Chapter Summaries

Wukong sought Ao Tu’s help to restore the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom, whose soul had been reduced to half a body. Ao Tu and Xiao Zhenying fashioned and refined a clay shell for the king, then Ao Tu revived him.

• Wukong brought the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom’s half-dissolved soul to Ao Tu and explained that the demon’s guards made it difficult to free his imprisoned master.
• Ao Tu told Wukong that saving the king’s evil soul required filthy material, so Wukong searched the Flower Realm for filth.
• Wukong encountered the imprisoned Princess Wansheng, who mistook his search for an attempt to steal spiritual treasures and begged him to ask her cousin to rescue her.
• After Princess Wansheng turned around, Wukong mixed his urine into mud and carried it back to Ao Tu.
• Ao Tu made Wukong coat himself with the mud to form a mold, then Xiao Zhenying fired the clay shell with Samadhi True Fire.
• Xiao Zhenying refined the king’s soul and the clay shell together, and Ao Tu added the power of creation to bring the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom back to life.

Ao Tu revived the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom and later took the little crown prince to visit his grandfather, who had recently died. Meanwhile, Wukong brought the restored king back to confront the ministers and went after the deer spirit.

• Ao Tu warned Wukong that the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom was no good man, while Wukong explained why he had no intention of helping Princess Wansheng.
• Ao Tu let the exhausted Xiao Zhenying rest, then tested the little crown prince's studies and skills.
• Ao Tu took the little crown prince to visit his grandfather, summoned the old eunuch's soul, and comforted the grieving boy after they parted.
• Wukong brought the revived King of the Bhikshu Kingdom to the court, where the Old King accused the ministers of treachery and ordered Wukong to subdue the deer spirit.
• Wukong found the deer spirit with the fox spirit and the consorts in the rear palace and confronted him.

Wukong rescued the Bhikshu Kingdom from the deer spirit, but the demon escaped with the Queen, who killed herself, and the Old King began imprisoning his former officials and concubines. Wukong and Bajie tracked the demon to Qinghua Manor, where Ao Tu sent the Scorpion Demon to welcome them.

• Wukong startled the deer spirit, who fled with the Fox Spirit, while the Queen killed herself in despair.
• The Old King imprisoned the concubines and ministers, but Tang Sanzang urged him to govern mercifully; Wukong promised to pursue the demon.
• The Old King told Wukong that the demon came from Qinghua Manor on Willow Grove Slope, and Wukong and Bajie headed there after eating.
• The deer spirit reached Qinghua Manor, where Ao Tu told him to change clothes and sent the Scorpion Demon to meet Wukong.
• Wukong summoned the local earth god, learned the entrance ritual, and opened the hidden manor despite Bajie's fear of its two hundred thousand demons.
• The Scorpion Demon welcomed Wukong and Bajie inside after Wukong asked where her master was.

Wukong learned from Ao Tu that the Old King’s loss of dragon qi reflected his failure as a ruler, while the Little Crown Prince possessed the royal qi needed to restore the realm. After the Old King reclaimed the throne and ordered mass arrests, Tang Sanzang resolved to counsel him and Wukong promised to rescue the people if persuasion failed.

• Wukong confronted Ao Tu about the Deer Spirit’s crimes, and Ao Tu explained that he had taken the demon under his command after finding him in the grotto-heaven.
• Ao Tu showed Wukong that the Royal City had no dragon qi, while the Little Crown Prince had royal qi, and said the Old King’s loss of virtue had cost him the throne.
• Wukong returned to Tang Sanzang and his companions, and they debated what should happen now that the Old King had been restored.
• The Old King reclaimed the throne, executed former officials and consorts, and ordered sweeping arrests of young people, provoking fear and resentment throughout the city.
• Tang Sanzang regretted the suffering caused by their actions and decided to urge the King to pardon the people, while Wukong promised to rescue them if the King refused.

Tang Sanzang pleaded with the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom to spare the people, but the king ordered their executions. Wukong rescued the condemned with a divine wind and sent them to Qinghua Manor, while the king ordered another search.

