Chapter Summaries

Ao Tu persuaded Wukong to go to Spirit Mountain and urge Tathagata Buddha to address the demons and injustices in Lion Camel City. Wukong reached the mountain and found the monks pressing Tathagata to act, while his antics outside the hall drew the Buddha’s attention.

• Ao Tu told Wukong that Tathagata should answer for Golden-Winged Great Peng’s atrocities and asked him to lodge a complaint at Spirit Mountain.
• Tang Sanzang supported the request, and Wukong agreed after asking Ao Tu to repair Ananda’s Glazed Bowl.
• Wukong arrived at Spirit Mountain, spoke with the old Bhikshu Monk, and flew into the mountain despite his warning.
• Wukong disguised himself as a yellow weasel and watched monks demand that Tathagata descend and capture the demon dragon.
• Wukong dodged a Vajra’s lunge, resumed his true form, and laughed, prompting Tathagata to ask who was making a commotion outside.

Wukong appealed to Tathagata Buddha over the demons’ crimes and the charges against Tang Sanzang, and learned that the Golden Sarira could make the Three Demons embrace goodness. Tathagata transformed it into a fragrant Golden Elixir for the Demon Dragon, and Wukong brought it to Ao Tu, where Ao Tu recognized its lotus scent.

• Wukong told Tathagata Buddha about the demons’ man-eating and the Lion Camel King’s charges against Tang Sanzang.
• Tathagata explained Golden-Winged Great Peng’s connection to him and revealed that the Holy Buddha Sarira could reform the Three Demons.
• At the Monks’ urging, Tathagata also prepared a Golden Elixir for the Demon Dragon by adding powdered lotus petal to the Sarira.
• Wukong returned to Lion Camel City with the fragrant elixir, warned Bajie not to touch it, and headed for Ao Tu’s residence.
• Ao Tu recognized the lotus scent, while Wukong called the elixir a poison pill and accused Tathagata of using it to harm people.

Ao Tu and Wukong investigated the Holy Buddha Sarira that Tathagata had given Wukong, and Ao Tu destroyed it after Guanyin Bodhisattva identified its origins. The Sarira revealed a vision of Ao Tu’s future as an evil god, while its malevolent aura entered him and grew stronger by consuming blood essence.

• Ao Tu examined Tathagata’s Golden Elixir with Wukong, but neither could detect poison until its light transformed the Three Demons and frightened them.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva identified the pill as a Holy Buddha Sarira and explained the Holy Buddha’s history, but Ao Tu refused to let her handle it and shattered it with Divine Thunder.
• The Sarira’s golden mist showed Amitabha Buddha defeating Ao Tu and killing his demons, but Ao Tu dismissed the vision as a trick.
• The mist revealed that Ao Tu would become a primordial evil god whose malevolent aura began flowing into him, striking Scorpion Demon and dissolving the seven Spider Demons before Ao Tu restored them all.
• A second vision showed the evil god enslaving Northern Utarakuru’s people and devouring their blood essence, which flowed into Ao Tu and made his aura stronger.

Ao Tu's vision of his Evil Corpse devastated his army's morale, but he mistook the apparition for himself and did not know how to sever it. While Guanyin Bodhisattva tried to guide him, Tathagata Buddha decided to move the monks from Spirit Mountain to the Eastern Lands.

• The vision showed the Evil God draining Northern Utarakuru's living beings and attacking the Buddhist Sect, while Wukong checked that the real continent remained unharmed.
• Ao Tu punished Nine-Headed Bug for trying to flee, then restored his heads and gave him a Sati Bodhisattva's Lotus; he allowed other Northern Utarakuru demons to leave with rewards but killed demons from Lion Camel Ridge who asked to go.
• Ao Tu ordered the Three Demons to capture the Eighteen Arhats, who were imprisoned to have their blood essence fed to the formation; Golden-Winged Great Peng later caught and sacrificed demons who fled at night.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva urged Ao Tu not to let the vision affect him, and Ao Tu falsely claimed he had recognized his Evil Corpse, though he could not see it or sever it.
• After the Eighteen Arhats failed to return, Tathagata Buddha concluded the Sarira had not worked and ordered Kasyapa to prepare for the monks' relocation to the Eastern Lands.

