Chapter Summaries

Wukong gathered the Thunder Department’s six Heavenly Lords and Heavenly King Li to attack the demons at Yellow Flower Temple. Their divine thunder forced the Many-Eyed Monster and the Spider Demons into their true forms, but Ao Tu appeared and the lightning turned away from him.

• Wukong asked the Jade Emperor for help, and the Jade Emperor ordered the six Heavenly Lords of the Thunder Department to join the demon-subduing expedition.
• At Cloud Tower Palace, Xiao Zhenying offered Heavenly King Li the elixir pills Perfected Lord Taixi had given her, and Li took them to heal his wounds before joining Wukong and the Heavenly Lords.
• Wukong and the others descended to Yellow Flower Temple, where Nezha joined them and they challenged the Many-Eyed Monster and the Spider Demons.
• The Thunder Department’s lightning overwhelmed the demons, who reverted to seven spiders and a giant centipede.
• Heavenly King Li ordered the demons destroyed, but Ao Tu appeared, the lightning veered away, and the Spider Demons clung to him and begged him to uphold justice.

Ao Tu used the Northern Black Origin Water-Control Banner to capture Wukong, Nezha, Heavenly King Li, the Thunder Department gods, and Tang Sanzang’s group, then ordered them held and treated courteously. After explaining his friendship with Nezha, Ao Tu had Wukong brought to him when the monkey woke and demanded an explanation.

• Ao Tu revealed the Fifth-Grade Black Lotus and used the Northern Black Origin Water-Control Banner to sweep up Wukong, Nezha, Heavenly King Li, the Thunder Department gods, and Tang Sanzang’s companions.
• Ao Tu ordered the Daoists to confine the captives, told them to treat Heavenly King Li’s group courteously, and arranged for the unconscious Nezha to rest in a side hall.
• Ao Tu explained Nezha’s origins and told the spider demons to treat him with the same respect they showed Ao Tu because they shared a deep friendship.
• Ao Tu sent the spider demons away after reminding them to practice their cultivation methods and prepare to protect themselves for an approaching battle.
• The Many-Eyed Monster reported that Wukong had awakened and was demanding to see Ao Tu, and Ao Tu ordered him brought over without restraints.

Ao Tu settled his dispute with Sun Wukong by agreeing to teach Tang Sanzang Buddhist scriptures, and he prepared to face an approaching enemy with help from Nezha and the Thunder Department. As Ao Tu began teaching, he waited for the Buddhist Sect to make its move.

• Ao Tu confronted Sun Wukong about stealing his treasures, and Wukong admitted his wrongdoing before agreeing to Ao Tu's terms.
• Ao Tu released Tang Sanzang and his disciples, and Bajie gratefully accepted the Jewel as a gift.
• Ao Tu persuaded Nezha to lend him his treasures and join the formation, marking him with a black lotus and giving him an elixir.
• Ao Tu drank with Nezha until Nezha got drunk, then met with the six Heavenly Lords, who agreed to join the formation.
• Ao Tu praised the Little Spider Demon and began teaching Tang Sanzang scriptures while waiting for the Buddhist Sect to attack.

Ao Tu continued teaching Tang Sanzang while the others passed the year in Pansi Cave, and he refused to let the pilgrims leave until Tang Sanzang mastered the scriptures. He revealed that he intended to challenge Tathagata and gave Wukong a Nine-Revolution Poison Pill meant to poison him.

• Ao Tu preached to Tang Sanzang as the Spider Demons watched, while the others occupied themselves around the Daoist temple.
• As winter arrived, Ao Tu taught Nezha, Wukong, and Bajie to play Cuju.
• A year later, Wukong asked Ao Tu to let Tang Sanzang and the disciples continue west, but Ao Tu said Tang Sanzang needed another four or five years of study.
• Ao Tu revealed that he had captured the pilgrims to draw Tathagata into a contest over whose principles were right, and showed Wukong a boat that could escape the world's laws and restraints.
• Ao Tu offered Wukong the Nine-Revolution Poison Pill, which Wukong swallowed before Ao Tu explained that it was meant to poison Tathagata.