• Tang Sanzang urged the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom to forgive the ministers and people, but the king ordered him out of court.
• The ministers pleaded for mercy, and the king ordered them executed alongside the consorts, officials, and arrested young people.
• Wukong summoned the gods and used a divine wind to carry the condemned people to Qinghua Manor.
• The king ordered soldiers to search the city and arrest the missing people, while Wukong reassured Tang Sanzang he would rescue them again.

Wukong sent the Bhikshu Kingdom’s condemned people to Ao Tu’s Qinghua Manor, where the Old Chancellor recognized the Little Crown Prince and asked Ao Tu to shelter them. As Tang Sanzang and his disciples fled the Old King’s soldiers, they hid in an old man’s home and learned he knew of their rescue efforts.

• Wukong’s divine wind carried the condemned people to Qinghua Manor, where Ao Tu welcomed them and the Old Chancellor recognized the Little Crown Prince.
• The Old Chancellor and the people asked Ao Tu to support the Little Crown Prince as ruler, and Ao Tu let them settle and rebuild at the manor.
• Wukong repeatedly blew people away from execution, prompting the Old King to order an arrest of the monks under the pretense of a palace feast.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples fled the Courier Station but found the city gates guarded, then tried to escape at night and were spotted by soldiers.
• Tang Sanzang asked an old man for refuge, but the man shouted to announce that the monks had arrived; Wukong and Bajie stopped him and explained who they were.
• The old man hid Tang Sanzang and his disciples from the pursuing soldiers, and his son emerged from a stove pit and accidentally struck Bajie before apologizing and serving them food.

Tang Sanzang learned why the Bhikshu Kingdom had become known as Little Children City and helped an old man’s family escape the Old King’s persecution. At Qinghua Manor, he and his disciples helped Ao Tu prepare the Little Crown Prince to rule, while the Old King’s misrule drove people into the growing settlement.

• The old man explained that the former King had once ordered the hearts of 1,111 children to be used in medicine, then freed them and executed the Imperial Father-in-law; Wukong said the Imperial Father-in-law later killed the Old King and took his place.
• The old man revealed that the Old King had begun arresting and executing children from that time, including his son, so Wukong helped the family escape the city with Tang Sanzang and the White Dragon Horse.
• At Qinghua Manor, Ao Tu told Tang Sanzang that reviving the Old King had wronged the people and required him to help the Little Crown Prince take the throne.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples rescued people from the Old King’s persecution and taught the Little Crown Prince compassion, fighting, governance, and conduct.
• Over three years, Qinghua Manor grew to nearly a hundred thousand residents as soldiers, officials, merchants, and other people fled the Old King; the Old Chancellor died, and the Little Crown Prince faced the loss with greater composure than before.

Tathagata Buddha sent Manjushri Bodhisattva and other monks to the Bhikshu Kingdom to help the wise ruler, but the Demon Dragon's presence made many flee. Those who stayed joined Ao Tu, while Vishnu Bodhisattva and the others were shut out of Spirit Mountain and decided to seek the Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner themselves.

• Tathagata Buddha learned the Pilgrim had spent four years caught up in a dynastic struggle and sent monks to assist the wise ruler, warning them about the dangers of backing a tyrant.
• The Old King, alarmed by his subjects fleeing to the new ruler at Willow Grove Slope, raised his two-thousand-strong army to attack.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva and the monks arrived at Willow Grove Slope, but many fled when the Horse-Head Arhat recognized the White Bone Spirit as a demon general under Ao Tu.
• Ao Tu welcomed the monks who remained and asked Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva to repel the Old King's army.
• Vishnu Bodhisattva and the other fleeing monks found Spirit Mountain sealed; Kasyapa said Guanyin Bodhisattva would seek a protective banner, but Vishnu insisted on going himself.

Vishnu Bodhisattva and Horse-Head Arhat failed to reach the Jade Void Palace to borrow the Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner, and Lawa Venerable was killed after challenging its occupants. Guanyin Bodhisattva went to Kunlun Mountain for the banner and discovered signs that her disciple had often visited the palace without telling her.

