Chapter Summaries

Ao Tu’s Great Sun Demon King fought Amitabha Buddha, unleashed disasters on the Western Heaven, and died in an attempt to strike the Buddha’s Dao injury. After the battle, Taiyin Star Lord took the formation diagram and the transformed formation flag flew to the Heavenly Realm, while the monks received the Jade Emperor’s gifts.

• Amitabha Buddha subdued the stars of the formation, but the Great Sun Demon King unleashed three disasters across the past, present, and future, directing them toward places where Buddhist temples flourished.
• Amitabha Buddha trapped the Great Sun Demon King in five-colored lotuses, but the demon burned himself away and sent the Sun Flag through the Buddha’s merit to strike his Dao injury.
• Amitabha Buddha snapped the Sun Flag, breaking the formation and freeing Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta and the others; the formation diagram appeared between Pansi Ridge and Yellow Flower Temple.
• Taiyin Star Lord delivered the Jade Emperor’s decree and took the formation diagram, then joined his Moon Flag and the star officials’ banners into an incomplete formation flag.
• Heaven and earth imbued the flag with baleful qi and merit, transforming it into a merit numinous treasure that flew to the Heavenly Realm to seek its master.
• Taiyin Star Lord gave the Jade Emperor’s gifts to the monks, and Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta accepted them.

After the demon-subduing expedition, Amitabha Buddha explained why he could not oppose the Demon Dragon’s eastern migration, and Tathagata Buddha welcomed the returning monks and honored the dead. Tang Sanzang and his disciples left Pansi Ridge, while Ao Tu collected his rewards and prepared for the next side quest at Lion Camel Ridge.

• Amitabha Buddha told Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva that the Demon Dragon’s eastern migration could not be stopped because of personal ties, the risk of unforeseen consequences, and its alignment with Amitabha Buddha’s own Dao.
• Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva reported the expedition and his surrender to Tathagata Buddha, who praised him for saving the monks and arranged rites and a pagoda for the fallen Mahakala Bodhisattva and the others.
• Tathagata Buddha sent Kasyapa to announce the deaths to the kingdoms, while Tang Sanzang and his disciples struggled through Pansi Ridge’s spiritually awakened plants and beasts and emerged from the mountains.
• Ao Tu received rewards for 2,744 days of interception, including the Golden Light Formation and Six-Soul Banner, and carried 1,649 surplus days into the Lion Camel Ridge side quest.
• Ao Tu reflected that he had nearly held the travelers back for eight years and planned to capture Tathagata Buddha’s maternal uncle at Lion Camel Ridge.

Ao Tu used Pangu’s Heaven-Opening Eyes to uncover how the Twelfth-Grade World-Cleansing White Lotus had helped him slay his Good Corpse, and glimpsed a future New Religion tied to the Formation Flag. The effort temporarily impaired his eyesight, but after recovering he examined the rewards from his latest trials.

• Ao Tu examined the transformed Formation Flag of the Great Formation of Stars of the Celestial Cycle and used his eyes and supernatural powers to seek its connection to his future Path.
• Ao Tu used Pangu’s Heaven-Opening Eyes to discover that his Good Corpse had been nurtured in the Twelfth-Grade World-Cleansing White Lotus, helping his original body become a Primordial Divine Saint.
• Ao Tu saw his Good Corpse, Jingshi, borrow the Formation Flag as a Teaching Flag and glimpsed a future in which Ao Tu’s New Religion gathered worshippers beneath it.
• The strain of viewing the past and future left Ao Tu temporarily unable to see clearly, and Jiangzhu and Apricot Immortal cared for him as his eyesight slowly recovered.
• Ao Tu examined his rewards, including Turning Stone into Gold and the Taiqing Golden Elixir, and considered how the spell could help cultivate a following.

Ao Tu examined his rewards and planned to use the Twelve Divine Fiends Formation of the Twelve Capitals to obstruct Tang Sanzang’s journey at Lion Camel Ridge and force Tathagata Buddha to intervene. Before he could set out, Xiao Zhenying arrived seeking help after accidentally burning off her father’s beard.

