Chapter Summaries

Wukong and his companions fought Six-Eared Macaque, the Bull Demon King, and Red Boy at Flaming Mountain, but were overwhelmed and captured or scattered. Wukong escaped alone, and the Flaming Mountain Local God urged him to seek heavenly reinforcements to save Tang Sanzang, Bajie, and Sha Wujing.

• Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing attacked Six-Eared Macaque near Accumulated Thunder Mountain, while the Flaming Mountain Local God’s ghost soldiers joined the fight.
• The Bull Demon King came out of Cloud-Rubbing Cave and fought Wukong, refusing to help him cross Flaming Mountain despite their former sworn brotherhood.
• Red Boy arrived and accused Wukong and Bajie of injuring the Jade-Faced Fox, then joined the battle with his Fire-Tipped Spear.
• Red Boy burned the ghost soldiers, Wukong escaped on his Somersault Cloud, Bajie surrendered, and the Bull Demon King’s side captured Bajie and Sha Wujing.
• The Flaming Mountain Local God escaped underground, found Wukong alone, and urged him to summon heavenly troops before Tang Sanzang and the others were harmed.

Tang Sanzang planted Bodhi Trees across Flaming Mountain while Blood Sea King watched events unfold and sent Tiger Vanguard to guard Cloud-Rubbing Cave. On Green Cloud Mountain, Bull Demon King threatened to kill Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing unless Sun Wukong withdrew the assembled heavenly forces.

• Tang Sanzang planted trees for forty li, rested beneath them, and continued onward while White Dragon Horse fetched water.
• Blood Sea King learned that Sun Wukong had gathered many immortals on Green Cloud Mountain and ordered Tiger Vanguard to watch Cloud-Rubbing Cave.
• Bull Demon King accused Sun Wukong of betraying him and threatened to kill Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing before fighting Wukong.
• Sha Wujing defied Bull Demon King, but Zhu Bajie pinned him down and pleaded for both their lives by claiming they still honored their old bonds.
• Bull Demon King offered to spare Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing if Sun Wukong withdrew, and Zhu Bajie called to Wukong for help.

Wukong tried to keep the heavenly forces from blaming him for the battle, while the Bull Demon King insisted that he would never surrender his Treasure Fan. The battle erupted across Green Cloud Mountain, and it ended with Erlang Shen facing both the Bull Demon King and Six-Eared Macaque as Nezha urged Heavenly King Li to intervene.

• Wukong negotiated with the Bull Demon King, who agreed to leave their personal grievances aside but forbade Wukong from joining the battle and threatened Bajie and Sha Wujing if he broke that promise.
• Heavenly King Li, Nezha, Erlang Shen, and the other heavenly forces attacked the Bull Demon King and his demonic army while Wukong stayed aside.
• The Bull Demon King transformed into a gigantic white bull, trampled the flower fox marten, knocked Heavenly King Duowen away, and kicked Heavenly King Zengzhang down.
• Erlang Shen grew to enormous size and fought the Bull Demon King, cutting off one horn and severing his head, but the Bull Demon King grew a new head and continued fighting.
• Six-Eared Macaque arrived from Accumulated Thunder Mountain, took Erlang Shen's giant form, and sent Heavenly Kings Guangmu and Chiguo flying before challenging Erlang Shen.
• Nezha urged Heavenly King Li to use the Demon-Revealing Mirror and help Erlang Shen fight the Bull Demon King and Six-Eared Macaque.

Erlang and the Heavenly forces fought the Bull Demon King and Six-Eared Macaque, but a Scorpion Demon’s sting forced Erlang to retreat and the gods were routed. Wukong stopped the Flaming Mountain Local God from attacking Banana Cave, then learned Erlang’s poison had not eased by the next day.

• Erlang and Six-Eared Macaque battled while the Bull Demon King fought Erlang, and Heavenly King Li sent Nezha to capture the Bull Demon King.
• Nezha fought Red Boy, but a Scorpion Demon stung Erlang, forcing him to flee as an eagle and leaving the Heavenly forces to collapse.
• The Flaming Mountain Local God tried to persuade Wukong to attack Banana Cave, but Wukong refused and brought him back to the gods’ camp.
• Wukong told the wounded Erlang that the Scorpion Demon’s Horse-Felling Poison Stinger had stung him before and that he expected Erlang to recover after a night.
• The next day, Erlang remained weak and in pain, and Wukong and the gods wondered why the poison had not eased.

