Tang Sanzang’s Brocade Kasaya, and Guangzhi and Guangmou persuaded him to set fire to the meditation rooms with Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong inside.
• Sun Wukong protected Tang Sanzang with a borrowed Fire-Proof Cover and used a gust of wind to intensify the flames, while the Black Bear Spirit stole the kasaya.
• Ao Tu rejected the idea of joining forces with the Black Bear Spirit and decided to wait until Sun Wukong had dealt with him before carrying out a secret plan.
• Elder Jinchi died after Sun Wukong demanded the kasaya, and Tang Sanzang used the Tight-Fillet Spell when Sun Wukong could not find it.
• The monastery monks identified the nearby Great King Black Wind as a possible thief, and Sun Wukong flew toward Black Wind Mountain to recover the kasaya.

Sun Wukong recovered Tang Sanzang’s cassock by enlisting Guanyin Bodhisattva to subdue the Black Bear Spirit, while Ao Tu put a scheme in motion to have local authorities arrest Tang Sanzang and his disciple. With the cassock restored, Tang Sanzang agreed to spend the night at Guanyin Monastery before continuing their journey.

• Sun Wukong fought the Black Bear Spirit twice over the stolen cassock, then went to the Southern Sea to ask Guanyin Bodhisattva for help.
• Ao Tu disguised himself as Ananda and persuaded Guangzhi and Guangmou that Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong were demons who had burned the monastery to steal its treasures.
• Ao Tu instructed Guangzhi to report the supposed crime to the authorities and Guangmou to stay behind and detain Tang Sanzang.
• Sun Wukong returned with Guanyin Bodhisattva, who used a pill trick to make Sun Wukong enter the Black Bear Spirit’s stomach, recovered the cassock, and forced the bear to take refuge and become Mount Luojia’s Mountain-Guarding Deity.
• Sun Wukong burned Black Wind Cave, and Tang Sanzang agreed to remain at the monastery overnight after Guangmou urged the monks to host them.

Guangzhi framed Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong for the monastery fire, and a greedy magistrate imprisoned them to seize the monastery’s treasure. Ao Tu impersonated Ananda and forced the magistrate to hold a thirty-three-day feast and rites, extending the delay beyond the nine days already recorded by Ao Tu’s system.

• Guangzhi accused Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong of burning the Guanyin Monastery and stealing its treasure, prompting the magistrate to send court runners to arrest them.
• The runners bound Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong and seized the monastery’s treasure, then spent four or five days arranging its transport to town.
• The magistrate rejected Tang Sanzang’s defense and ordered him tortured, but Sun Wukong took the punishment in his place without being harmed.
• Sun Wukong escaped prison in insect form, frightened the magistrate while disguised as the Night-Roaming God, and demanded Tang Sanzang’s release.
• Ao Tu appeared as Ananda and threatened the magistrate with Avici Hell, then ordered him to fund a continuous feast and have Tang Sanzang perform rites for thirty-three days to erase his sins.

After Sun Wukong uncovered that the magistrate was keeping Tang Sanzang in the city at someone’s urging, Ao Tu escaped and continued earning time for his mission. Tang Sanzang eventually left the Guanyin Monastery region, and Ao Tu received his rewards before the next side mission began.

• The magistrate freed Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong, then executed Guangzhi and Guangmou for their false accusations.
• At the magistrate’s request, Tang Sanzang performed seven days of Water and Land rites, then stayed for another seven when the people begged him to remain.
• Sun Wukong overheard servants planning to keep Tang Sanzang in the city and discovered the magistrate was hiding the reason for the prolonged rites.
• The magistrate confessed that Venerable Ananda was behind the plan, and Sun Wukong spotted a dragon’s lingering clouds but failed to catch Ao Tu.
• Ao Tu stayed hidden as Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong traveled out of the Guanyin Monastery region, bringing the mission progress to twenty-seven days.
• The system awarded Ao Tu the Art of Moving Mountains, a Sixth-Turn Golden Elixir, and a True Dragon Pearl, and transferred twelve surplus days to the Gao Village side mission.

Ao Tu used his new rewards to strengthen his cultivation and headed toward Gao Village, where he planned to obstruct Tang Sanzang’s pilgrimage. Ananda exposed his involvement, rewarded him, and urged him to add more ordeals as Ao Tu continued toward the village.

• Ao Tu mastered the Art of Moving Mountains, swallowed a Sixth-Turn Golden Elixir to reach the middle Mystic Immortal stage, and stored a Golden Immortal-level True Dragon Pearl in his belly.
• As Ao Tu flew toward Gao Village, yakshas sent by Ananda tried to capture him, and he killed all but their leader with his golden rays.
• Ananda immobilized the surviving yaksha and told Ao Tu to kill him, then praised Ao Tu for framing the Pilgrim and gave him a golden flower as a reward.
• Ananda revealed that Guangzhi and Guangmou had complained about him in the Underworld, and that Ao Tu’s attack had destroyed their souls after they were transformed into guardian yakshas.
• Ao Tu hurried toward Gao Village, resolved to grow stronger, as his mission to obstruct the Pilgrim showed twelve days of progress.