Amitabha Buddha answered the Monks’ plea and confronted Ao Tu and the Blood Sea Incarnation at Lion Camel City. Ao Tu activated the Twelve Divine Fiends Formation, and their battle continued as Amitabha Buddha revealed the damaged Eastern Green Lotus Treasure-Colored Banner.

• Kasyapa tried to uproot the Bodhi Tree, prompting Amitabha Buddha to manifest and promise to subdue the demons.
• Amitabha Buddha led the Monks to Lion Camel City, where he dispersed the Blood Sea Incarnation’s red sand and blood fiend energy and knocked Ao Tu’s Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity back with a finger flick.
• Ao Tu’s blood activated the Twelve Divine Fiends Formation, and Pangu’s phantom struck at Amitabha Buddha, suppressing the Great Daos and severing branches of the Dao of Buddhism and Daoism.
• Amitabha Buddha used his fly-whisk and Five-Colored Lotus Flowers to try to capture Ao Tu, but Ao Tu strengthened Pangu’s phantom and continued striking the Dao of Buddhism and Daoism.
• Amitabha Buddha revealed the tattered Eastern Green Lotus Treasure-Colored Banner, and Ao Tu scolded him for failing to care for his good corpse’s treasure.

Ao Tu fought Amitabha Buddha with the Pangu Phantom, but his axe failed to break through the Green Lotus Treasure-Colored Banner and Sariras. As the demons fled after Ao Tu’s formation consumed their blood essence, Vishnu Bodhisattva attacked Tiger Vanguard, striking him down.

• Amitabha Buddha used the Eastern Green Lotus Treasure-Colored Banner and three Sariras to defend against Ao Tu’s Pangu Phantom.
• Ao Tu targeted Shakyamuni’s path, and Amitabha Buddha diverted half the Axe Light; the rest injured Tathagata Buddha’s Dao Fruit and severed his right little toe.
• Ao Tu continued attacking Amitabha Buddha, while the demons’ accumulated blood fiend power ran out and they began feeding their blood essence into the formation.
• Tathagata Buddha’s flesh, which Ao Tu had placed in the formation, turned into blood essence and stirred up malice; Ao Tu drained the fleeing demons’ blood essence, then told them he would cover their retreat.
• The demons bowed and fled, but Vishnu Bodhisattva attacked them; his Golden Gourd Buddha Hammer struck Tiger Vanguard in the head, breaking his horn and splitting his skull.

After Tiger Vanguard died, Ao Tu fought Amitabha Buddha while the demons exhausted themselves to sustain the formation. As Vishnu Bodhisattva and the others rushed to capture the depleted Ao Tu, he and the Pangu Phantom awakened a dangerous surge of malevolence, and Amitabha Buddha pulled the attackers back.

• Tiger Vanguard was killed while White Bone Spirit was badly wounded, and the demons dragged them back into the formation.
• Ao Tu attacked Amitabha Buddha with the Pangu Phantom, but the Green Lotus blocked him as the demons spent their blood and vital energy to support him.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva gave Ao Tu her blood, followed by contributions from Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Wukong, and Bajie.
• Ao Tu recalled Pangu opening Heaven and used the Pangu Phantom's exhaustion to comprehend a move of the Opening Heaven Supernatural Ability.
• After another sixteen hundred exchanges, Ao Tu fell from the sky in dragon form, and Vishnu Bodhisattva and the others rushed to seize him.
• Ao Tu and the Pangu Phantom unleashed surging malevolence, prompting Amitabha Buddha to stop Vishnu Bodhisattva and the others and draw them back.

Ao Tu revealed that evil was his Self and used a Pangu True Form to strike Amitabha Buddha, who had tried to take him to the Western Paradise. After ten axe strikes, Ao Tu escaped with the demons, leaving Amitabha Buddha embarrassed and his Dao injury aggravated.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva tried to take Ao Tu to Mount Luojia, but Ao Tu revealed that Evil was his Self and summoned his Self Corpse.
• Ao Tu and his Self Corpse overwhelmed Amitabha Buddha with a sack of Vengeful Souls, then formed a Pangu True Form and challenged him.
• Ao Tu's first axe strike nicked the Buddhist Sect's indestructible Path, beginning the Two Sages' Division.
• Ao Tu followed with nine more strikes, knocking Amitabha Buddha down and making him dodge as his injured head itched.
• Ao Tu escaped aboard his black ship after the demons withdrew, while Amitabha Buddha stood up and the Three Pure Ones struggled to contain their laughter.

