Chapter Summaries

Tang Sanzang and his disciples reached Zhenhai Chan Forest Temple, where they found a ruined outer temple and a grand inner monastery. After the lama welcomed the pilgrims, the Rat Spirit entered the temple and lured two monks into the kitchen, ending by pleading with them to spare her.

• Tang Sanzang entered the ruined temple alone, mistook its broken bell for a spirit, and was helped by the incense-tending Taoist.
• The Taoist explained that monsters and bandits plagued the area, and he led Tang Sanzang into the temple’s splendid inner grounds.
• The lama welcomed Tang Sanzang and sent young lamas to fetch Wukong and his companions, who were admitted despite frightening them.
• The Rat Spirit followed Ao Tu’s instructions into the temple and waited in the kitchen for two monks.
• The two monks became captivated by the Rat Spirit, who turned to them and begged them not to harm her.

The Rat Spirit lured two monks from Zhenhai Temple and attacked them, but Ao Tu stopped her from killing or maiming them and ordered her to leave them tied up. The next morning, Wukong learned the monks had vanished and set out with Bajie to find the monster, leaving Tang Sanzang and the others with the abbot.

• The Rat Spirit bewitched two monks into carrying rice outside, then seized them and took them to a distant forest.
• The Rat Spirit began eating one monk, but Ao Tu intervened, revived him, and ordered her to tie both monks to trees instead of killing or crippling them.
• The Rat Spirit complained in the Bottomless Cave, and Ao Tu punished her with magic before sparing her for the next day's plan to capture Tang Sanzang.
• The monks at Zhenhai Temple discovered that the two monks who had served the vegetarian meal were missing, and Wukong learned they were likely in danger.
• Tang Sanzang worried that a monster had brought trouble to the temple, while Wukong promised to catch it and insisted Bajie accompany him.
• The master and his disciples went to see the abbot, and Bajie joked that Wukong's maternal grandfather was missing before Wukong angrily corrected him.

Wukong and Bajie followed a trail to rescue two monks, but the Rat Spirit used their absence to abduct Tang Sanzang from the temple. After searching unsuccessfully, Wukong confronted the Mountain God and Earth God in the Black Pine Forest and demanded to know how they had helped the monster.

• Wukong and Bajie followed scattered rice through the forest and freed two monks tied to trees.
• Wukong realized the rescue had been a stratagem and flew back to the temple, while the Rat Spirit abducted Tang Sanzang and defeated Sha Wujing.
• Wukong returned to find Tang Sanzang missing, then waited for Bajie and set out with him and Sha Wujing to search the Black Pine Forest.
• Wukong found no sign of the Rat Spirit and struck the Mountain God and Earth God out of hiding, accusing them of helping her abduct Tang Sanzang.

Wukong found Tang Sanzang in the Bottomless Cave, where Ao Tu offered him a magical alms bowl in exchange for delivering invitations. After seeing the Rat Spirit attending Tang Sanzang and discovering her ties to Nezha and Heavenly King Li, Wukong decided to hurry the wedding along and invite Heavenly King Li as well.

• Wukong learned from the Mountain God and Earth God that the demon lived in the Bottomless Cave on Xiankong Mountain, then went there with Bajie and Sha Wujing.
• Bajie received invitations from two demons, and Wukong went into the cave to confirm that Ao Tu was behind them.
• Ao Tu explained that he wanted Wukong to deliver invitations to several guests and gave him a powerful alms bowl as a reward.
• Wukong agreed to deliver the invitations and saw the Rat Spirit flirting with Tang Sanzang, but decided not to expose her and instead planned to get the wedding over with quickly.
• Wukong noticed tablets honoring Heavenly King Li and Nezha, realized the Rat Spirit was Nezha's younger sister, and decided to invite Heavenly King Li too.

Ao Tu arranged a wedding feast with Heavenly King Li’s daughter and sought to hold up the Journey to the West, while the Jade Emperor and Tathagata Buddha made their own moves against the Blood Sea. The chapter ended with Taibai Jinxing learning that Wukong’s invitation was for Ao Tu’s wedding, not a military council.

• The Jade Emperor secretly ordered Li Chang Geng to lead the Killing Stars down to the mortal world and destroy the Netherworld Blood Sea, while Tathagata Buddha sent Arhats, Sangharamas, and Asuras to Emerald Cloud Palace.
• Wukong left Bajie and Sha Wujing to guard Tang Sanzang, and Ao Tu punished the Rat Spirit with an Old Yin Pill after she threatened to poison and torture Tang Sanzang.
• Wukong brought Nezha an invitation to Ao Tu’s wedding, and Nezha flew into a rage and descended to the mortal world to slay the demon dragon.
• Wukong gave invitations to the Bull Demon King and several star deities, who agreed to attend and deliver the remaining invitations.
• Wukong invited Taibai Jinxing, who said he had already mustered people to descend; Wukong then clarified that the gathering was a wedding feast, leaving Taibai Jinxing shocked.

Wukong asked Taibai Jinxing to help arrange invitations and speak with Heavenly King Li after a misunderstanding arose over Ao Tu and Nezha’s younger sister. Nezha confronted Ao Tu over the supposed marriage, but after Ao Tu explained the invitation, they reconciled and agreed that Nezha would help him against Minghe.

• Wukong told Taibai Jinxing that Ao Tu was supposedly marrying Nezha’s younger sister, and Taibai agreed to speak with Heavenly King Li and arrange the remaining invitations.
• Wukong left the Heavenly Realm for the Southern Sea while Tang Sanzang visited Ao Tu for scripture guidance and Fourth Sister quietly tidied his writing things.
• Nezha arrived at Ao Tu’s residence and attacked him, but Ao Tu captured him with the Purple Ribbon Immortal Robe and confiscated his treasures.
• Ao Tu explained that Wukong had misunderstood the invitation, and Nezha realized there had been no plan to make his sister Ao Tu’s Dao Companion.
• Nezha blamed Wukong for the confusion, and Ao Tu promised to return his treasures if Nezha helped protect the demons during the fight with Minghe.