Ao Tu arrived at Gao Village, disguised himself as Tang Sanzang, and offered to deal with the monster troubling Elder Gao’s household. After learning about Zhu Bajie, Ao Tu called him out by his Dharma name, and Zhu Bajie came into the brightly lit courtyard.

• Ao Tu saw that his delay progress had carried over to Gao Village and planned to postpone Tang Sanzang’s party for a full month.
• Ao Tu transformed himself into Tang Sanzang and persuaded Gao Cai and Elder Gao that he could rid their household of its monster.
• Elder Gao told Ao Tu that Zhu Bajie had worked for the family for three years, married Cui Lan, and later frightened the household and kept her confined.
• Ao Tu asked Elder Gao to gather ten young men with lights, then waited until Zhu Bajie entered the rear house after nightfall.
• Ao Tu had the men shout for Wuneng to come out and pay respects to his master, prompting Zhu Bajie to emerge and investigate.

Ao Tu accepted Zhu Bajie as his disciple, renamed him Bajie, and devised a scheme to make money by selling farmland to the villagers of Gao Village. After Bajie magically transformed wasteland into fertile fields, Ao Tu offered the land at a seemingly generous price.

• Zhu Bajie recognized Ao Tu as the monk sent by Guanyin Bodhisattva and asked to become his disciple.
• Ao Tu accepted Zhu Bajie, gave him the name Bajie, and had him release Gao Cuilan so she could reunite with Elder Gao's family.
• Ao Tu refused Elder Gao's offer of gold and silver, then told Bajie to summon the villagers to a wasteland west of the village.
• Bajie used his Gold-Banded Rake to turn the wasteland into fertile farmland, impressing the villagers.
• Ao Tu offered to sell the land to the villagers for one-tenth of a tael of silver per mu, and they rejoiced at the bargain.

Ao Tu sold land agreements to villagers, promising his divine disciple would reclaim thousands of mu, while Bajie feared he would be forced to do the work. Ao Tu claimed an absent senior disciple would handle the fields, leaving Bajie skeptical as the villagers awaited the land.

• Ao Tu promised the villagers that his disciple could reclaim thousands of mu and assured them he would stay until the work was done.
• Ao Tu sold several thousand mu of promised land to hundreds of households, collecting six hundred and sixty-eight taels of silver.
• Bajie accused Ao Tu of tricking him into plowing the fields and warned that they could be reported if they broke the agreements.
• Ao Tu claimed he had an older disciple, a former Celestial Court farming official, who would reclaim the land.
• Bajie questioned Ao Tu’s story and remained unconvinced while waiting to learn the senior disciple’s identity.

Ao Tu helped the village’s poor, gave Bajie a Golden Flower, and sent him to meet his senior brother. Sun Wukong arrived at Gao Village, mistook Bajie for a demon, and fought him before Bajie realized who his expected senior brother was.

• Ao Tu gave the impoverished households grain and silver, then told them he would begin reclaiming the land the next day.
• Ao Tu gave Bajie a Golden Flower and warned that his senior brother might bully him, then left after sending Bajie to wait outside the village.
• Sun Wukong spotted Bajie blocking the entrance to Gao Village and challenged him, while Tang Sanzang stayed behind.
• Bajie and Sun Wukong fought for more than a hundred exchanges until Bajie fled into the village and Sun Wukong pursued him.
• Bajie explained that he was waiting for a senior brother sent from Heaven, and Sun Wukong seized his ear as Bajie began to realize who that brother was.

Sun Wukong and Bajie fought after Bajie insisted they were fellow disciples sent by Guanyin to protect Tang Sanzang. Bajie attacked Tang Sanzang as an impostor, but Sun Wukong subdued him and decided to take him to Guanyin for answers.

• Bajie realized Sun Wukong was the senior brother he had been told about, but Sun Wukong mistook his explanation for mockery and attacked him.
• Bajie told Sun Wukong that Tang Sanzang had accepted him as a disciple three days earlier, though Sun Wukong insisted Tang Sanzang had never left him.
• Sun Wukong took Bajie to Tang Sanzang, but Tang denied knowing him and ordered Sun Wukong to kill him.
• Bajie accused Tang Sanzang of being a demon impostor and attacked him, while Sun Wukong blocked the blows and tried to explain the deception.
• Bajie transformed into his true form and charged at Tang Sanzang, but Sun Wukong captured him after his strength ran out.
• Sun Wukong said he would take Bajie to Guanyin to settle the matter.