Wukong refused Ao Tu’s offer of a poison pill and agreed that Ao Tu should challenge Tathagata directly. After rescuing Heavenly King Li, Wukong went to Spirit Mountain to report, but Kasyapa barred him while Tathagata addressed the assembled Buddhist clergy; Tathagata eventually ordered Wukong admitted.

• Wukong refused to use Ao Tu’s poison pill, saying it would violate his principles and damage his reputation.
• Ao Tu told Wukong to rescue Heavenly King Li and report that Ao Tu intended to challenge the Buddhist Sect.
• Tathagata summoned the Buddhist clergy to discuss extending Buddhist teachings in the east, and Guanyin explained how she had inspired the people there.
• Wukong rescued Heavenly King Li, who returned to heaven to request troops, then traveled to Spirit Mountain to report to Tathagata.
• Kasyapa refused Wukong entry under Tathagata’s order, so Wukong waited outside while Tathagata preached.
• Tathagata asked Kasyapa about the disturbance outside and ordered him to summon Wukong.

Wukong told Tathagata Buddha that Demon Dragon Ao Tu had captured his master and challenged the Buddhist order, prompting Tathagata to send Wukong and Kasyapa to ask the Jade Emperor for help. At the Jade Emperor’s court, Heavenly King Li revealed that Ao Tu’s Black Lotus had bewitched the heavenly gods, and Taishang Laojun explained the treasure’s origins and power.

• Wukong reported Ao Tu’s challenge, and Tathagata Buddha warned the monks not to underestimate the Demon Dragon or the dangerous formation at Pansi Ridge.
• Tathagata Buddha ordered Kasyapa to accompany Wukong to the Heavenly Realm and ask the Jade Emperor to send troops.
• Wukong carried Kasyapa on his Somersault Cloud, then sped ahead and left him behind; Kasyapa eventually arrived at the South Heaven Gate and joined him in seeking an audience.
• Kasyapa told the Jade Emperor that Ao Tu had defeated the Buddhist forces and demanded Spirit Mountain, but the Jade Emperor said Heavenly King Li had already gone to subdue him.
• Heavenly King Li arrived badly injured and reported that Ao Tu’s Black Lotus had bewitched the gods, who turned on him.
• Taishang Laojun explained that the Black Lotus came from the Western Heaven and could suppress arts and sway minds.

Taishang Laojun explained the Black Lotus’s origins, and the Jade Emperor sent Heavenly King Li and Taibai Jinxing to defeat Ao Tu. After the Heavenly Court’s forces were overcome and withdrew, Kasyapa reported the defeat to Tathagata, who ordered Spirit Mountain’s treasures and furnishings packed up.

• The Jade Emperor ordered Heavenly King Li and Taibai Jinxing to lead the gods against Ao Tu at Yellow Flower Temple.
• Ao Tu claimed Spirit Mountain for his new Buddhist branch, while Wukong laughed at his argument about age and authority.
• Ao Tu’s Black Lotus marked the gods and turned them against their own side, and Nezha drove Heavenly King Li from the battlefield.
• Taibai Jinxing stopped Nezha, ordered the unmarked gods to withdraw, and dragged Heavenly King Li away as Ao Tu let the retreating forces escape.
• Taibai Jinxing advised Kasyapa to report the matter to Tathagata instead of asking the Jade Emperor for more troops.
• After Kasyapa reported the defeat at Great Thunderclap Temple, Tathagata ordered the monks and gods to pack up Spirit Mountain’s treasures and furnishings.

Tathagata Buddha told the monks that Spirit Mountain would move temporarily to China to spread the Dharma, bringing the Eight Treasures Merit Pool and Bodhi Tree. Mahakala Bodhisattva and other Western Heaven gods opposed the plan, and Elephant-Head Bodhisattva ended the chapter by bluntly suggesting Tathagata Buddha feared Demon Dragon Ao Tu.

