Chapter Summaries

Ao Tu trapped Tang Sanzang’s party in the Yellow River Formation, stripping Wukong and Kasyapa of their cultivation and imprisoning their divine protectors. After Wukong awakened, he accepted that he had become mortal and asked Bajie and Sha Wujing to protect their master while he began practicing again.

• Ao Tu used the Yellow River Formation to strip Wukong and Kasyapa of their cultivation, then captured the divine guardians and imprisoned them.
• Kasyapa woke without his powers, argued with Bajie and Tang Sanzang, and was locked away after Ao Tu revealed that his cultivation had been dispersed into the land.
• Wukong remained unconscious for seven days, while Bajie and the others feared for him.
• Wukong’s eyes sent golden beams into the sky, prompting Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor to dispatch Heavenly King Li and Tathagata Buddha to send Samantabhadra to seek Guanyin’s help.
• Ao Tu stopped Bajie from giving Wukong water, but Wukong soon regained his senses and discovered that he had become mortal.
• Wukong blamed himself for the disaster and asked Bajie and Sha Wujing to protect Tang Sanzang while he rebuilt his cultivation.

After Wukong lost his cultivation, Bajie suspected that abstaining from mortal food and water had restored Wukong’s supernatural eyes, while Wukong thanked Ao Tu for healing them. Half a month later, Heavenly King Li led the gods to confront the Dragon Demon at the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation, and the Star Lord of Water Virtue agreed to enter it.

• Bajie stopped Wukong from using the wooden buckets until they could escape the formation, then reasoned that Wukong’s lack of food and water had awakened his dormant abilities.
• Wukong discovered that his eye ailment had vanished and went to thank Ao Tu, who examined Wukong’s body before sending him away.
• After another half month, Heavenly King Li descended with the gods and found the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation surrounding the wooden houses.
• The gods refused to enter the formation until Heavenly King Li asked the Star Lord of Water Virtue, who agreed to fight without knowing the formation’s reputation.

Ao Tu captured the Water Virtue Star Lord, Giant Spirit God, and Nezha when they challenged his formation, while Guanyin Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva arrived in the Western Liang Daughter Kingdom to help. Guanyin Bodhisattva claimed she could break the formation and recruited Heavenly Lord Qin and the Fire Virtue Star Lord, though she said their chance of success was even.

• The Water Virtue Star Lord entered Ao Tu’s formation, lost his cultivation, and was locked in the Prison Room.
• Ao Tu swept Giant Spirit God into the formation with the Universe-Splitting Silk and captured Nezha in the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity.
• Ao Tu confined Giant Spirit God and brought Nezha to his room, where Nezha recovered, reclaimed the Universe-Splitting Silk, and asked to borrow Ao Tu’s Dragon-Locking Binding.
• Samantabhadra Bodhisattva met Guanyin Bodhisattva at the Southern Sea, and they traveled together to the Western Liang Daughter Kingdom under Tathagata Buddha’s decree.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva told Heavenly King Li she had a way to break the formation and asked Heavenly Lord Qin and the Fire Virtue Star Lord to help, giving them an even chance of success.

Guanyin Bodhisattva failed to persuade Ao Tu, who used the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity to scatter the gods and capture more immortals. After Guanyin captured Red Boy and Ruyi True Immortal, she proposed exchanging them for the scripture pilgrim and his disciples, or using them to turn Ao Tu against another enemy.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva tried to persuade Ao Tu to embrace Buddhism, but he refused, attacked with the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity, and drove the gods into hiding.
• Heavenly Lord Qin criticized Guanyin Bodhisattva's failed plan, while Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and the others considered how to break the formation.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva revealed Red Boy and Ruyi True Immortal's hiding place, and the gods captured them.
• Heavenly King Li ordered Red Boy and Ruyi True Immortal punished, but changed the order to imprisonment after Red Boy revealed his connection to the Blood Sea King.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva proposed exchanging the captives for the scripture pilgrim and his disciples, then suggested using the plan to turn Ao Tu against another enemy if he refused.

