Chapter Summaries

Ao Tu abducted the real queen of the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom and brought her to Pipa Cave, where she surprised him by appearing willing to consider marriage. After she joined him for a meal, Ao Tu remained unsure how to handle her eager affection.

• A demon dragon carried the queen away, while Ao Tu returned a substitute queen to the palace and the Grand Preceptor warned that the missing Lotus Flower Sachet was a protective treasure.
• Ao Tu brought the real queen to Pipa Cave, where she woke, learned he wanted to marry her, and asked about his origins; she said they were well matched after hearing his father was the Jing River Dragon Lord.
• The next day, the queen persuaded Ao Tu’s little maids to take her to him by saying she would become their mistress if they married.
• Ao Tu studied the Formation Diagram of the Nine-Curved Yellow River Formation while the queen waited outside his room.
• Ao Tu invited the queen to dine with him, and she sat beside him with eager affection, leaving him uncertain how to respond.

Ao Tu confronted the queen of the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom about her affection for him, then revised his plans with the Scorpion Demon and promised to visit the queen that night. The chapter ended with Ao Tu and the queen sharing a wedding feast and Joint-Cup Wine.

• The queen pressed Ao Tu about his earlier departure, and he admitted that the Scorpion Demon had impersonated her and seized the kingdom.
• The queen offered Ao Tu her realm and declared her love, while Ao Tu stopped her maid from seeking Yangxing Medicine and promised to visit her room that night.
• Ao Tu found the Scorpion Demon sending venomous scorpions into the Grand Preceptor’s residence and told her to turn the Grand Preceptor’s suspicions to their advantage.
• The Scorpion Demon asked Ao Tu to obtain the queen’s purse, which was the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom Inheritance Treasure.
• Ao Tu studied the Formation Diagram, then went to the queen’s room, where they shared a wedding feast and Joint-Cup Wine.

Ao Tu spent several days with the queen, gave her a beauty-enhancing elixir, and then searched for a suitable site to establish the Nine-Curved Yellow River Formation. He avoided displacing villagers, but at a remote site female bandits ambushed him and the queen, leaving him facing the bandit leader's demand to surrender.

• Ao Tu examined the queen's national treasure sachet, infused it with dragon qi to protect the Scorpion Demon, and spent the night with the queen.
• The next morning, Ao Tu gave the queen a Snow Lotus Golden Elixir and helped her absorb its medicinal power.
• After several days, Ao Tu and the queen inspected sites for the Nine-Curved Yellow River Formation and left one location rather than disturb its village.
• At a remote mountain forest, Ao Tu began connecting waterways for the formation when female bandits emerged and demanded that the queen hand him over.
• Ao Tu realized he had lost his wager because his appearance, rather than the queen's, had attracted the bandits' attention.

Ao Tu completed the Yellow River Formation and spent a month with the queen while waiting for Tang Sanzang, who had been delayed after eating spoiled food and then drinking from the Mother-Child River. Tang Sanzang and Bajie began suffering stomach pains, and the ferrywoman warned that the river water caused pregnancy and childbirth.

• Ao Tu killed the female bandits who blocked him, finished arranging the Yellow River Formation, and built three thatched cottages with the queen.
• Ao Tu returned to Poison Enemy Mountain with the queen and waited more than a month for Tang Sanzang, unaware that the pilgrimage party had stopped on the road.
• Tang Sanzang ate three-year-old vegetarian food that had spoiled, then continued traveling with Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing.
• The disciples crossed a river in the Western Liang Women’s Kingdom, where Bajie drank the water and Tang Sanzang spilled some on himself during a sudden stomach cramp.
• The ferrywoman explained that the river was the Mother-Child River and warned Tang Sanzang not to relieve himself because doing so could cause him to give birth prematurely.

Tang Sanzang and Bajie suffered after drinking from the Mother-and-Child River, so Wukong went to Mount Jieyang to obtain water from the Birth-Cancelling Spring. He reached the Gathering Immortals Hermitage and drew water, but Ruyi True Immortal struck the bucket with his flying hook and spilled it.