Sun Wukong learned from Guanyin Bodhisattva that the impostor Ao Tu was the Jing River Dragon King's son and was impersonating Tang Sanzang to take revenge for his father's death. After Tang Sanzang and his disciples returned to Gao Village, Ao Tu's false promises of farmland trapped them there, and Bajie was forced to plow the fields.

• Sun Wukong brought Zhu Bajie to Guanyin Bodhisattva, who revealed that the impostor was Ao Tu, a Bell-Keeping Little Dragon seeking revenge for his father, the Jing River Dragon King.
• Sun Wukong returned with Zhu Bajie to Gao Village, explained the matter to Tang Sanzang, and persuaded him to accept Bajie as a disciple.
• The villagers stopped Tang Sanzang and his disciples from leaving, demanding farmland promised in written agreements signed by the impostor.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples failed to escape the villagers' watch, and Sun Wukong refused to fulfill Ao Tu's promise on his behalf.
• Sun Wukong forced Zhu Bajie to plow the fields, but Bajie spent several days pretending to work and barely plowed any land.

Ao Tu’s side mission continued while Sun Wukong arranged help from Heaven to finish the land in Gao Village and let Tang Sanzang’s party resume their journey. After the group crossed Fuling Mountain, the system settled thirty-three days of rewards and carried three excess days into the next mission, Wind Rises at Dusk.

• The Gao Village villagers demanded their land, and Tang Sanzang confronted Bajie for failing to work it.
• Bajie persuaded Sun Wukong to recruit Peach Garden Strongmen from Heaven, and Tang Sanzang urged him to seek forgiveness for his past wrongs.
• Sun Wukong gained the Jade Emperor’s permission, gathered the remaining Peach Garden Strongmen, and brought them to reclaim the land and improve its soil.
• The villagers thanked the Strongmen, and Tang Sanzang and his disciples departed Gao Village the following day.
• Ao Tu’s system continued counting until Tang Sanzang’s party crossed Fuling Mountain, then awarded him a Three-Turn Golden Elixir, true dragon essence blood, a Purple-Patterned Peach of Immortality, and the Five-Fire Divine Flame Fan.
• The system carried three excess days into Ao Tu’s next side mission, Wind Rises at Dusk.

After reaching the Golden Immortal realm, Ao Tu killed an attendant sent by Venerable Ananda and entered Yellow Wind Ridge to obstruct the pilgrimage. He met Tiger Vanguard and then confronted Great Sage Yellow Wind, claiming they knew each other from Spirit Mountain.

• Ao Tu used the True Dragon Pearl to overcome his tribulation, become a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, and attain the Golden Immortal realm.
• An attendant monk told Ao Tu that Venerable Ananda wanted him to stop creating trials, but Ao Tu killed him and consumed his True Spirit Soul.
• Ao Tu entered Yellow Wind Ridge and received a new side quest with rewards for delaying the Pilgrim, including the Red Sand Formation and other treasures.
• Ao Tu considered using the Red Sand Formation to make the pilgrimage more difficult and encountered Tiger Vanguard, who went to report his arrival.
• Great Sage Yellow Wind confronted Ao Tu, who claimed he had once caught the marten stealing oil on Spirit Mountain.

Ao Tu persuaded Great Sage Yellow Wind to help capture Tang Sanzang by promising that the monk's flesh would grant eternal youth and offering a treasure to counter Lingji Bodhisattva. At Yellow Wind Ridge, Tiger Vanguard lured Wukong and Bajie away with a trick and seized Tang Sanzang.

• Ao Tu convinced Great Sage Yellow Wind that Tang Sanzang's flesh granted eternal life and youth, then became his sworn brother and plotted with him to capture the monk.
• After Tang Sanzang and his disciples reached Yellow Wind Ridge, Ao Tu offered a reward to the demon who could lure Wukong and Bajie away.
• Tiger Vanguard volunteered, transformed into a tiger, and startled Tang Sanzang off his horse.
• Tiger Vanguard fought Bajie, then fled when Wukong joined the battle, drawing both disciples in pursuit.
• Tiger Vanguard left his tiger skin on a Crouching Tiger Stone, doubled back in a gale, and seized Tang Sanzang.

Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie tracked Tiger Vanguard to Yellow Wind Cave after he captured Tang Sanzang, and Wukong challenged Great Sage Yellow Wind. The demon defeated Wukong with a fierce yellow wind, and Wukong and Bajie sought lodging at a farmhouse while planning how to rescue their master.