Ao Tu arranged an exchange for Red Boy and Ruyi True Immortal, then broke the deal and captured Heavenly King Li when the gods released Wukong. With the heavenly army leaderless, Guanyin asked Wukong to seek help at Spirit Mountain, but he resisted and suggested waiting until Ao Tu’s year-long imprisonment of Tang Sanzang ended.

• Ao Tu agreed to exchange Red Boy and Ruyi True Immortal for Wukong and Tang Sanzang, and Wukong thanked him before leaving the formation.
• At the exchange, Ao Tu released Wukong but sent Tang Sanzang back to the hut instead of handing him over, then attacked Heavenly King Li.
• Red Boy burned Heavenly King Li unconscious, Ao Tu took his pagoda, and the Demon Dragon captured him as the gods fled.
• The gods considered returning to Heaven to regroup, while Guanyin asked them for further aid and was told to seek the Buddha’s decision.
• Guanyin ordered Wukong to go to Spirit Mountain, but Wukong claimed he had lost his cultivation and proposed waiting until Ao Tu’s promised year of imprisonment was over.

After Tathagata Buddha explained the Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation, Wukong secretly restored his cultivation with the Wooden Buckets and went to summon the three Xiao maidens. The maidens proposed a risky counter-formation, and Bixiao began to reveal what would truly be needed to break the Demon Dragon’s formation.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva brought Wukong to Spirit Mountain, where Tathagata Buddha explained the formation and gave Wukong a Holy Buddha Sarira to aid his recovery.
• At the Eight Treasures Merit Pool, Wukong dismissed the guards and secretly used the Wooden Buckets to restore his cultivation, then hid the sarira and pretended to have cultivated.
• Tathagata Buddha sent Wukong to invite the three Immortal Maidens of Responding to the World, and Guanyin Bodhisattva declined to accompany him.
• Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao agreed to help and proposed a Three Powers Nine Palaces Grand Formation, but Yunxiao admitted its chance of victory was only over one in ten.
• When Samantabhadra Bodhisattva asked whether Yunxiao could break the formation herself, Bixiao explained that Yunxiao was not her true body and began to reveal what would be required.

Yunxiao agreed to proceed with the planned assault on the Yellow River Formation, and Guanyin Bodhisattva recruited Old Mother Lishan to help lead it. While Ao Tu practiced with the Great Celestial Cycle Formation Diagram and Red Boy asked about humility, the formation came under attack, prompting Ao Tu to prepare for battle.

• Bixiao spoke bluntly about the Three Xiao Ladies' old business, but Yunxiao eased the tension and agreed to continue with the original plan.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva met Old Mother Lishan on the way to Spirit Mountain, and the two went to help form the assault on the Yellow River Formation.
• The Three Xiao Ladies, six Heavenly Court immortals, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Old Mother Lishan arranged their positions and completed the formation.
• Ao Tu studied the Great Celestial Cycle Formation Diagram while Nezha played with its stars and Red Boy served him water-shield soup.
• Red Boy asked Ao Tu about humility, and Nezha offered his own explanation while Ao Tu teased him.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva attacked the Yellow River Formation with the Ancient Buddha Jewel, and Ao Tu rallied his two followers to fight.

Ao Tu defeated Guanyin Bodhisattva’s attack on the Great Yellow River Formation and captured several divine generals, while Yunxiao asked Wukong to deliver gifts and letters to the Three Pure Ones. After Taishang Laojun received his items, he directed Wukong to Mount Kunlun, where the other two venerables were waiting.

• Ao Tu captured Guanyin Bodhisattva’s Jewel and Nine-Grade Treasure Lotus Throne with the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity, struck her from the formation, and broke the gods’ formation.
• Ao Tu chased Guanyin Bodhisattva until Old Mother Lishan stopped him and advised him to study the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity’s original purpose.
• Red Boy and Scorpion Demon returned with captured divine generals, while Yunxiao explained that her true body was suppressed beneath Qilin Cliff and asked Wukong to deliver gifts to the three elders.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva gave Wukong three letters from the Buddha, and Wukong flew to Tushita Palace to deliver them and Yunxiao’s gift to Taishang Laojun.
• Taishang Laojun accepted the gift and letter, then told Wukong that the Celestial Venerables of Primordial Beginning and Numinous Treasure were waiting for him at Mount Kunlun.