• Vishnu Bodhisattva took Horse-Head Arhat and Lawa Venerable to Kunlun Mountain to request the Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner, but they could not reach the Jade Void Palace despite walking for twenty days.
• Vishnu Bodhisattva left gifts and a respectful request on a blue stone, but monkeys and ants ate them, and White Crane Boy killed Lawa Venerable with the Jade Ruyi after he shouted at the palace.
• Vishnu Bodhisattva and Horse-Head Arhat returned to Spirit Mountain and told the Monks they had been unable to find the path to the Jade Void Palace.
• The Monks agreed to follow Tathagata Buddha's decree, and Kasyapa went to the Southern Sea to ask Guanyin Bodhisattva to borrow the banner.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva visited the Jade Void Palace, recognized that her disciple had used its side hall, and realized the visits had been kept secret from her.

Guanyin Bodhisattva borrowed the Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner and joined Vishnu Bodhisattva’s campaign against the rebels at Willow Grove Slope. After Ao Tu defeated the Buddhist forces in his formation, Guanyin and Ao Tu agreed to pause the battle while she investigated the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom; she went to question him, and he was struck by her beauty.

• White Crane Boy gave Guanyin Bodhisattva the Central Wuji Apricot Yellow Banner and told her she could return to Jade Void Palace for the Jade Ruyi if needed.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva brought the banner to Spirit Mountain and accompanied Vishnu Bodhisattva and the monks to Willow Grove Slope, where Manjushri Bodhisattva challenged them.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva trapped Vishnu Bodhisattva and the monks in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, where the Garuda King and many Buddhist fighters were killed.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva used the Apricot Yellow Banner to rescue Vishnu Bodhisattva and shield the monks from Ao Tu’s Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity.
• Ao Tu and Guanyin Bodhisattva agreed to suspend the battle until she investigated the King’s virtue, and Ao Tu said he had taken the soldiers in to protect them from winter hardship.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva returned to the palace alone to question the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom, who was astonished by her beauty.

Guanyin Bodhisattva rejected the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom as an unworthy ruler and gave the Treasure Banner to Ao Tu. After the king’s forced conscription stirred resentment and the monks returned to Spirit Mountain, Tathagata Buddha barred them from entering and offered them a path to survival.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva warned the King of the Bhikshu Kingdom to surrender because he lacked virtue, then left the palace.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva used the Treasure Banner to push aside Vishnu Bodhisattva and the monks, then gave the banner to Ao Tu at Qinghua Manor.
• Ao Tu said the king was a clay-made ruler who had lost his mandate, while Guanyin Bodhisattva cautioned him against killing the king and incurring karmic retribution.
• The King of the Bhikshu Kingdom ordered three thousand men conscripted, worsening the people’s resentment after many had already fled.
• Vishnu Bodhisattva and the monks abandoned their campaign and returned to Spirit Mountain, where Tathagata Buddha refused to admit them and pinned their leaders down when they attacked.
• After the monks begged for mercy, Tathagata Buddha forgave them and said he would show them a path to survival.

Vishnu Bodhisattva and the monks sought Amitabha Buddha’s help to break the formations blocking their advance, while Ao Tu prepared to face him at Qinghua Manor. The battle began, and Guanyin Bodhisattva trapped and killed Vishnu Bodhisattva, sending his true spirit into the calamity.

• Tathagata Buddha refused to offer the monks another path to survival, so they appealed to Amitabha Buddha, who broke the formations defended by Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva.
• Amitabha Buddha captured the defenders and their allies, then agreed to help the monks subdue Ao Tu at Qinghua Manor.
• Ao Tu challenged Amitabha Buddha, who revealed himself as Daoist Jieyin, while the demons and monks began fighting below them.
• Vishnu Bodhisattva charged into Ao Tu’s formation and injured several demons before he fell into the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation’s heart.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva used the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity to take Vishnu Bodhisattva’s treasures, then struck his head and sent his true spirit into the calamity.

The Buddhist Sect and the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation fought a costly battle that ended in victory for the demons, though many fighters on both sides died. Daoist Jieyin drove off Ao Tu and badly wounded Guanyin Bodhisattva, while a broken branch of the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree became a sacred tree for Spirit Mountain.