• Sun Wukong and Bajie discovered Tiger Vanguard had tricked them with a tiger skin and found Tang Sanzang missing.
• Wukong sent Bajie to hide the horse and luggage, then confronted Great Sage Yellow Wind outside Yellow Wind Cave.
• Great Sage Yellow Wind fought Wukong for thirty rounds before blowing a yellow gale that scattered Wukong’s doubles and injured his eyes.
• Wukong retreated to Bajie and said they needed help treating his eyes before they could rescue Tang Sanzang.
• Bajie led Wukong to a farmhouse, where an old man welcomed them after hearing their plight.

Wukong recovered from the Samadhi Divine Wind, discovered that Tang Sanzang was imprisoned in Yellow Wind Cave, and learned that the cave had a second king named Ao Tu. After escaping, Wukong was directed to seek Lingji Bodhisattva, the one person who could still the wind and help rescue his master.

• An old man treated Wukong’s wind-damaged eyes with Three-Flower Nine-Seed Paste, and Wukong woke cured in the wilderness after the cottage vanished.
• Wukong transformed into a mosquito and found Tang Sanzang tied to the Wind-Calming Stake, guarded by Tiger Vanguard.
• Ao Tu saw through Wukong’s disguise, fought him, and forced him to flee Yellow Wind Cave.
• Wukong told Bajie where Tang Sanzang was held, but Bajie proposed abandoning the pilgrimage and dividing their belongings.
• Li Chang Geng appeared, revealed his identity, and directed Wukong to seek Lingji Bodhisattva at Lesser Mount Sumeru for help against the Samadhi Divine Wind.

Sun Wukong sought Lingji Bodhisattva's help to rescue Tang Sanzang, but Ao Tu defeated Lingji with the Five-Fire Seven-Bird Fan and captured him. Wukong escaped and set off to the Eastern Ocean to ask the Dragon Kings for help.

• Li Chang Geng pointed Sun Wukong toward Lingji Bodhisattva, and Wukong left Bajie guarding the luggage in the woods.
• Lingji Bodhisattva told Wukong that he had once subdued the Yellow Wind Monster, then accompanied him to Yellow Wind Ridge with his Flying Dragon Treasure Staff.
• Lingji Bodhisattva seized Great Sage Yellow Wind with the staff, but Ao Tu attacked with the Five-Fire Seven-Bird Fan and burned away Lingji's protections.
• Ao Tu bound Lingji Bodhisattva beside Tang Sanzang at the Wind-Calming Stake and declared that both captives would be eaten.
• Sun Wukong returned to Bajie, described Lingji's capture, and decided to seek the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas to extinguish Ao Tu's flames.

Sun Wukong recruited Dragon King Ao Guang to help him defeat Great Sage Yellow Wind, but the demon's wind scattered their forces and captured Ao Guang and Bajie. Wukong fled to the South Heaven Gate to ask the Jade Emperor for troops.

• Sun Wukong asked Ao Guang to bring rain and dragon troops to Yellow Wind Ridge, and Ao Guang agreed.
• Great Sage Yellow Wind recognized the rain as Wukong's tactic, but Ao Tu assured him that his divine fire could withstand ordinary water.
• Great Sage Yellow Wind blew a powerful wind that scattered the dragon troops, hurled Bajie into a mountain hollow, and forced Wukong to flee.
• Tiger Vanguard captured Ao Guang and Bajie, while Ao Tu revealed that he was the Jing River Dragon King's son and kept his uncle imprisoned.
• Ao Tu gave Bajie two pills and rewarded Tiger Vanguard with Water-Origin Pills.
• Sun Wukong lamented his failed rescue and rode to the South Heaven Gate to ask the Jade Emperor for troops.

Sun Wukong brought heavenly reinforcements to Yellow Wind Ridge, but the Yellow Wind Monster and Ao Tu defeated them and captured the Water Virtue Star Lord. After learning Ao Tu’s fan might be connected to Perfected Lord Qingxu Daode, Wukong failed to confirm its origin, then infiltrated Yellow Wind Cave in disguise and was exposed by Ao Tu.

• Sun Wukong asked the Jade Emperor to investigate whether heavenly beings had become demons, and the Jade Emperor sent Heavenly King Li, Nezha, and the Water Virtue Star Lord to Yellow Wind Ridge with him.
• The Yellow Wind Monster’s wind and Ao Tu’s fan overcame the heavenly forces, and the Water Virtue Star Lord was captured while Wukong, Nezha, and Li Jing retreated.
• Nezha suspected Ao Tu’s fan belonged to Perfected Lord Qingxu Daode, but the Perfected Lord denied that anyone from his cave had taken it, so Wukong and Nezha returned without answers.
• Wukong turned into a fly and then a lesser demon to search Yellow Wind Cave for the fan, but Ao Tu grew suspicious when the disguised Wukong praised him.
• Ao Tu tricked Wukong into acknowledging the Yellow Wind Monster’s credit and recognized him as the monkey in disguise.