• The old woman told Wukong that water from the Birth-Cancelling Spring could end Tang Sanzang’s pregnancy, and Wukong left Sha Wujing to guard his master.
• Wukong teased Bajie about paying for gifts, then went south to Mount Jieyang when Bajie refused to give up his savings.
• Wukong met Ruyi True Immortal, who refused to provide water and attacked him for arriving without gifts and speaking rudely.
• Wukong bypassed Ruyi True Immortal and his disciple by transforming into a summer cicada and entering the Gathering Immortals Hermitage.
• Ruyi True Immortal hurled his flying hook at Wukong’s bucket, spilling the water he had drawn.

Wukong discovered that Ruyi True Immortal was Red Boy’s uncle, reconciled with him, and obtained water to help Bajie, while Tang Sanzang recovered from an upset stomach. After the travelers rested, they reached the Western Liang Women's Kingdom and requested an audience with its sovereign, leaving the Grand Preceptor worried.

• Wukong fought Ruyi True Immortal until Red Boy arrived and revealed their family connection, leading the two to make peace.
• Red Boy explained why he had helped the Blood Sea Old Monster, and Wukong warned him against following the monster’s example.
• Wukong learned Tang Sanzang’s pain came from an upset stomach, then charged Bajie five taels of silver for water that ended his pregnancy.
• Tang Sanzang and his companions recovered, resumed their journey, and reached the Western Liang Women's Kingdom, where crowds of women surrounded them.
• At the Courier Station, Tang Sanzang presented his travel document and requested an audience with the sovereign, while the Grand Preceptor worried at her residence.

The Grand Preceptor suspected that a demon had replaced the queen, and Wukong confirmed that the palace was filled with demonic aura. The Scorpion Demon seized Tang Sanzang’s travel passbook and announced that she would marry him, while the Grand Preceptor intervened and offered to arrange the match.

• The Grand Preceptor noticed the queen’s changed behavior and suspected a demon had taken her place.
• Wukong sensed demonic aura around the palace and persuaded Tang Sanzang and his disciples to enter court together.
• The Scorpion Demon examined Tang Sanzang’s passbook, kept it, and pulled him onto the throne while threatening to taste his flesh.
• The Grand Preceptor arrived and helped Tang Sanzang leave the throne before the Scorpion Demon announced her intention to marry him.
• When the Scorpion Demon ordered Tang Sanzang taken to the inner palace, the Grand Preceptor offered to serve as matchmaker and asked her to wait a few days.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples learned that the Queen of Western Liang had been replaced by a Scorpion Demon, and Wukong began fighting the demon in the palace. The demon disguised herself as the Queen and produced the kingdom’s lotus sachet, leaving Wukong unable to prove her identity to the guards.

• At the Courier Station, Tang Sanzang told Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing that the Queen had revealed her plan to eat him, while female soldiers surrounded the station.
• The Grand Preceptor secretly told the monks that a five-clawed golden Dragon Demon had abducted the Queen a month and a half earlier and that the Queen’s temperament had changed afterward.
• The Grand Preceptor explained that the real Queen carried a lotus sachet that could expose the demon, and Wukong promised to confront the monster that night.
• Wukong tracked the Scorpion Demon to the palace and attacked her after waiting until dawn, but neither fighter gained the advantage.
• When guards arrived, the Scorpion Demon resumed the Queen’s appearance and ordered them to seize Wukong, then produced a lotus sachet and claimed it was the kingdom’s treasure.

Wukong was stung by the Scorpion Demon while trying to stop her, forcing Tang Sanzang and his disciples to hide from the palace guards. After recovering enough to investigate the demon, Wukong learned from Ruyi True Immortal that the Scorpion Demon lived on Poison Enemy Mountain and that the Demon Dragon had wounded Ruyi True Immortal; Ruyi then painted a portrait of the Demon Dragon.