• Ao Tu examined his rewards, freed the twelve dragon souls from the Ancient Buddha's Kasaya, and put away the treasures.
• Ao Tu planned to power the formation at Lion Camel Ridge by persuading the local demons to offer up their cultivation and flesh.
• Ao Tu plotted to use the Golden-Winged Great Peng to provoke Tathagata Buddha and prepare to attack him with the Six-Soul Banner and Pangu's True Form.
• Jiangzhu brought in Xiao Zhenying, who admitted she had burned off her father's beard while demonstrating the Samadhi True Fire and asked Ao Tu to speak on her behalf.

Ao Tu accepted Li Zhenying as his disciple with Heavenly King Li’s approval, then returned to the demon army and led it toward Lion Camel Ridge. He reassured the surviving demons that their fallen comrades were safe in the two gourds before the group set out.

• Ao Tu tested Xiao Zhenying’s Samadhi True Fire and offered to take her as his disciple, and Taibai Jinxing agreed to help persuade Heavenly King Li.
• The Jade Emperor returned the Celestial Cycle formation diagram to Ao Tu and appointed him Western Heaven Savior Celestial Worthy.
• Ao Tu and Taibai Jinxing visited Cloud Tower Palace, where Heavenly King Li readily agreed to Li Zhenying’s discipleship.
• Ao Tu returned to the lower realm and showed the demons that their fallen comrades lived in peaceful or baleful realms inside the two gourds.
• Ao Tu led the demons toward Lion Camel Ridge, joined by the seven Spider Demons and Many-Eyed Monster.

Ao Tu brought his demons to Lion Camel Ridge to delay Tang Sanzang’s party and earn the quest’s twelve-year reward, the Chaos Bell. He hid his forces as the pilgrims arrived, while Taibai Jinxing warned Wukong about the three demons ahead; the group then continued into the ridge.

• Ao Tu reviewed the quest rewards, chose to pursue the Chaos Bell, and led his demons into Lion Camel Ridge.
• Ao Tu met Taibai Jinxing, learned that Tang Sanzang and his disciples had arrived, then concealed his demons beneath the Sun-Moon Banner.
• Tang Sanzang’s party reached Lion Camel Ridge, and Tang Sanzang worried that another dangerous demon-filled mountain would delay their journey.
• Taibai Jinxing appeared in disguise to warn the pilgrims, but Wukong recognized him and asked about the demons and their treasures.
• Taibai Jinxing explained that three powerful demons ruled Lion Camel Cave with tens of thousands of lesser demons, and Wukong dismissed the danger before returning to his companions.

Wukong learned that Lion Camel Ridge held tens of thousands of demons and went to scout their cave, while Ao Tu followed him. Disguised as a huge tiger demon, Wukong tricked Little Drill Wind into revealing that Lion Camel Ridge feared Demon Dragon and his allies.

• Wukong reassured Tang Sanzang that he would subdue the demons at Lion Camel Ridge and left Bajie and Sha Wujing to protect him.
• Ao Tu ordered Tiger Vanguard to keep watch over Tang Sanzang and followed Wukong into the mountains.
• Wukong disguised himself as a fly, overheard Little Drill Wind's warning song, then transformed into a giant tiger demon and approached him.
• Wukong persuaded Little Drill Wind that he had come to join the Great King, and Little Drill Wind agreed to take him to the demon's lair.
• Little Drill Wind told Wukong that the three feared demons included Demon Dragon, whose sworn brothers might attack Lion Camel Ridge; Ao Tu memorized his words.

Wukong learned about the three demon kings at Lion Camel Ridge and used Demon Dragon’s name to frighten their followers into considering surrender. The demons dropped their weapons in fear as Wukong threatened them with an army of millions.

• Wukong questioned Little Drill Wind about the three demon kings, learning that Cloud-Riding Roc possessed a deadly Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle and that the First Great King claimed to have frightened a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers.
• Little Drill Wind led Wukong past ten thousand demons drilling outside Lion Camel Cave, and the demons asked where Wukong came from.
• Wukong claimed that Blood Sea Old Monster, the Golden Crow spirit, and Demon Dragon were his three Great Kings, then introduced himself as Tiger Vanguard sent to urge their surrender.
• Wukong threatened that millions of demon soldiers would flatten the mountain if the demons refused to surrender, and they dropped their weapons in terror.

Wukong, disguised as Tiger Vanguard, went to Lion Camel Cave to demand the three Great Kings surrender to Ao Tu’s forces. The kings debated their choices, then questioned Wukong, who stood before them without bowing and threatened them if they refused.