• Tathagata Buddha ordered the monks to move Spirit Mountain’s possessions, but most monks refused to act and Mahakala Bodhisattva burned an Asura who began packing.
• Mahakala Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva clashed, and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva challenged Tathagata Buddha’s plan to relocate Western Heaven’s treasures.
• Tathagata Buddha explained that he meant to spread the Dharma in China, and Guanyin Bodhisattva proposed Jiangning Kaishan Temple for the Eight Treasures Merit Pool and the Southern Sea for the Bodhi Tree.
• Mahakala Bodhisattva denounced Tathagata Buddha and vowed to slay Demon Dragon Ao Tu, while many monks rose in support of him.
• Tathagata Buddha stopped Kasyapa from confronting the dissenters and questioned Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, who challenged his unilateral decision.
• Elephant-Head Bodhisattva bluntly agreed that Tathagata Buddha was moving east because he feared Demon Dragon Ao Tu.

Tathagata Buddha sent Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva to seek the Jade Emperor’s aid against the Demon Dragon, while warning the monks not to fight recklessly. The Heavenly gods attacked Ao Tu at Yellow Flower Temple, but his Black Lotus turned them against one another.

• Tathagata Buddha calmed Kasyapa, explained that he wanted to avoid deaths on either side, and wrote a letter asking the Jade Emperor to investigate the Demon Dragon’s formation.
• Mahakala Bodhisattva and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva delivered the letter to the Jade Emperor, who summoned Taibai Jinxing and Heavenly King Li and ordered the Five Dipper Star Lords and Thunder Department to descend.
• The gods surrounded Yellow Flower Temple and attacked Ao Tu with wind, lightning, and thunder, but the Black Lotus blocked their assaults.
• Mahakala Bodhisattva pierced the Black Lotus’s radiance and fought Ao Tu, who caught his arrow, dragged him back from beyond the long river, and tore apart Vasuki Dragon God.
• Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva wounded Ao Tu’s arm, prompting the Thunder Department’s Celestial Worthy to order a joint attack; Ao Tu withdrew, then sat upon the Black Lotus and chanted the True Scriptures, turning the gods against one another.

Ao Tu assembled the Great Formation of Stars of the Celestial Cycle, drawing the Heavenly Court’s gods and Blood Sea King’s demons into his ranks while Bodhisattva Mahakala and Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta retreated to Spirit Mountain. The chapter left Mahakala proposing that Buddhism gather its forces and attack the Demon Dragon with a trillion Buddhist Soldiers.

• Ao Tu summoned the stars and Heavenly Court gods into the Great Formation of Stars of the Celestial Cycle, which absorbed the Thunder Ancestor’s thirty-six bolts of Nine-Heavens Divine Thunder.
• Bodhisattva Mahakala tested whether the gods were controlled by Ao Tu, but the gods insulted him back, and the Thunder Ancestor refused to let him judge the Heavenly Realm’s deities.
• Ao Tu cast the Demon-Gathering Banner onto Pansi Ridge, and Blood Sea King led the demons and thirty thousand lesser demons to join the formation.
• Ao Tu used the completed formation to perceive that he could temporarily sever the Buddhist path sustaining Mahakala and Mahasthamaprapta’s Great Luo cultivation.
• Mahakala and Mahasthamaprapta withdrew to Spirit Mountain, where Mahakala argued that they should rally Buddhism’s forces and return with a trillion Buddhist Soldiers.

Mahakala Bodhisattva and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva returned to Thunderclap Monastery after failing to subdue the Demon Dragon, and Mahakala blamed Tathagata Buddha for their defeat. Tathagata urged the monks to follow the Heavenly Dao and move Buddhism east, but Mahakala rallied many of them against the migration and called for the Demon Dragon’s destruction.