Erlang remained gravely ill from the Scorpion Demon's venom while Heavenly King Li sought reinforcements and a way to defeat the demons. The Heavenly Court's army arrived at Green Cloud Mountain, where the Bull Demon King prepared to face them and told Red Boy and Princess Iron Fan to flee if he fell.

• Erlang's pain continued for more than ten days, and he discouraged Heavenly King Li from asking the Jade Emperor for special help.
• The Flaming Mountain Local God bribed a guard to gain an audience and proposed capturing the Jade-Faced Fox Demon at Cloud-Rubbing Cave to pressure the Bull Demon King.
• Heavenly King Li agreed to send the Giant Spirit God with the local god to capture the Jade-Faced Fox Demon once the Six-Eared Demon Monkey joined the battle.
• After more than twenty days, reinforcements from the Thunder, Fire, Water, and Dipper Departments arrived at Green Cloud Mountain.
• The Bull Demon King told Red Boy to take Princess Iron Fan and escape to the Blood Sea King if he could not hold off the gods, but Princess Iron Fan insisted on staying with him.
• The Bull Demon King embraced Princess Iron Fan, then took his iron cudgel and left the cave.

The Bull Demon King and his allies fought the Heavenly Court and Buddhist forces, but the White Tiger star formation pinned down the battlefield. Red Boy fled with Nezha in pursuit, while another contingent headed for Cloud-Brushing Cave to capture the Jade-Faced Fox.

• The Bull Demon King transformed into a white bull, but Nezha bound and burned him until the Scorpion Demon arrived with five thousand demon soldiers.
• Western Heaven’s Vajras confronted the Scorpion Demon, while Buddhist monks attacked the Bull Demon King and Red Boy spewed Samadhi True Fire before Heavenly King Li trapped him in his Pagoda.
• Six-Eared Macaque arrived, kicked away Heavenly King Li’s Pagoda, and helped the Bull Demon King resist the White Tiger formation formed by the seven western lodges.
• The formation’s paw crushed the Vajras’ Dharma Body and pinned the Scorpion Demon, Buddhist forces, and demon commanders, allowing Heavenly King Li to order the demons’ capture.
• The Bull Demon King and Six-Eared Macaque swept away captors with their tails as the gods bound other demons, while Red Boy fled with Nezha pursuing him.
• The Giant Spirit God and the Earth God of Flaming Mountain led another troop contingent toward Cloud-Brushing Cave on Thunder Mountain.

Giant Spirit God and the Flaming Mountain Local God attacked Cloud-Rubbing Cave, but the Blood Sea King intervened, rescued the Jade-Faced Fox and her daughter, and brought them to Green Cloud Mountain. Red Boy arrived asking him to save his father, and the Blood Sea King prepared to confront the enemy formation with the Soul-Scattering Gourd.

• The Flaming Mountain Local God led Giant Spirit God and the Heavenly Soldiers to Cloud-Rubbing Cave, where Giant Spirit God broke through the front entrance and defeated the guarding demons.
• The Blood Sea King appeared behind Giant Spirit God, frightened him into collapsing, and carried the little fox deeper into the cave.
• Tiger Vanguard blocked the rear entrance, routed the Flaming Mountain Local God and his Yin Soldiers, and drove the Jade-Faced Fox back into the cave.
• The Blood Sea King persuaded the Jade-Faced Fox and her daughter to seek shelter at Green Cloud Mountain, promising to mediate between the Jade-Faced Fox and Princess Iron Fan.
• Red Boy arrived and begged the Blood Sea King to save his father, so the Blood Sea King carried everyone to Green Cloud Mountain and advanced toward the ancient star formation with the Soul-Scattering Gourd.

The Blood Sea King helped the Bull Demon King’s forces defeat the gods, then offered to shelter the demons if the Bull Demon King accepted amnesty. Wukong secretly listened to their gathering in Plantain Cave until he lost control of his transformation.