• Little Drill Wind reported Wukong’s demand to Green Lion, White Elephant, and Golden-Winged Great Peng.
• White Elephant urged surrender, while Golden-Winged Great Peng argued they should test the enemy; the three agreed to question the messenger first.
• Little Drill Wind brought Wukong into Lion Camel Cave, where he passed through its gates and saw the three fiends and their assembled demons.
• Golden-Winged Great Peng challenged Wukong for refusing to bow, and Wukong said there was no reason to bow whether they surrendered or died fighting.

Wukong disguised himself as Tiger Vanguard and frightened the three demons into agreeing to surrender to Ao Tu, but Golden-Winged Great Peng recognized him and exposed the deception. Wukong revealed himself, killed Little Drill Wind, and fled the cave as Golden-Winged Great Peng pursued him.

• Wukong described seven fearsome supernatural abilities supposedly belonging to Ao Tu, convincing the three demons and their followers to surrender.
• Wukong told the demons to stay inside their cave and wait for Ao Tu, while Ao Tu watched and thought Wukong had subdued them for him.
• Golden-Winged Great Peng noticed Wukong's monkey features and suspected he was Sun Wukong, then proposed searching the ridge for Tang Sanzang and his disciples.
• When the demons prepared to search, Wukong resumed his true form and killed Little Drill Wind with the Golden Cudgel.
• Green Lion, White Elephant, and Golden-Winged Great Peng attacked Wukong, who fought back until Great Peng ordered the Yin-Yang Treasure Vase brought out.
• Wukong laughed at the treasure vase, somersaulted out of the cave, and Golden-Winged Great Peng pursued him.

Wukong and Bajie wounded the Golden-Winged Great Peng, but he used the Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle to keep Wukong at a distance. Wukong warned Bajie that the bottle could dissolve anyone trapped inside and began devising a way to take it from the demon.

• The Golden-Winged Great Peng pursued Wukong, and the two fought until Wukong retreated toward Tang Sanzang and his disciples.
• Bajie joined the fight and struck the Great Peng on the head with a Jewel, letting Wukong wound him and drive him back toward Lion Camel Cave.
• Green Lion and White Elephant realized the Great Peng had been beaten and turned their forces around to help him.
• The Great Peng took the Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle and chased Wukong, but its weight and his injured wing slowed him; Wukong then wounded him again when he set it down.
• Bajie caught up and tried to attack the limping Great Peng, but Wukong stopped him and explained the bottle’s deadly power.
• Wukong studied Bajie’s appearance and suddenly formed an idea for how to take the bottle.

Wukong and Bajie pursued Great Peng, who had been tricked out of his Treasure Bottle, and fought Green Lion and White Elephant. After Green Lion swallowed Wukong, Bajie fled and told Tang Sanzang that Wukong had died; the chapter ended with Bajie and Sha Wujing dividing the luggage as Ao Tu disguised himself as a peddler.

• Wukong and Bajie disguised themselves as Green Lion and White Elephant, took Great Peng’s Treasure Bottle, and attacked him, but Ao Tu’s yin-yang qi shielded Great Peng from Bajie’s rake.
• Wukong broke Great Peng’s hands with the Golden Cudgel, then pursued him until Great Peng reached the real Green Lion and White Elephant and asked them for help.
• Wukong fought Green Lion and White Elephant while Bajie struck White Elephant’s trunk; Green Lion then swallowed Wukong, and Bajie fled to Tang Sanzang with news that Wukong had been eaten.
• Bajie urged Sha Wujing to divide the luggage so they could hire someone to avenge Wukong, and Tang Sanzang agreed as he wept.
• Ao Tu transformed into a peddler and approached while Bajie and Sha Wujing divided the luggage.

Ao Tu disguised himself as a peddler and persuaded Bajie to sell Tang Sanzang’s sacred kasaya and staff, while Sha Wujing protested. Bajie then tried to sell the white horse, but Tang Sanzang refused, revealing that the horse was the Dragon Crown Prince of the West Sea and his disciple.