Wukong secured Yuanshi Tianzun’s permission to free Yunxiao, then brought her to the Yellow River Formation to rescue the scripture pilgrim. Yunxiao entered the formation and reached Ao Tu’s wooden house, where Nezha and Red Boy were waiting.

• Wukong met Bodhisattva Manjushri at Qilin Cliff and presented Yuanshi Tianzun and Lingbao Tianzun with Yunxiao’s gifts and Tathagata Buddha’s letter.
• Yuanshi Tianzun agreed to release Yunxiao and gave Manjushri a Talisman Seal to open Qilin Cliff.
• Yunxiao thanked the Celestial Worthies, reunited with her true spirit incarnation, and traveled with Wukong and Manjushri to the Yellow River Formation.
• Yunxiao walked through the formation to Ao Tu’s wooden house, while Manjushri followed and relied on the Talisman Seal to catch up.
• Ao Tu invited Yunxiao inside, and Nezha took Red Boy outside after Ao Tu stopped Red Boy from raising his spear at Manjushri.

Yunxiao explained how Ao Tu could improve his Yellow River Grand Formation, then let the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity remain with him and entrusted him with the gods’ treasures. Ao Tu reconciled with Bodhisattva Manjushri and traveled with him to Kunlun Mountain, where Yuanshi Tianzun invited him to play a game.

• Yunxiao told Ao Tu that his formation could be improved by attaining the Path, sharing its control with powerful allies, or turning it into a Supernatural Ability.
• Ao Tu returned the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity to Yunxiao, but it bounced back to him, and he left her the gods’ treasures to handle.
• Bodhisattva Manjushri admitted his role in the plot involving the Blood Sea’s sword, and Ao Tu offered to set aside their grudge and associate as equals.
• Ao Tu asked Bodhisattva Manjushri to help his disciple reach Spirit Mountain, and Manjushri offered to recommend him for a post in the Scripture Pavilion.
• After Bodhisattva Manjushri mentioned Yuanshi Tianzun’s invitation, Ao Tu sent Red Boy, Scorpion Demon, and Ruyi True Immortal away safely and traveled with Manjushri to Kunlun Mountain.
• Yuanshi Tianzun welcomed Ao Tu and invited him to play a game while Bodhisattva Manjushri stood silently nearby.

Ao Tu visited Yuanshi Tianzun, won three games of Go, and received the Yuanshi Artifact Classic and access to rooms in the Jade Void Palace. After returning toward the Daughter Kingdom, he met Alu, gave him three Golden Elixirs, and learned that Tang Sanzang and his disciples had resumed their westward journey.

• Ao Tu won three games of Go against Yuanshi Tianzun, who gave him the Yuanshi Artifact Classic and permission to use an artifact-refining chamber and a nearby hall.
• White Crane Boy gave Ao Tu a talisman key and told Bodhisattva Manjushri that he could descend the mountain.
• Ao Tu returned to the Daughter Kingdom after Lady Yunxiao rescued Tang Sanzang and his disciples from the Yellow River Formation.
• Ao Tu met Alu on the road and heard how Alu had become abbot of the Great Prajna Monastery before passing the position to a disciple.
• Ao Tu gave Alu three Three-Turn Golden Elixirs and instructed him to deliver two as gifts, including one to the powerless Water Virtue Star Lord.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples left the Daughter Kingdom's borders, and Ao Tu received rewards as his side mission concluded.

Ao Tu settled his rewards, including the Black Origin Water-Control Banner, and sent his Demon Emperor Incarnation to the lower realm with treasures. He then used a gathering to learn that the Water Virtue Star Lord had lost his cultivation and went to visit him.