• Elephant-Head Bodhisattva welcomed Mahakala Bodhisattva and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva as victors, then offered to lead the monks against the Demon Dragon after Mahakala claimed they had only withdrawn because of the demons’ formation.
• Tathagata Buddha asked about their mission, and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva admitted they had failed to subdue the Demon Dragon.
• Mahakala Bodhisattva blamed Tathagata for their defeat and rejected his warning to follow the Heavenly Dao by relocating Buddhism east.
• Tathagata Buddha explained that the eastern migration would preserve the monks from calamity, but Mahakala Bodhisattva and Elephant-Head Bodhisattva opposed the plan.
• After Randeng Ancient Buddha gave no clear support, Mahakala Bodhisattva called on the monks to oppose the eastern migration and exterminate the Demon Dragon, and many answered him.

Mahakala Bodhisattva led a vast Buddhist host to attack Ao Tu at Pansi Ridge, while Ao Tu received demon allies and intelligence about the monks. The chapter left the three hundred thousand monk soldiers marching toward Pansi Ridge as Tathagata Buddha mourned their refusal to heed his warnings.

• Mahakala Bodhisattva rallied Bodhisattvas, Arhats, Heavenly Deities Guardians, and hundreds of thousands of Buddhist Soldiers to attack the Demon Dragon, and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva joined them after his companions persuaded him.
• Ao Tu waited at Pansi Ridge as Buddhist preparations drew attention across the Three Realms and attracted demons to his side.
• Little Mirage Dragon arrived with Feiniu Demon and Nine-Headed Ying, while Nine-Headed Bug brought Ao Tu a Jade Register detailing the attackers and their loyalties.
• Ao Tu welcomed Nine-Headed Bug into his formation and assigned Little Mirage Dragon a safer role after his brother insisted on joining the fight.
• Mahakala Bodhisattva led three hundred thousand monk soldiers down from Spirit Mountain toward Pansi Ridge, and Tathagata Buddha lamented that they had ignored his warnings.

Mahakala Bodhisattva’s army entered the Great Formation of Stars of the Celestial Cycle and suffered devastating losses as the star gods wielded the Heavenly Dao against them. The surviving monks were left under the protection of three Arhats, who surrendered to save them.

• Mahakala Bodhisattva accused Wukong of colluding with Ao Tu, but Ao Tu pulled Wukong toward Pansi Ridge as Li Chang Geng severed Elephant-Head Bodhisattva’s trunk.
• Elephant-Head Bodhisattva led the Buddhist forces into the formation, where the absence of earth caused many monks to lose their bodies and magical power.
• Bi Yue Wu, Wei Tuzhi, and Mao Riji killed Elephant-Head Bodhisattva, while Fire Virtue Star Lord and the water gods helped defeat the Fire and Water Heavenly Deities Guardians.
• The star gods used the formation to strip Varaha Bodhisattva and Kama Bodhisattva of their power, and Li Chang Geng killed them as their allies divided the spoils.
• Thousands of monks refused to surrender and were crushed by the formation, while Axe-Wielding Arhat, Snow Mountain Arhat, and Mountain Forest Arhat surrendered to protect the survivors.

Mahakala Bodhisattva led the Buddhist forces into Ao Tu’s Great Formation of Stars of the Celestial Cycle, where its shifting stars and sun-and-moon powers devastated their ranks. The surviving Great Luo Bodhisattvas became trapped and had their Paths severed, until Immeasurable Light Bodhisattva sacrificed himself to reveal a way through the formation.

• After the spiritual ranks of three Bodhisattvas and two Heavenly Deities fell, Mahakala Bodhisattva persuaded the monks to enter the formation together and attack its yang region.
• The formation scattered the Buddhist forces across the heavens, drained their vitality, and killed or forced the surrender of many monks and Bodhisattvas as Ao Tu coordinated the gods and demons against them.
• Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva refused Mahakala Bodhisattva’s plea to abandon their followers, while the six Great Luo Bodhisattvas continued toward the Sun Star and Moon Star.
• Ao Tu shifted the Hetu Luoshu and severed the six Great Luo Bodhisattvas’ Paths, trapping them in a distorted span of time while their companions’ strength ran out.
• Immeasurable Light Bodhisattva entered nirvana as a radiant Sarira, illuminating the formation’s transformations and enabling the Bodhisattvas to escape their confinement.