• Ao Tu came upon Tang Sanzang weeping while Bajie and Sha Wujing divided the group’s possessions after Wukong’s apparent death.
• Bajie agreed to sell the Brocade Kasaya to Ao Tu for six thousand taels despite Sha Wujing’s objections.
• Bajie sold the Nine-Ringed Monk’s Staff to Ao Tu for four thousand taels after Tang Sanzang accepted the sale as a way to hire help against the demons.
• Bajie offered the white horse for three thousand taels, but Tang Sanzang stopped him and explained that the horse was the Dragon Crown Prince of the West Sea and his disciple.

Bajie, Tang Sanzang, and Sha Wujing agreed to give Ao Tu their Kasaya and Buddhist Staff in exchange for his help defeating the three demons. Ao Tu revealed himself and summoned an army, ordering it to surround the mountain and trap the demons.

• Bajie proposed pawning the Purple Gold Alms Bowl, but Sha Wujing refused to let him sell it.
• Ao Tu told Tang Sanzang and his disciples that the three demons were the mounts of Manjushri and Samantabhadra and a relative of Tathagata Buddha.
• Ao Tu offered to slay the demons in exchange for the Kasaya and Buddhist Staff, and showed Bajie a pledge as security.
• Tang Sanzang, Bajie, and Sha Wujing signed the agreement and put the Kasaya and Buddhist Staff into Ao Tu's magical baskets.
• Ao Tu revealed himself and explained that he would honor the agreement; Tang Sanzang agreed to keep his word if Ao Tu defeated the demons.
• Ao Tu summoned countless monsters and ordered them to ambush the southern mountain, northern ridge, eastern slope, and western road so no demon could escape.

Wukong escaped from Green Lion’s belly and forced the three fiends to promise to carry Tang Sanzang over the mountain, but they reneged as soon as he left. As Ao Tu led a demon army toward Lion Camel Cave, Wukong stayed hidden on his cloud and let Ao Tu confront the fiends.

• Green Lion failed to force Wukong out of his belly, and Wukong tormented him until he begged for mercy and promised to carry Tang Sanzang over the mountain.
• Golden-Winged Great Peng tricked Green Lion into trying to bite Wukong, but Wukong shattered Green Lion’s teeth and escaped through his nostril after tying a cord around his heart and liver.
• Wukong defeated Green Lion by tugging the cord, and Golden-Winged Great Peng and White Elephant begged for mercy and renewed their promise to escort Tang Sanzang.
• After Wukong left, the three fiends agreed to break their promise and muster troops to fight him again.
• Wukong saw Ao Tu approaching Lion Camel Cave with Tang Sanzang, Bajie, Sha Wujing, and a vast demon army, and decided to let Ao Tu handle the three fiends.
• Ao Tu ordered his demons to hide in ambush, then led Tang Sanzang and his companions toward Lion Camel Cave.

Ao Tu led Tang Sanzang and his disciples to Lion Camel Cave, where the three fiends mistook him for Sun Wukong in disguise until his divine powers revealed his identity. After capturing the fiends and their troops, Ao Tu left their fate to Tang Sanzang, and the three tried to save themselves by invoking their powerful connections.

• Ao Tu led Tang Sanzang, Bajie, and Sha Wujing to Lion Camel Cave, where Golden-Winged Great Peng recognized Tang Sanzang and his two disciples but questioned Ao Tu.
• Ao Tu introduced himself as the Demon Dragon, but Golden-Winged Great Peng dismissed the claim and accused him of being Sun Wukong in disguise.
• The three fiends attacked, and Ao Tu used the Five-Colored Divine Light to disarm them before capturing White Elephant, Green Lion, and Golden-Winged Great Peng.
• Ao Tu's demons surrounded the fleeing troops, and the three captured fiends begged Tang Sanzang for mercy after Ao Tu told them their fate was his to decide.
• When Tang Sanzang asked Ao Tu to destroy the fiends, Green Lion, White Elephant, and Golden-Winged Great Peng each invoked their ties to powerful Buddhist figures to protest.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples subdued the three demons, then agreed to spare them and let them escort the group over the mountain. Ao Tu revealed that Tang Sanzang had pledged the Brocade Kasaya and Nine-Ringed Monk's Staff, and Wukong failed to persuade him to return them.