• Ao Tu challenged Daoist Jieyin, who endured three strikes and then used three presses to knock down Ao Tu’s treasure banners.
• Vishnu Bodhisattva, Horse-Head Arhat, a Wrathful Bodhisattva, and many other Buddhist fighters died in the formation, while the demons also suffered heavy losses.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva ordered the demons to withdraw and went to help Ao Tu, while the Old King of the Bhikshu Kingdom and his soldiers fled unnoticed.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva sent the Golden Bushel of Primordial Unity at Daoist Jieyin, who shattered its spiritual radiance, snapped a branch of the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree, and struck away half her arm.
• Ao Tu carried Guanyin Bodhisattva away aboard the Black Ship, and Amitabha Buddha ordered the sacred tree to be taken to Spirit Mountain.

After the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation was broken, Longevity Star reclaimed the Deer Spirit, while the Little Crown Prince challenged the corrupt Old King’s rule and gained the kingdom’s support. Old King’s clay body collapsed into foul-smelling mud, and Amitabha Buddha erased his remaining spirit, though the mud stayed on Buddha’s feet and everyone forgot how it got there.

• Fortune Star, Prosperity Star, and Longevity Star emerged after the battle, and Longevity Star explained that the Deer Spirit was his mount before taking him away.
• Longevity Star rejected the Fox Spirit, then agreed to grant the Little Crown Prince more years of life as Fortune Star and Prosperity Star offered him good fortune and literary talent.
• Old King arrived demanding blessings, but the Little Crown Prince denounced him and declared himself the new king; officials, commoners, and soldiers rallied behind the boy.
• The Little Crown Prince persuaded the soldiers to lower their weapons and support him, while Old King begged Amitabha Buddha to save him.
• The Little Crown Prince revealed Old King’s clay body, and Old King dissolved into foul-smelling mud as Amitabha Buddha erased his remaining true spirit.
• The mud remained on Amitabha Buddha’s feet, but everyone forgot how it had come to be there.

Ao Tu healed Guanyin Bodhisattva at the Jade Void Palace and discussed the fox spirit’s fate in the Bhikshu Kingdom. After Guanyin Bodhisattva returned to the Southern Sea, Yuanshi Tianzun asked Ao Tu to found a new religion, with the Sages’ support and Minghe as Vice Sect Leader.

• Ao Tu used Three-Lights Divine Water to heal Guanyin Bodhisattva and drew the lingering Sage’s Dao laws onto himself, where they dissipated without harming him.
• Ao Tu told Guanyin Bodhisattva that he had ordered his disciple to spare the fox spirit if she left for the Three Islands, but otherwise punish her according to the people’s wishes.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva thanked the Yuqing Sage through White Crane Boy, then returned to the Southern Sea.
• Ao Tu met Yuanshi Tianzun and thanked him for the flag, but Yuanshi Tianzun revealed that the gift came with a condition.
• Yuanshi Tianzun urged Ao Tu to found a new religion and said the Sages would help, with Minghe serving as Vice Sect Leader; he added that Patriarch Styx could not defy Heaven.

Ao Tu agreed to establish a New Religion and secured help from Yuanshi Tianzun and Goddess Nüwa for his plan to create humans in the past. After the Bhikshu Kingdom recovered and Tang Sanzang’s group departed, Ao Tu received his rewards, including the Chaos Bell, and turned his attention to Patriarch Styx.

• Ao Tu agreed to Yuanshi Tianzun’s condition to establish a New Religion and learned that Buddhism would spread into the Eastern Lands alongside Daoism.
• Ao Tu visited Nuwa Palace, where Goddess Nüwa embraced him as her child and promised to pass the demon race’s legacy to him in the past.
• The Little Crown Prince stabilized the Bhikshu Kingdom with help from Tang Sanzang, his disciples, and the ministers, then held his coronation.
• The Fox Spirit was captured and beheaded, and the new King stamped Tang Sanzang’s Passbook before seeing the group out of the kingdom.
• Ao Tu received rewards for 4,923 days of interception, including the Chaos Bell, and planned to start with Patriarch Styx.

Ao Tu healed the wounded demons, ordered Scorpion Demon to gather his forces for a future attack on Blood Sea, and traveled to Zhenhai Temple for his next encounter with the Pilgrim. After reviewing his previous rewards and receiving the Chaos Bell, he prepared to head to Blood Sea.