After Amitabha Buddha defeated the demons at Lion Camel Ridge, Tang Sanzang questioned him about the kingdom’s dead and the Buddhist Sect’s responsibility. The King of the Lion Camel Kingdom remained behind to stamp Tang Sanzang’s Passbook, and the pilgrims prepared to continue west.

• Amitabha Buddha refused to pursue the escaped demons, then stopped to answer Tang Sanzang’s questions about the slaughtered people of the Lion Camel Kingdom and the Western Heaven’s scriptures.
• As Amitabha Buddha scratched his itching head, the Shangqing Sage sent an incarnation to paint and circulate a picture of the moment.
• Samantabhadra Bodhisattva departed on White Elephant to extend King Tang’s lifespan, while the other Bodhisattvas and the Eighteen Arhats returned to their places.
• Tathagata Buddha bound Golden-Winged Great Peng at Spirit Mountain and returned his Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples prepared to leave the empty Lion Camel Kingdom, but the Old King called out to have Tang’s Passbook stamped.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples obtained the Lion Camel Kingdom’s seal and continued west after the Old King entered reincarnation. Meanwhile, Ao Tu recovered in the Flower Realm and prepared to use the bitter bamboo to refine a fleshly body for a loyal subordinate.

• The Old King stamped Tang Sanzang’s Travel Permit and asked him to seek Buddha’s punishment for the monster who had devoured his subjects before departing into reincarnation.
• Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing left the palace with Tang Sanzang, and the Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle flew away from Wukong as they traveled west.
• Ao Tu arrived at the Flower Realm exhausted, where Xiao Zhenying, Jiangzhu, and Apricot Immortal recognized him and helped him recover.
• Ao Tu drew in immortal power, regained much of his strength, and agreed to teach Jiangzhu and Apricot Immortal the Creation Technique.
• Ao Tu told Xiao Zhenying to light the furnace and asked Jiangzhu to bring the bitter bamboo so he could refine a fleshly body for his loyal subordinate.

Ao Tu chose to send Tiger Vanguard into a future life to serve as a Continent Supervisor instead of refining him a new body, then reforged Ananda’s broken bowl into a powerful Buddhist treasure. After the Lion Camel Ridge ordeal ended, Ao Tu received his rewards and prepared to inspect them while considering how to resolve the karmic debt caused by Self.

• Ao Tu offered Tiger Vanguard the choice between a refined body and reincarnation, and Tiger Vanguard asked to be given a body so he could keep serving Ao Tu.
• Self proposed sending Tiger Vanguard to future Northern Utarakuru as a Continent Supervisor, and Ao Tu sent him into reincarnation with the Saintly Whip and Saintly Sword.
• Self returned to Northern Utarakuru and oppressed its believers, adding karmic debt that Ao Tu also had to bear.
• Ao Tu reforged Ananda’s broken bowl with xirang and Buddhist incantations, creating a self-repairing Glazed Bowl with powerful protective and trapping abilities.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples left the Lion Camel Ridge Area, and Ao Tu received rewards including a Nine-Turn Primordial Embryo Pill, an Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, and 3,008 days carried over to the Bhikshu Kingdom side quest.
• Ao Tu told Xiao Zhenying to keep practicing alchemy, then took Jiangzhu into the inner room.

Ao Tu inspected his rewards, gained insight into his past and future selves, and searched for a way to atone for the karma caused by his Self. Jiangzhu’s advice gave him a possible plan to create new life in the barren western and northern lands, though he decided to consult Goddess Nüwa first.