• The Scorpion Demon used palace guards to distract Wukong and stung him with her Horse-Felling Poison Stinger before ordering a search for Tang Sanzang and his disciples.
• The Grand Preceptor hid Tang Sanzang and his disciples from the guards, while Bajie carried the injured Wukong inside to rest.
• After his headache eased, Wukong left Bajie behind to protect Tang Sanzang and went to Xieyang Mountain to ask about the Scorpion Demon.
• At the Gathering Immortals Hermitage, Wukong noticed Ruyi True Immortal react to the Demon Dragon's name, and Ruyi admitted that the Demon Dragon had injured him.
• Ruyi True Immortal told Wukong that the Scorpion Demon lived on Poison Enemy Mountain and identified her poisonous stinger as the weapon that had wounded Wukong.
• Ruyi True Immortal painted a portrait of the Demon Dragon for Wukong.

Wukong discovered that Ao Tu had captured the Queen of the Women's Country and that the Scorpion Demon was acting without his orders. Ao Tu subdued the Scorpion Demon and cured Wukong’s sting, but the queen remained missing when Wukong returned to the Grand Preceptor’s residence.

• Ruyi True Immortal drew Ao Tu’s portrait, and Wukong recognized him as the Jing River Dragon King’s son.
• Wukong went to Poison Enemy Mountain, where Ao Tu admitted capturing the queen and agreed to help control the Scorpion Demon.
• Ao Tu explained that he had faked his death after being gravely wounded and had withdrawn from his former ambitions.
• Ao Tu confronted the Scorpion Demon above the Daughter Kingdom and drew her inside with divine light after she admitted acting on her own.
• Ao Tu treated Wukong’s sting with Three-Lights Divine Water, then left with the Scorpion Demon.
• Wukong returned to the Grand Preceptor’s residence and explained what had happened, and the Grand Preceptor asked whether there was news of the queen.

Wukong returned to Poison Enemy Mountain to retrieve the Queen, but Ao Tu refused, claiming that he and the Queen had married and fallen in love. After their fight ended with Wukong escaping, he told the Grand Preceptor that the Queen had married the Dragon Demon.

• Wukong reassured the Grand Preceptor that the Scorpion Demon had not harmed the Queen and promised to bring her back the next day.
• Wukong visited Ao Tu at Pipa Cave, where Ao Tu said he could not return the Queen because they had married and loved each other.
• Wukong accused Ao Tu of abducting and violating the Queen, and the two fought for more than a hundred exchanges.
• Ao Tu used the Dragon-Binding Lock and Five-Fire Divine Flame Fan, so Wukong left a false body and escaped to the Grand Preceptor's Residence.
• Wukong told the Grand Preceptor that the Queen had married Ao Tu and claimed they had been together for over a month.

After Ao Tu abducted the Queen, Wukong recruited Nezha and Erlang to help bring her back. They confronted Ao Tu at Pipa Cave, where the battle escalated as he transformed into a giant dragon and unleashed storms.

• Wukong told the Grand Preceptor that Ao Tu had taken the Queen, then went to Heaven to seek help from his friends.
• After failing to find Perfected Lord Taixi, Wukong recruited Nezha and then Erlang to join him.
• Wukong, Nezha, and Erlang traveled to Pipa Cave and challenged Ao Tu to release the Queen.
• Ao Tu refused, and the three fought him outside the cave using their supernatural forms and weapons.
• Erlang attacked with his heavenly eye, and Ao Tu transformed into a hundred-foot golden dragon, summoning fierce winds, rain, and waves.

Wukong, Nezha, and Erlang fought Ao Tu but were defeated by his Sixteen-Foot Golden Body and returned injured to the Grand Preceptor’s residence. After recovering, Wukong refused to summon Heavenly troops because Ao Tu had held back, and the group discussed how to proceed.