• The Blood Sea King arrived at the battlefield, causing the Dipper Department’s formation to collapse and allowing the Bull Demon King and his allies to counterattack.
• Heavenly King Li ordered Wukong to seek Tathagata Buddha’s instructions, but Wukong said he wanted to investigate the Blood Sea King’s arrival first.
• Giant Spirit God and the Earth God lied to Wukong about their failed plan and claimed they had only encountered the Blood Sea King while intercepting demons.
• Wukong turned into a fly and secretly followed an ox demon into Plantain Cave, where he watched the demon kings drink together.
• The Bull Demon King feared that Heaven would eventually defeat them, and the Blood Sea King promised to shelter his demons with his forty-eight thousand lives.
• Wukong lost his grip on his transformation while listening at the doorframe.

Wukong fled the demons’ attack on the Heavenly King’s camp, then sought Tathagata Buddha’s help after the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea advised him to focus on protecting Tang Monk. Tathagata sent Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and the Eighteen Arhats to aid the gods, who returned to Green Cloud Mountain.

• Wukong’s disguise was exposed, and the Bull Demon King, Scorpion Demon, Six-Eared Macaque, and Blood Sea King chased him to the gods’ camp and destroyed its tents.
• Erlang Shen fought the Scorpion Demon long enough to escape, while Nezha returned after failing to catch Red Boy and helped Heavenly King Li gather the scattered gods.
• After the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea counseled him, Wukong went to Spirit Mountain and asked Tathagata Buddha for help rescuing Tang Monk and his companions.
• Tathagata Buddha told Wukong that the Bull Demon King had abandoned evil and was destined to become a guardian of Western Heaven, then summoned Guanyin Bodhisattva and Manjushri Bodhisattva.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, and the Eighteen Arhats joined the gods, who returned to Green Cloud Mountain and beat their divine drums.

Guanyin Bodhisattva and the assembled Buddhist forces tried to make Bull Demon King take refuge in Buddhism, but Blood Sea King attacked with his Soul-Scattering Gourd and fought off several opponents. After Blood Sea King revealed his ancestral shaman form, he sent Azure Lion into the Netherworld, where Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva warned that the demon’s power had nearly caused Azure Lion to be reincarnated.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva and the Eighteen Arhats confronted Bull Demon King and urged him to take refuge in Buddhism, but Blood Sea King attacked them with red sand from his gourd.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva fought Blood Sea King with Tathagata Buddha’s alms bowl while Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Arhats attacked him from both sides.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva sent Azure Lion to subdue Blood Sea King, but Azure Lion’s bite failed to hurt him.
• Blood Sea King transformed into his ancestral shaman form and struck Azure Lion with his tail, sending him to Green Cloud Palace in the Netherworld.
• Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva told Azure Lion that he had nearly fallen into the Six Paths of Reincarnation and directed him to seek help from the Asuras.

The Blood Sea King battled Guanyin Bodhisattva and Manjushri Bodhisattva, surviving their treasures and turning the fight against them before descending to the battlefield. There, Red Boy and Nezha attacked each other's fathers in retaliation, leaving the Bull Demon King burning and Heavenly King Li badly wounded.

• The Blood Sea King fought Guanyin Bodhisattva beneath Tathagata's Alms Bowl, overcame the Arhats, and endured repeated strikes from Guanyin Bodhisattva and Manjushri Bodhisattva.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva struck the Blood Sea King's head with the Ancient Buddha Jewel, but found no soul in his Niwan Palace; he tricked her about its location and shattered her Precious Lotus Throne.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva and Manjushri Bodhisattva withdrew to the battlefield, where the Blood Sea King ordered Red Boy to attack Heavenly King Li.
• Nezha retaliated by slashing the Bull Demon King, prompting Red Boy to wound Heavenly King Li with his Fire-Tipped Spear.
• Nezha set the Bull Demon King ablaze with his Wind-Fire Wheels as Red Boy continued attacking Heavenly King Li.

Nezha, Red Boy, and the demons routed the heavenly forces, forcing Guanyin and Manjushri to retreat and leaving Heavenly King Li badly wounded. As Nezha stayed to care for his father, his offer to lance Li’s painful blisters left Li alarmed.