• Ao Tu gave Jiangzhu the Nine-Turn Primordial Embryo Pill, absorbed the Golden Crow Remnant Feather, and examined his other rewards, including the White Jade Bowl and Zhuxian Formation.
• The ancient Buddha fortune brought Ao Tu sudden enlightenment, allowing him to see his Good Corpse in the past and his Self in the future, though he still could not resolve the Self’s karmic burden.
• Ao Tu spoke with Jiangzhu about his worry over past wrongs, and her suggestion to perform greater good prompted him to consider creating life in the barren western and northern lands to offset the karma.
• Ao Tu decided he should not use the humans of China and would seek Goddess Nüwa’s advice before pursuing his plan.
• Xiao Zhenying waited outside while Apricot Immortal went into Ao Tu’s room, quickly shutting the door after hearing strange sounds.

Ao Tu gathered demons to occupy Qinghua Manor and obstruct Tang Sanzang's party in the Bhikshu Kingdom while he investigated the region. The chapter ended as Tang Sanzang and his disciples approached the city, unaware that Ao Tu had already arrived.

• Ao Tu considered transforming the western and northern regions, creating humans, and seeking help from Nuwa Palace, the ancient races, and Empress Houtu, but chose to pursue the Bhikshu Kingdom mission first.
• Ao Tu gathered the White Bone Spirit and other demons, reached Willow Grove Slope, and revealed Qinghua Manor as their base.
• Feiniu drove the pests from the manor, and the demons cleaned it while Ao Tu ordered the Scorpion Demon to arrange their lodgings and went to investigate the area.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples arrived near the Bhikshu Kingdom, and Wukong identified the distant city as a prefectural city because it lacked purple qi.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples arrived in the Bhikshu Kingdom and learned that its king’s supposed 110th birthday was being celebrated, while Ao Tu found the old king’s descendant and took him as a disciple. The murdered king’s ghost appeared to Tang Sanzang in a dream and revealed that a demon had seized the throne, leaving Tang Sanzang to hear his plea for justice.

• Tang Sanzang and his disciples entered the Bhikshu Kingdom and learned from the stationmaster that the king’s 110th birthday celebration would keep the court closed for nearly half a month.
• Wukong suspected the king was a demon because the city had no imperial aura, and the disciples decided to wait and see him.
• Ao Tu found the old king’s descendant living with a former palace eunuch, learned that a demon had murdered the king and taken the throne, and accepted the child as his disciple.
• Ao Tu provided the eunuch with supplies and livestock, then took the child away to train him.
• The old king’s ghost visited Tang Sanzang in a dream and explained that the demon had murdered him, stolen his appearance and throne, and bribed the underworld officials to block his complaint.

Tang Sanzang learned from the dead King of the Bhikshu Kingdom how the deer demon had usurped his throne and received the kingdom’s National Seal to expose him. Meanwhile, Ao Tu captured the deer spirit and fox spirit and questioned them about how they had taken over the realm.

• The King of the Bhikshu Kingdom told Tang Sanzang that the deer demon had impersonated him, and that the court, palace, and people had refused to help him.
• The king gave Tang Sanzang the National Seal and warned him to keep their conversation secret; Tang Sanzang woke with the seal in his hand and told his disciples about the dream.
• Ao Tu brought the little Crown Prince to Qinghua Manor, where the child mistook White Bone Spirit and Scorpion Demon for his master's wives and was corrected with a willow twig.
• Ao Tu went to the palace and discovered the deer spirit carousing with the queen, consorts, and fox spirit, then revealed the deer and fox in their original forms.
• Ao Tu captured the deer spirit and fox spirit, identified himself as the Blood Sea King's younger brother, and asked how they had come to possess the realm.

Ao Tu learned how the deer spirit had seized the Bhikshu Kingdom and arranged for him to return it to the Old King’s descendant in thirteen years. After discovering that the Old King had deceived Tang Sanzang and his disciples, Ao Tu released his spirit, which he thought might prove useful later.