• Ao Tu healed the Many-Eyed Monster and the seven Spider Demons, praised the Many-Eyed Monster for his battle against Vishnu Bodhisattva, and took the Spider Demons as maids.
• Ao Tu ordered Scorpion Demon to lead the demons back to Demon City on Green Cloud Mountain and bring Six-Eared Macaque and the others to prepare for an attack on Blood Sea.
• Ao Tu traveled west to Zhenhai Temple and entered the black pine forest, where his system began tracking the quest to hold the Pilgrim in the Bottomless Cave area.
• Ao Tu examined the rewards from the previous ordeal, including Gonggong's Remains, Buddha's Buddhafruit, and the Gratitude Bag, and decided to give Gonggong's Remains to Empress Houtu and use the Buddhafruit to nourish the Third-Grade Golden Lotus.
• Ao Tu received the twelve-year reward, the Chaos Bell, and prepared to take it to Blood Sea.

Ao Tu encountered the Golden-Nosed White-Haired Rat Spirit, restrained her after she tried to seduce and devour him, and brought her to the Bottomless Cave on Xiankong Mountain. There he reunited with Great Sage Yellow Wind, while the recovering Rat Spirit declared she would demand compensation from Ao Tu.

• The Golden-Nosed White-Haired Rat Spirit found Ao Tu in the Black Pine Forest and tried to seduce and devour him for his treasures and primal yang.
• Ao Tu used a supernatural ability to subdue the Rat Spirit, then spared her after learning she might be Great Sage Yellow Wind’s sworn younger sister.
• The Rat Spirit led Ao Tu to the Bottomless Cave on Xiankong Mountain, where Great Sage Yellow Wind came out armed to rescue her.
• Ao Tu and Great Sage Yellow Wind recognized each other, welcomed one another, and cleared up the misunderstanding over the Rat Spirit.
• After three days of recovery, the Rat Spirit argued with Great Sage Yellow Wind and went to Ao Tu’s room to demand compensation.

The rat demon tried to steal Ao Tu’s Golden Lotus, then asked him to help her obtain Tang Sanzang’s primordial yang. Ao Tu agreed to let her try to tempt Tang Sanzang but forbade her from taking him by force, and later told Great Sage Yellow Wind that he planned to recruit a Dao Companion as Vice Sect Leader.

• The rat demon entered Ao Tu’s room to steal the Golden Lotus, but Little Spider Demon’s web caught her and Ao Tu confronted her.
• The rat demon demanded compensation for losing her primordial yin and asked for Ao Tu’s yang essence; when he refused, she asked him to help her target Tang Sanzang.
• Ao Tu agreed to capture Tang Sanzang and let the rat demon try to tempt him, but said she could not take him by force if he remained unmoved.
• After the rat demon left, Little Spider Demon joined Ao Tu, who praised her for catching the intruder with her spider silk.
• Over the next few days, the rat demon resumed hunting men despite Great Sage Yellow Wind’s objections, while Ao Tu declined to interfere.
• Ao Tu told Great Sage Yellow Wind he planned to recruit a Dao Companion as Vice Sect Leader and asked him to help if the recruit resisted.

Ao Tu and the rat demon watched Tang Sanzang’s party approach and helped her try to capture the monk. After her first ambush failed, Ao Tu gave her a plan to lure Sun Wukong away at Zhenhai Temple and seize Tang Sanzang.

• Ao Tu gathered and trained more than four hundred thousand demons in the Bottomless Cave, preparing them to attack Blood Sea and obstruct Tang Sanzang’s party.
• The rat demon disguised herself as a bound woman in the forest, but Wukong recognized her as a demon and Tang Sanzang exposed her by offering her sour fruit.
• Tang Sanzang ignored the rat demon’s pleas and continued onward, while she freed herself and complained to Ao Tu.
• Ao Tu advised the rat demon to capture two monks at Zhenhai Temple so the other monks would send Wukong to rescue them, leaving Tang Sanzang undefended.
• The rat demon praised Ao Tu’s plan and agreed to carry it out without revealing that he had helped her.