• Ao Tu transformed into a dragon and battled Wukong, Nezha, and Erlang for hundreds of rounds, injuring them and knocking them from the clouds.
• Ao Tu spared the three and returned to his cave, while Wukong, Nezha, and Erlang went back to the Grand Preceptor’s residence for rest and treatment.
• The Grand Preceptor learned that the visitors were deities and offered to summon an imperial physician, but Wukong said their injuries would heal with rest.
• The next morning, Nezha urged Wukong to request Heavenly troops, but Wukong explained that Ao Tu had held back and did not want to make enemies of the gods and Buddhas.
• Erlang asked how they could overcome Ao Tu, while Bajie suggested they continue west without rescuing the queen, and Sha Wujing reminded him that Tang Sanzang had promised to help the state preceptor.

Wukong assembled allies to use a diversion to rescue the Queen from Ao Tu’s cave, but the Scorpion Demon saw through the plan and Ao Tu’s five-colored divine light captured Wukong, Erlang, and Nezha. Bajie, Red Boy, and Ruyi True Immortal remained outside the cave to face the Scorpion Demon.

• Bajie proposed drawing Ao Tu away while others entered his cave to rescue the Queen, and Nezha agreed to recover his Universe-Splitting Silk himself.
• Wukong recruited Ruyi True Immortal and Red Boy, then joined Nezha and Erlang in heading to Venomous Foe Mountain.
• Wukong, Nezha, and Erlang engaged Ao Tu while Bajie, Ruyi True Immortal, and Red Boy hid near Pipa Cave.
• Bajie attacked the Scorpion Demon, but she recognized the diversion and summoned help as Red Boy and Ruyi True Immortal joined the fight.
• Ao Tu rushed back, but Wukong, Nezha, and Erlang blocked him; Ao Tu swept all three into his five-colored divine light.

Ao Tu captured Wukong and the others, punished them in his cave, and explained that he had abducted women because he feared the gods and Buddhas. After keeping them imprisoned for seven days, he released them and warned them not to return.

• Ao Tu captured Bajie, Red Boy, and Ruyi True Immortal, then bound them with Wukong, Erlang, and Nezha in his cave.
• Wukong freed the group, but Ao Tu caught them again as they tried to escape and hung them back up.
• Ao Tu ordered the Scorpion Demon to whip Ruyi True Immortal, but Red Boy offered to take his punishment, so Ao Tu lashed Red Boy and the Scorpion Demon stung Wukong and Bajie.
• Red Boy condemned Ao Tu for abducting women, and Ao Tu explained that he feared the gods and Buddhas and wanted only to live in peace.
• After six days of failed escape attempts, Ao Tu released Wukong and the others and warned them not to provoke him again.

Wukong returned to the Grand Preceptor's Residence, then caught up with Sha Wujing and went with him to seek Guanyin Bodhisattva's help against Ao Tu. Guanyin agreed to confront Ao Tu and planned to take him as her disciple and reform him on Mount Luojia.

• After Ao Tu released Wukong and the others, Nezha and Ruyi True Immortal argued about the Bull Demon King, and Wukong stopped them from fighting.
• Wukong learned that a maid had tried to assault Tang Sanzang and that Sha Wujing had gone to the Southern Sea to seek Guanyin Bodhisattva's help.
• Wukong caught up with Sha Wujing and agreed to go with him to Mount Luojia, though he hesitated over asking Guanyin to intervene against Ao Tu.
• Guanyin told Wukong how Star Lord Angri could subdue the scorpion spirit, and Wukong asked her to help rescue the Queen from Ao Tu.
• Guanyin traveled with Wukong to Poison Enemy Mountain and said she would take Ao Tu as her disciple and reform him on Mount Luojia.

Wukong and Guanyin Bodhisattva tried to capture Ao Tu, but a mysterious golden treasure freed him from the Alms Bowl. Wukong rescued the Queen, only to learn that she and Ao Tu loved each other, and Guanyin returned her to the Daughter Kingdom before departing.