Mahakala Bodhisattva and Krishna Bodhisattva were killed in the Great Formation of Stars of the Celestial Cycle, while Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Akashagarbha Bodhisattva, and Sarvanivaranavishkambhin Bodhisattva surrendered to Sun Star Lord and Taiyin Star Lord. Their surrender enraged the monks they had sheltered, and Guardian Indra left their protection and was killed by the Heavenly Lords of the Thunder Department.

• Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva sheltered the exhausted beings in a Pure Land while Mahakala Bodhisattva, Krishna Bodhisattva, and the other bodhisattvas attacked the Sun Star and Moon Star.
• Taiyin Star Lord broke Krishna Bodhisattva’s divine wheel and serpent, then used the Great Flood to grievously wound Mahakala Bodhisattva.
• Taiyin Star Lord froze Mahakala Bodhisattva with a Moon-Cassia Treasure Arrow, and Taibai Star shattered him; Krishna Bodhisattva pursued Taibai Star but was immobilized and trampled by Star Lord of Awe-Inspiring Spirit and Deliverance.
• Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, Akashagarbha Bodhisattva, and Sarvanivaranavishkambhin Bodhisattva surrendered when Taiyin Star Lord joined the fight against them.
• The sheltered monks cursed Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, and Guardian Indra left his protection before the Heavenly Lords of the Thunder Department struck him down.

After Ao Tu’s forces defeated the Western Heaven, the victors celebrated while the captured monks were imprisoned. At Spirit Mountain, Tathagata Buddha agreed to rescue Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva and the other captives by sending Guanyin Bodhisattva with a treasured kasaya to ransom them.

• The Sun Heavenly Deity Guardian, Moon Heavenly Deity Guardian, several goddesses and Bodhisattvas, and Rama Arhat died in battle, while Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva and other survivors surrendered.
• Ao Tu held victory banquets, housed the surrendered Bodhisattvas and Arhats under guard at Yellow Flower Temple, and imprisoned tens of thousands of monks in Pansi Ridge.
• Wukong joked with Bull Demon King and Nezha as they showed off the treasures they had won.
• At Spirit Mountain, Tathagata Buddha mourned the fallen, and three Ancient Buddhas begged him to save the captured Bodhisattvas.
• Tathagata Buddha had Kasyapa retrieve a treasured kasaya, then ordered Guanyin Bodhisattva to take it and ransom Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva and the others.

Tathagata Buddha gave up the Kasaya to save the monks, but three Ancient Buddhas defied him and attacked Ao Tu’s formation. Ao Tu defeated them, killing Vipassī Buddha and capturing Śikhin Buddha and Viśvabhū Buddha, then sent the wounded Sun Star Lord back toward the Heavenly Realm with Vipassī Buddha’s corpse.

• Tathagata Buddha explained that he would surrender the Kasaya to prevent disaster, but Vipassī Buddha, Śikhin Buddha, and Viśvabhū Buddha rejected his counsel and accepted Randeng Ancient Buddha’s three Ancient Buddha Jewels.
• After nearly another year on Pansi Ridge, Wukong asked Ao Tu when Tang Sanzang and his disciples could resume their journey, and Ao Tu told him the three Ancient Buddhas had arrived.
• Vipassī Buddha, Śikhin Buddha, and Viśvabhū Buddha entered Ao Tu’s formation and used their Jewels to badly wound the Sun Star Lord.
• Ao Tu collected the Jewels with the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity, shot Vipassī Buddha with the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow, and captured Śikhin Buddha and Viśvabhū Buddha.
• Ao Tu healed the Sun Star Lord with Sixth-Turn Golden Elixirs and asked him to take Vipassī Buddha’s corpse to the Heavenly Realm to learn the various parties’ attitudes.