• The deer spirit told Ao Tu that he had tricked the Old King, released the children targeted for their hearts, and taken the throne, while confining or killing the Old King’s descendants.
• Ao Tu ordered the deer spirit to return the kingdom to his disciple, the Old King’s great-great-grandson, in thirteen years, and advised him to imprison Tang Sanzang and his disciples if they exposed him.
• Ao Tu learned from the people that the deer spirit’s rule had brought decades of peace and prosperity, then saw the Old King wandering as a ghost and summoned Youlai Youqu to take him below.
• When Youlai Youqu threatened to drag him to Stone-Pressing Hell, the Old King admitted he had deceived Tang Sanzang and his disciples into avenging him.
• Ao Tu had Youlai Youqu release the Old King, deciding the ghost might be useful when Wukong tried to restore him to life.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples waited for the Bhikshu Kingdom’s birthday celebration while gathering evidence against the Deer Spirit, who had taken the throne. At the banquet, Tang Sanzang presented a birthday address praying for the sovereign’s deliverance from karmic obstructions, and the chapter ended with the court reacting in fear.

• Wukong questioned the people about the Old King but learned only that the new ruler was popular, then retrieved a portrait of the Old King as evidence.
• Ao Tu taught the little Crown Prince scholarly principles and practiced martial arts with the demons at Qinghua Manor.
• On the sovereign’s birthday, the Deer Spirit delayed the celebration by debauching himself with the ladies of the rear palace, then emerged before the waiting officials.
• Wukong recognized the Deer Spirit’s strong demonic aura, while Tang Sanzang stopped him from exposing the demon and accepted the invitation to the banquet.
• Tang Sanzang learned from the old Chancellor that the queen was his daughter and was frail, then told him that she could not be blamed for having no heir.
• Tang Sanzang presented a birthday address praying for the sovereign to be delivered from karmic obstructions, and the frightened eunuch read it aloud.

At the king of the Bhikshu Kingdom’s birthday banquet, Tang Sanzang accused the deer spirit of usurping the throne and presented evidence, but the officials and queen sided with the impostor. Tang Sanzang and his disciples were arrested and imprisoned, while the old chancellor remained silent despite knowing the truth.

• Tang Sanzang presented a verse mourning the true king, and the deer spirit ordered the guards to seize him and his disciples.
• Wukong revealed the true king’s portrait, but the ministers and queen insisted it depicted the deer spirit.
• Tang Sanzang named three more signs of the impostor, then produced the true king’s seal; the deer spirit transformed a rice cake into a false seal, and the officials still rejected Tang Sanzang’s evidence.
• Tang Sanzang urged the old chancellor to speak by warning that the queen would remain unable to bear an heir, but the chancellor stayed silent because he resented the true king.
• The soldiers arrested Tang Sanzang, Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing and locked them in prison.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples were imprisoned after exposing the Bhikshu Kingdom’s demon ruler, and the jailer warned that they might be sent back to the Tang Kingdom for execution. That night, the former King urged Tang Sanzang in a dream to kill the demon and his supporters, but Wukong appeared and captured the King after he fled.

• Wukong bribed the jailer, who revealed that the ruler planned to seek an imperial decree to execute the pilgrims or send them back to the Tang Kingdom.
• Tang Sanzang wept over the prospect of failing his pilgrimage, while Bajie joked about seeking refuge in the Western Liang Women's Kingdom and warned Sha Wujing about punishment if they returned as criminals.
• Wukong told Tang Sanzang to wait until night, and the disciples went to sleep in their cell.
• The King of the Bhikshu Kingdom entered Tang Sanzang's dream and urged him to kill the demon ruler and all the officials who supported him.
• Wukong appeared in the dream and frightened the King away, then used a Soul-Seizing Spell to drag him back and capture him.

Wukong questioned the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom, who admitted that his own failures had helped the demon seize power, then agreed to seek help restoring him to life. Wukong brought the King's soul to Ao Tu, where Xiao Zhenying mistook him for an evil spirit and trapped him in her Treasure Casket.

• Wukong and Bajie frightened the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom into explaining that he had lost the people's support after trusting the demon to make an Agelessness Elixir and exhausting the kingdom's resources.
• When the King pleaded for help, Wukong agreed to try to revive him, and the King explained that his body had been left to rot after the demon hanged it outside the Palace.
• Wukong carried the King's soul to the Heavenly Court and found Ao Tu teaching Xiao Zhenying alchemy in the Elixir Chamber.
• Ao Tu teased Wukong about stealing elixirs, and Wukong introduced the King's soul as the reason for his visit.
• Ao Tu pretended the King was an evil spirit, and Xiao Zhenying struck him with her Longevity Lock and sealed him inside her Treasure Casket.