• Wukong brought Guanyin Bodhisattva to Pipa Cave, where she offered Ao Tu forgiveness and a place as her disciple if he returned with her.
• Ao Tu tricked Guanyin Bodhisattva into handing over the Jade-Cleansing Bottle, then refused her offer and was trapped in Tathagata's Alms Bowl.
• A burst of Primordial Golden Light broke the Alms Bowl's magic and freed Ao Tu, who escaped before Wukong and Guanyin Bodhisattva could catch him.
• Wukong and Guanyin Bodhisattva found the Queen in Pipa Cave, where she revealed her love for Ao Tu and refused to leave without him.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva brought Wukong and the Queen to the Daughter Kingdom, while Sandy burned Pipa Cave and Guanyin Bodhisattva soon departed.

After Wukong rescued the Queen, she gave up the throne and reunited with Ao Tu, who prepared a formation to capture Tang Sanzang and his disciples. The formation separated them when they arrived, and Bajie found himself before Ao Tu, offering to grind ink.

• The Queen told Wukong and the others that she loved Ao Tu, then announced she would pass on the throne and return to Pipa Cave.
• Several days later, the Queen sent Tang Sanzang and his disciples west, then reunited with Ao Tu when he appeared at the palace.
• Ao Tu borrowed six hundred female soldiers from the Queen and trained them to operate the Nine-Curved Yellow River Formation.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples entered the formation, which plunged them into darkness and separated them.
• Wukong apologized to Ao Tu and tried to draw his anger away from Tang Sanzang, while Sha Wujing and the White Dragon Horse fled.
• Bajie stayed put and pleaded for mercy until the darkness lifted, then found Ao Tu writing in a wooden house and offered to grind ink.

Wukong, Sha Wujing, and the unconscious Tang Sanzang were trapped by Ao Tu’s formation and ended up at his wooden house, where Ao Tu confronted them over the destruction of his home. Wukong and Bajie pleaded for mercy, but Ao Tu remained intent on punishing Tang Sanzang, and the chapter ended with Wukong asking what he could do to make amends.

• Wukong, Sha Wujing, and the White Dragon Horse each failed to escape the formation and arrived at Ao Tu’s wooden house with Tang Sanzang unconscious.
• Wukong entered and apologized to Ao Tu, who accused him of helping Guanyin attack his home and set out punishments for the pilgrims.
• Ao Tu bound Sha Wujing with the Dragon-Binding Lock and ordered Scorpion Demon to take Tang Sanzang outside for punishment.
• Sha Wujing admitted that he had set fire to Ao Tu’s cave, while Wukong and Bajie pleaded for Tang Sanzang and the disciples to be spared.
• Wukong offered to have divine craftsmen build Ao Tu a better cave, but Ao Tu rejected the offer because Guanyin now knew where he lived.
• Wukong asked Ao Tu what he could do to make amends.

Ao Tu confined Tang Sanzang and his disciples in a Wooden House for a year, and Wukong kept his promise for nearly half a year. When Kasyapa arrived and persuaded Wukong that no formation surrounded the house, Wukong stepped outside, triggering Ao Tu’s formation and getting both Wukong and Kasyapa captured in the Primordial Golden Dipper.

• Ao Tu agreed to let Wukong and Tang Sanzang leave after a year of meditation and sutra recitation, and Wukong accepted the condition.
• Wukong honored his promise and remained inside the Wooden House for nearly half a year while Ao Tu attended to his affairs and celebrated the New Year with the Queen.
• Kirtimukha and Garan reported the delay to Tathagata, who ordered Kasyapa to seek Guanyin’s help in capturing Ao Tu.
• Kasyapa found Guanyin absent and went to the Wooden House, where he urged Tang Sanzang and his disciples to continue west.
• Kasyapa claimed there was no formation outside, and Wukong stepped out to test it despite remembering his promise to Ao Tu.
• Ao Tu’s formation appeared, and he used the Primordial Golden Dipper to capture Wukong and Kasyapa.