• Nezha and Red Boy fought for their fathers, and Red Boy’s Samadhi True Fire drove Heavenly King Li to flee while Nezha turned back to help him.
• The gods fled, allowing the Bull Demon King and the other demons to break free and join the Blood Sea King against Guanyin and Manjushri.
• Guanyin struck the pursuing Blood Sea King with Tathagata’s Alms Bowl and escaped, then the victorious demons celebrated and jokingly named one another Bodhisattvas and Buddhas.
• Heavenly King Li returned with spear wounds and burns, and Nezha grieved over him; Guanyin gave Nezha a pill that eased Li’s burns but caused painful blisters to rise.
• Nezha stayed beside his father and offered to lance the blisters with his Demon-Slaying Sword, but Heavenly King Li hurriedly refused.

Heavenly King Li summoned Jin Zha, Mucha, and Buddhist reinforcements to renew the attack on Green Cloud Mountain, but the Blood Sea King broke free of his restraints and routed the gods. The demons returned to their cave battered and grieving, where the Scorpion Demon proposed inviting his Great King to help them.

• Heavenly King Li asked Guanyin Bodhisattva to summon Mucha and Wukong to bring Jin Zha and the Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons from Spirit Mountain.
• The gods attacked Green Cloud Mountain, and the Bull Demon King and the other demon leaders were captured while the Blood Sea King fought Manjushri Bodhisattva and Guanyin Bodhisattva.
• Heavenly King Li pinned the Blood Sea King with the Demon-Revealing Mirror and Pagoda, but the Blood Sea King sacrificed an arm and a leg to break free and strike down Mucha and Jin Zha.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Erlang, and the other gods fled, while the Blood Sea King pursued and severely wounded Heavenly King Li.
• The Blood Sea King freed the captured demons and returned with them to their cave, where Red Boy wept over his injuries and the Bull Demon King considered surrendering.
• The Scorpion Demon suggested inviting his Great King to help fight the gods and Buddhas.

Ao Tu learned that Bull Demon King was under attack by the gods and went to Green Cloud Mountain to help, after Red Boy asked for his aid. He promised to face Guanyin and Manjushri without a formation, while the scorpion spirit woke in a daze the next morning after visiting his room.

• Heavenly King Li's sons dismissed the report that Red Boy had fled Green Cloud Mountain and ordered Giant Spirit God to watch Bull Demon King.
• Ao Tu considered ways to overcome the balance among his three bloodlines, then accompanied the Queen to admire the rare snowfall outside the city.
• Ao Tu caught Red Boy, learned that Bull Demon King needed help against Guanyin and Manjushri, and agreed to go to Green Cloud Mountain.
• Ao Tu met Bull Demon King and the demons, restored the Blood Sea King's lost essence, and promised to face the two Bodhisattvas without a formation.
• The scorpion spirit entered Ao Tu's room that night and woke the next morning in a muddled daze.

Ao Tu joined the demons defending Green Cloud Mountain when the gods attacked again, while Tang Sanzang continued planting bodhi trees across Flaming Mountain. Ao Tu repelled Guanyin Bodhisattva’s attacks and seized her Jade-Cleansing Bottle, prompting her to call Manjushri Bodhisattva for help.

• Ao Tu visited Bajie and Sha Wujing in prison, promised to seek Bajie’s release, and left when divine drums announced the gods’ attack.
• Bajie and Sha Wujing realized Tang Sanzang was not imprisoned, while Tang Sanzang continued planting bodhi trees far across Flaming Mountain.
• Heavenly King Li led the gods in another assault after recovering from his injuries, and Guanyin Bodhisattva challenged the demons to surrender the Blood Sea King.
• Ao Tu offered to follow Guanyin Bodhisattva if she gave him the Jade-Cleansing Bottle, then blocked her attacks with five-colored divine light.
• Ao Tu swept up the Jade-Cleansing Bottle, and Guanyin Bodhisattva retreated and called on Manjushri Bodhisattva to help subdue him.

Ao Tu used the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity to hold off Tathagata Buddha’s Alms Bowl while attacking Guanyin Bodhisattva. He swept away her defenses and seized the Ancient Buddha Pearl again, leaving her in grave danger.