Wukong escorted Sun Star Lord and Vipassī Buddha’s corpse back to the Heavenly Realm, where Randeng Ancient Buddha mourned Vipassī and learned that the Demon Dragon held the three sacred jewels and two captured Buddhas. Randeng entered Ao Tu’s formation to rescue them, but after Ao Tu struck him down, he argued that he had no quarrel with the Demon Dragon and wanted no part in a fight over Spirit Mountain.

• Wukong told Heavenly King Li and Nine Heavens Responding Origin Thunderclap Puhua Tianzun that he had rescued Sun Star Lord and recovered Vipassī Buddha’s corpse, and they escorted the body to the Heavenly Realm.
• Tathagata Buddha told his assembly that Vipassī Buddha had died and Śikhin Buddha and Viśvabhū Buddha had been captured, while Randeng Ancient Buddha went to the Heavenly Realm to pay his respects.
• Randeng Ancient Buddha mourned Vipassī Buddha, thanked Sun Star Lord for recovering the corpse, and learned that the Demon Dragon had taken the three Ancient Buddha Jewels.
• Tathagata Buddha urged Randeng Ancient Buddha to use his jewels to ransom the captives, but Randeng refused and went with his monks to Yellow Flower Temple to enter the formation.
• Randeng Ancient Buddha fought Ao Tu and the formation’s celestial forces, then seized three Ancient Buddha Jewels from the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity.
• Ao Tu struck Randeng Ancient Buddha down with the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, but Randeng pleaded that he had no enmity with Ao Tu and was not responsible for Tathagata Buddha’s rule over Spirit Mountain.

Ao Tu and Randeng Ancient Buddha made peace after fighting in the formation, and Randeng vowed to settle in the Eastern Land and support Ao Tu’s future claim to Spirit Mountain. Back at Spirit Mountain, Randeng exaggerated the battle’s dangers to frighten the monks into accepting the Buddhist Eastern Migration, leaving Tathagata Buddha with little open opposition.

• Ao Tu asked Randeng Ancient Buddha where he would go if Ao Tu took the seat on Spirit Mountain, and Randeng vowed to settle in the Eastern Land without competing with him.
• Randeng offered Ao Tu his western believers, and the two discussed Tang Sanzang’s debate, the Three Pure Ones, and the Buddhist path’s destined Eastern Migration.
• Ao Tu escorted Randeng out of the formation, having removed him from the ranks of his enemies despite losing three Ancient Dragon Jewels.
• On the way back to Spirit Mountain, Randeng pretended to be gravely injured and claimed the Demon Dragon’s formation had killed or wounded nearly all his monks.
• Randeng repeated his alarming account to the monks and Tathagata Buddha, after which almost no one dared oppose the Eastern Migration.

Amitabha Buddha arrived at Yellow Flower Temple and battled Ao Tu within the Great Formation of Stars of the Celestial Cycle, breaking his supernatural abilities through changes to Buddhist teachings. Ao Tu’s forces retreated after Śikhin Buddha and Viśvabhū Buddha escaped the gourds, but both Buddhas perished during the fighting.

• Amitabha Buddha led the monks into Yellow Flower Temple and confronted Ao Tu, who accused him of disguising himself as a Daoist and harming him.
• Ao Tu trapped Amitabha Buddha in the formation and created realms of disbelief and unchecked Buddhist prosperity, but Amitabha Buddha revised the scriptures and precepts until both realms collapsed.
• Ao Tu attacked Amitabha Buddha with the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity and the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, freeing Śikhin Buddha and Viśvabhū Buddha from the Golden Bushel.
• Śikhin Buddha and Viśvabhū Buddha rampaged through the demons, while Nezha used the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow and Ao Tu’s Ziwei Dragon Qi to kill Viśvabhū Buddha.
• Ao Tu ordered Blood Sea King to lead the demons away, then escaped aboard the Small Boat as Śikhin Buddha tried to stop him and was crushed beneath it.