• Ao Tu examined his rewards, decided to postpone refining the Ancestral Dragon's Broken Horn, and absorbed the Black Origin Water-Control Banner.
• Ao Tu returned to the Flower Realm, checked the third-grade white lotus, and sent his Demon Emperor Incarnation down to the lower realm with three treasures.
• Ao Tu kept Wukong's former cultivation for use in pill refinement after Wukong recovered his own cultivation.
• Ao Tu asked the Host of Stars why the Water Virtue Star Lord had missed their gathering and heard that a fiend had stripped him of his cultivation.
• Ao Tu took gifts and headed to Wuhao Palace to visit the Water Virtue Star Lord.

Ao Tu’s disciple Alu used a Rain-Request Writ to bring rain to drought-stricken Fengxian County, tricking the powerless Water Virtue Star Lord into approving it despite Heaven’s ban. Ao Tu confessed his involvement to the Jade Emperor and accepted a penalty of refining Golden Elixirs, while the Water Virtue Star Lord faced questioning in Lingxiao Hall.

• Ao Tu visited the Water Virtue Star Lord, who complained that Golden Elixirs to restore his cultivation had not arrived, and promised to refine some for him.
• Alu absorbed a Golden Elixir, became an immortal, and traveled to drought-stricken Fengxian County, where he offered to pray for rain.
• After the Dragon King explained that Heaven had forbidden rain, Alu flew to Heaven and obtained the Water Virtue Star Lord’s seal on a writ by disguising Fengxian County as Fengshan County.
• Alu gave the writ to the Dragon King, who brought heavy rain to Fengxian County, while the Water Virtue Star Lord recovered some of his cultivation with Alu’s Golden Elixirs.
• Ao Tu discovered the deception and confronted the Water Virtue Star Lord, who begged him to keep the forbidden rain decree secret.
• Ao Tu confessed the truth to the Jade Emperor, who ordered him to refine Golden Elixirs as punishment, while the Water Virtue Star Lord blamed Taixi when questioned in Lingxiao Hall.

The Jade Emperor punished the Water Virtue Star Lord for accepting a bribe and concealing his misconduct, then sent Ao Tu to obstruct Tang Sanzang’s party during the True and False Monkey King tribulation. Ao Tu encountered a monkey who claimed to oppose Sun Wukong and began fighting him, while Wukong’s party noticed two suns ahead and continued onward.

• The Jade Emperor punished Ao Tu for failing to discipline Alu and sentenced the Water Virtue Star Lord to two thousand hammer blows and demotion to Water Lord of Fengxian County, while ordering Heavenly King Li to arrest Alu.
• Ao Tu descended ahead of Tang Sanzang’s party and received a mission to keep the Pilgrim within the area, with rewards based on how long he obstructed them.
• A monkey who said he had a grudge against Sun Wukong proposed joining forces with Ao Tu, but they fought over who would lead.
• Ao Tu wielded the Fusang to repel the monkey’s attacks and then rose into the air, shining like a second sun.
• Wukong spotted two suns in the distance, but Tang Sanzang suggested the light came from river mist, and the party continued along the road.

Ao Tu defeated Six-Eared Macaque, healed him with a Nine-Turn Golden Elixir, and agreed to help him take Sun Wukong’s place. They set out toward a nearby household, and Ao Tu gave Six-Eared Macaque a set of armor.

• Ao Tu overwhelmed Six-Eared Macaque in a fight, forcing him to submit and call Ao Tu Your Majesty.
• Ao Tu gave Six-Eared Macaque a Golden Elixir, which he ate to heal his injuries.
• Six-Eared Macaque told Ao Tu that he wanted to replace Sun Wukong because he had been rejected and isolated while Wukong had friends and good fortune.
• Ao Tu offered to help Six-Eared Macaque take Wukong’s place and asked him to listen for a nearby home.
• Six-Eared Macaque led Ao Tu toward the household, and Ao Tu gave him a set of armor.

Ao Tu and Six-Eared Macaque encountered a band of robbers in the woods, defeated them, and took their hidden treasure. Ao Tu then offered to lead the bandits, but one challenged his right to replace their dead chief.