• Manjushri Bodhisattva attacked Ao Tu, but Ao Tu’s Five-Colored Divine Light repelled his Precious Sword and forced him to retreat beside Guanyin Bodhisattva.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva used the Golden Alms Bowl against Ao Tu, who raised the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity to resist it.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva departed for Cangwu, while the White Tiger Star Lodges descended and pinned down the fighters; Taibai Jinxing arrived with the Western Heaven Star Host on the Jade Emperor’s orders.
• Erlang fled underground, and Nezha, Jin Zha, and Mucha bound Heavenly King Li and carried him away as Ao Tu’s Golden Bushel overturned heaven and earth to contend with the Alms Bowl.
• Ao Tu advanced on Guanyin Bodhisattva while maintaining the stalemate, swept away her Precious Lotus Throne and Ancient Buddha Pearl, and left her in extreme peril.

Ao Tu defeated the Buddhist forces, captured Guanyin Bodhisattva, and questioned her about reaching the Great Luo realm. Guanyin sensed that Ao Tu had already undergone Attainment of the Dao and transcendence, leaving her astonished.

• Ao Tu captured Guanyin Bodhisattva, took the Buddha's Alms Bowl, and led the demons in hunting Buddhist forces as the Heavenly Court troops fled.
• Ao Tu's demons captured Tiger-Taming Arhat and Dragon-Subduing Arhat, then returned to the cave for a victory feast that cemented Ao Tu's growing fame.
• Ao Tu bound the unconscious Guanyin Bodhisattva, tried to refine the Buddha's Alms Bowl, and woke her with the heat from his divine fire.
• Ao Tu pressured Guanyin into teaching him by pointing out the plight of the captured Buddhist troops, then made her swear a Dao Oath before releasing her.
• Ao Tu asked Guanyin about attaining the Great Luo realm, and she sensed that he had already undergone Attainment of the Dao and transcendence.

Guanyin Bodhisattva discovered that Ao Tu had nearly attained transcendent Dao and was pursuing a path to become a primordial divine saint. She warned him that the path would provoke every great power to stop him, leaving Ao Tu to confront the grim odds.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva examined Ao Tu and found his body packed with primordial laws.
• Ao Tu admitted that he intended to reverse into a primordial divine saint by attaining the Dao in the later age.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva warned Ao Tu that the primordial divine saints were already fixed and that no one would tolerate him adding another.
• Ao Tu realized that all those with great supernatural powers and the Six Sages might try to erase him before he succeeded.
• Ao Tu imagined defeating the great powers with his axe, then dismissed the vision as absurd.

Guanyin Bodhisattva advised Ao Tu to reconsider his path and warned him not to obstruct the Heavenly Dao, while he continued trying to melt Tathagata Buddha's Alms Bowl. Sun Wukong sneaked into the demons' cave to rescue Tang Sanzang, but was discovered and hid among the Little Demons as the Bull Demon King prepared to identify him.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva urged Ao Tu to change his Path or seek guidance from a sage, and Ao Tu said he would think over her advice.
• Ao Tu and Guanyin Bodhisattva used Samadhi True Fire to fire Tathagata Buddha's Alms Bowl, but it remained undamaged through the night.
• Ao Tu decided not to take the Alms Bowl to the Jade Void Palace and planned to seek advice from powerful figures after the affair at Flaming Mountain.
• Sun Wukong turned into a fly and entered the cave to rescue Tang Sanzang and his disciples, then caused a commotion by opening the prison gate.
• Sun Wukong changed into a lesser demon and hid among the Little Demons, and the Bull Demon King agreed to inspect the demons and find him.

Sun Wukong was captured while disguised in the Bull Demon King's cave, then learned that the Bull Demon King and Blood Sea King both denied taking Tang Sanzang. After Wukong agreed to seek the gods' withdrawal in exchange for Guanyin's release, the Earth God of Flaming Mountain and a Buddhist Vajra urged him not to trust the demons.

• Ao Tu exposed Sun Wukong's disguise with a bluff about the Tight-Fillet Spell and bound him with the Dragon-Binding Rope.
• The Bull Demon King denied capturing Tang Sanzang, and Ao Tu released Wukong after explaining how he had spotted the disguise.
• Ao Tu mediated a reconciliation between Wukong and the Blood Sea King, who denied having Tang Sanzang; Wukong then took Bajie and Sha Wujing back to the gods' camp.
• Wukong told Heavenly King Li that Tang Sanzang was not in the Bull Demon King's hands and that the demons would release Guanyin if the gods withdrew.
• The Earth God of Flaming Mountain and a Buddhist Vajra warned Wukong that the demons were deceiving him and proposed seeking reinforcements from Spirit Mountain.