• The three demons revealed their ties to Buddha and the Bodhisattvas, but Tang Sanzang refused to spare them for that reason, and Ao Tu bound Golden-Winged Great Peng as he tried to flee.
• Green Lion explained that Sun Wukong had survived being swallowed, and Wukong returned from the clouds to stop Tang Sanzang from killing the demons.
• Wukong agreed with Tang Sanzang to let the demons live and hand them back to Buddha and the Bodhisattvas after they escorted the pilgrims over the mountain.
• Wukong learned that Tang Sanzang had pledged the Brocade Kasaya and Nine-Ringed Monk's Staff to Ao Tu, and Ao Tu refused to return them without the pilgrims' weapons.
• Tang Sanzang urged the group to continue west without the kasaya and staff, but Wukong warned that they might reach the Western Heaven and still be unable to enter.

Tang Sanzang agreed to deliver the dead at Lion Camel Cave in exchange for Ao Tu returning his kasaya and Buddhist staff. He found a vast slaughterhouse filled with corpses and began chanting for more than a hundred thousand vengeful souls, while an even greater horror remained unseen.

• Wukong warned Tang Sanzang that reaching Spirit Mountain without his Brocade Kasaya and Buddhist staff would not let him enter the Great Thunderclap Temple, and Ao Tu agreed to return the treasures after the souls were delivered.
• Ao Tu challenged the three demons over their warning against him, and Green Lion and White Elephant blamed Golden-Winged Great Peng for ordering the underlings to stay alert.
• Golden-Winged Great Peng persuaded Ao Tu to spare the three demons by claiming they had agreed to join him and offering their service; Ao Tu said he had a task for them.
• Ao Tu took Tang Sanzang into Lion Camel Cave, where Tang Sanzang, Bajie, and Sha Wujing saw demons killing and cooking people among piles of human remains.
• After living in the cave for half a month, Tang Sanzang began chanting to deliver more than a hundred thousand vengeful souls, unaware that this was only a small portion of the dead.

Wukong helped Ao Tu free the captives in Lion Camel Cave while Tang Sanzang delivered the vengeful souls, and Ao Tu consolidated his rule by rewarding the demons and devising a cultivation technique that secretly fed his formation. A year later, most of the souls had been delivered, and Tang Sanzang had gained some cultivation, while Wukong had glimpsed a vast malice within Ao Tu that soon vanished.

• Ao Tu ordered the demons to release their human captives, and Wukong’s little monkeys found those secretly hidden by disobedient demons.
• Ao Tu had Green Lion, White Elephant, and Golden-Winged Great Peng kill the disobedient demons, then Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing escorted thousands of freed people home.
• Ao Tu began preparing the Twelve Divine Fiends Formation of the Twelve Capitals and created the Gratitude Technique, which made demons willingly offer their flesh and blood to nourish it.
• At a celebratory banquet, Wukong briefly saw a sea of malice and the dying wails of a continent in Ao Tu’s eyes, but could not see them when he looked again.
• Ao Tu had Golden-Winged Great Peng spread the Gratitude Technique through Lion Camel City and devour demons who refused to practice it.
• After a year, seventy or eighty percent of the vengeful souls had been delivered, and Tang Sanzang had gained some cultivation and a faint halo of merit.

Tathagata Buddha sent Manjushri and Samantabhadra to retrieve their mounts from Lion Camel Ridge, where Ao Tu detained them and revealed a formation. After Tang Sanzang finished delivering souls in Lion Camel Cave, Ao Tu led him and his disciples toward Lion Camel City, while Tathagata sent heavenly beings to investigate the missing Bodhisattvas.

• Kirtimukha and Sangharama reported that Tang Sanzang had reached Lion Camel Ridge, and Tathagata Buddha ordered Manjushri and Samantabhadra to retrieve their mounts without fighting Ao Tu.
• The Great Brahma King challenged Tathagata Buddha over the Demon Dragon and the eastern migration, but Tathagata said the migration was an irresistible tide of events.
• Manjushri and Samantabhadra disguised themselves as monks, exposed Green Lion and White Elephant, and then agreed to follow Ao Tu into the mountain to inspect his formation.
• Ao Tu kept the two Bodhisattvas in Lion Camel Cave while Tang Sanzang delivered souls there for several months.
• Ao Tu led Tang Sanzang and his disciples toward Lion Camel City, and Tathagata Buddha sent members of the Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons to investigate the missing Bodhisattvas.
• Ao Tu ordered Golden-Winged Great Peng to eat the approaching heavenly beings.