• Ao Tu and Six-Eared Macaque walked into the woods, where Thunderbolt Saber and his bandits demanded their money and clothes.
• Ao Tu revealed that he claimed to be a thief like the bandits and demanded half their loot, but Thunderbolt Saber attacked him.
• Ao Tu shattered Thunderbolt Saber’s saber, while Six-Eared Macaque killed the horse-faced bandit; Ao Tu killed Thunderbolt Saber and bound the fleeing bandits.
• The bandits showed Ao Tu their hidden silver, gold, and jewels, which he took.
• Ao Tu offered to lead the bandits in their business, and one of the dead chief’s close followers questioned why they should follow him.

Ao Tu took control of the bandits and stayed at Yang Meng’s home, where he saw how Yang Meng abused his family and taught his son to rob. The next day, Ao Tu proposed opening an inn to lure travelers and rob them, and Yang Meng enthusiastically embraced the plan.

• Ao Tu killed a bandit who challenged him, and the rest accepted him as their king.
• Yang Meng brought Ao Tu and the bandits to his home and mistreated his parents and wife while demanding food and wine.
• Ao Tu changed clothes and had Six-Eared Macaque disguise himself as a yellow-faced man.
• Yang Meng berated his son for attending a teacher’s lessons and later forced his wife to go keep Ao Tu company, but Ao Tu sent her away.
• Ao Tu stopped Six-Eared Macaque from attacking Yang Meng and said he wanted to see whether Buddhist teachings could guide him toward goodness.
• Ao Tu proposed opening an inn to lure and rob travelers, and Yang Meng and the bandits approved.

Ao Tu turned Yang Meng's bandit gang into the operators of the Homecoming Inn and taught Yang Meng's son a way to travel fast. He told Yang Meng's wife that Tang Monk and Sun Wukong could help her and her child, then prepared the bandits for their arrival.

• Ao Tu made the bandits contribute money and labor to build the Homecoming Inn, then assigned Yang Meng's father, family, and selected bandits to run it.
• The inn earned a small profit from ordinary travelers while Ao Tu waited for a wealthy customer and had Yang Meng buy knockout powder.
• Ao Tu taught Yang Meng's son a method of traveling fast, pleasing the boy but prompting Yang Meng to imagine his son becoming a famous bandit.
• Yang Meng's wife asked Ao Tu to let her child earn an honest living and keep the inn from taking lives; Ao Tu said Tang Monk and Sun Wukong could help them.
• Six Ears told Ao Tu that Tang Monk and his disciples were approaching, and Ao Tu summoned the bandits to go do business.

Ao Tu sent bandits to rob Tang Sanzang’s party, but Wukong and his companions defeated them and injured Yang Meng. Ao Tu then planned a second ambush, using Yang Meng’s father to lure the monks back to the inn.

• Ao Tu used Six-Eared Macaque’s hearing to direct bandits toward wealthy monks traveling nearby.
• The bandits ambushed Tang Sanzang, took him for a penniless monk, and hung him from a tree while waiting for his disciple to ransom him.
• Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing arrived, freed Tang Sanzang, and fought off the bandits; Wukong injured Yang Meng as the bandits fled.
• The bandits told Ao Tu that the monks were formidable, and Six-Eared Macaque brought the injured Yang Meng back to the inn.
• Ao Tu ordered Yang Meng’s father to lure the monks to the inn, promising revenge and a larger share of the spoils.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples reached the Homecoming Inn, where Yang Meng's Father warned them that it was a thieves' den set up to ambush them. They entered despite the warning, and Wukong sensed two unusual beings inside as the thieves prepared to drug their food.

• Tang Sanzang and his disciples found an inn on the road, and Yang Meng's Father recognized them as the monks who had injured his son, Yang Meng.
• Yang Meng's Father warned the group that the inn was a murderous den and that the thieves planned to take revenge on them.
• Wukong insisted on confronting the thieves, and Tang Sanzang agreed after Wukong promised not to beat them.
• The group entered the Homecoming Inn, where Wukong noticed Ao Tu and the Yellow-Faced Attendant seemed extraordinary.
• An attendant offered the monks a free meal, then told the thieves they had arrived, and Yang Meng ordered knockout powder added to their food.