Ao Tu and Nezha reconciled, while Wukong invited Guanyin to witness Ao Tu’s planned union with Heavenly King Li’s daughter. In the Bottomless Cave, the Rat Spirit tried to win Tang Sanzang’s affection, but his vow made her leave in anger.

• Ao Tu returned Nezha’s treasures and offered him the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow, which Nezha accepted after they teased each other.
• The Rat Spirit asked Ao Tu to remove Sha Wujing, then greeted Nezha, who explained their old connection and accused Ao Tu of liking young women.
• Ao Tu arranged for Nezha to stay, and Nezha spent the following days bickering with him and teasing him.
• Wukong delivered Ao Tu’s invitation to Guanyin, who hurried off after learning he planned to become Dao Companions with Heavenly King Li’s daughter.
• The Rat Spirit tried to seduce Tang Sanzang, but he swore he would never break his vows, so she left in anger.

Guanyin Bodhisattva disguised herself as the Rat Spirit to test Ao Tu’s resistance to desire, but her attempt to enlighten him through countless love trials failed. After they reconciled, Ao Tu told Guanyin Bodhisattva about his preparations to attack Minghe of the Blood Sea, and she agreed to help.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva captured the Rat Spirit in the Jade-Cleansing Bottle and entered the Bottomless Cave disguised as her.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva watched Ao Tu refuse advances from female demons, then found him resting with the Eldest Sister Spider Demon.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva tried to enlighten Ao Tu by taking him through countless lifetimes and trials of love, but he revealed that he had recognized her disguise and seen through her test.
• Ao Tu released the Rat Spirit from the Jade-Cleansing Bottle and sent her away to change, while Guanyin Bodhisattva admitted she had misjudged him.
• After Guanyin Bodhisattva recovered, Ao Tu explained his plans to attack Minghe of the Blood Sea, and she agreed to help.

Ao Tu gathered allies and prepared to lead an army against Blood Sea, with Guanyin Bodhisattva joining the campaign and receiving a star-forged chain. After entering the Netherworld, Ao Tu restrained his troops and went to pay his respects to Empress Houtu.

• Ao Tu explained to Guanyin Bodhisattva that the Rat Spirit was his sworn younger sister, then agreed to forge her a chain as payment for help against Blood Sea.
• Ao Tu forged Guanyin Bodhisattva a starlit chain from divine iron and stellar cores, and she accepted it.
• The Twenty-Eight Mansions, Bull Demon King, Taibai Jinxing, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Wukong arrived, and Ao Tu clarified the misunderstanding about his Dao Companion before planning the campaign.
• Ao Tu assigned Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva to help deal with the three remaining Asura Kings, then prepared elixirs and holy water for the army.
• The Rat Spirit abandoned her attempts to seduce Tang Sanzang and joined Ao Tu's army, but fell silent when he rebuked her request for his yang essence.
• Ao Tu led the demons through a passage into the Netherworld, ordered them to remain in the city, and went to pay his respects to Empress Houtu.

Ao Tu secured Empress Houtu’s help and gathered support in the past for creating humans in the western and northern lands. After deciding to use wild beasts as the materials for those humans, he persuaded Giant Turtle to dispel the north’s baleful energy by promising him a future human reincarnation and great merit.

• Ao Tu returned Gonggong’s remains to Empress Houtu, who agreed to help prepare the western and northern lands and gave him five grains and other crops.
• Empress Houtu offered to hold Minghe back while Ao Tu contacted the past, where Phoenix and Qilin refused to help but Ancestral Dragon pledged his remaining legacies and explained the merit of connecting the seas.
• Ao Tu instructed his Good Corpse to begin preparing the lands and creating humans, with the Three Pure Ones, Nuwa, the Wu Clan, and the Dragon Race responding without obstruction.
• When the Good Corpse lacked materials for creating humans, Ao Tu decided to use the powerful wild beasts of the western and northern lands.
• Ao Tu promised Giant Turtle that he would be reincarnated as a human and earn great merit in a later age, persuading him to release his hatred and help create the northern Human Race.

Ao Tu’s Good Corpse created the human races of the Western and Northern lands, and the work brought prosperity and immense merit to Ao Tu and his allies. Patriarch Styx repeatedly tried to stop the undertaking, but after it succeeded he gathered the Asuras and prepared for battle.

• Ao Tu’s Good Corpse created the Western Human Race and lent part of the World-Cleansing White Lotus’s spiritual light to a select few.
• The Good Corpse created two Northern Human Races from wild beasts and black and white baleful qi, then gave the Black Baleful Qi Human Race a treasure land to settle.
• The Wu Clan and Dragon Race improved the Northwestern Two Lands, allowing their human populations to flourish.
• Empress Houtu, the Supreme Dao Ancestor, and Zhunti Daoist repeatedly defeated Patriarch Styx as he tried to obstruct Ao Tu’s creation.
• Heaven bestowed merit on Ao Tu, the Good Corpse, and their allies, while the greatest remaining share gilded Ao Tu’s Gratitude Bag.
• Patriarch Styx revived in the sea of blood, gathered his Asuras, and prepared to fight after his former Daoist companions refused to help him.

Ao Tu led the demons and Buddhist forces into the Blood Sea to confront Patriarch Styx, while his Self Corpse used the Gratitude Bag to capture Asuras and gain followers. After Styx finally attacked, Ao Tu proposed moving their battle away from the others, but Styx refused, and Ao Tu prepared to end the fight quickly.

• Ao Tu gathered Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and his forces at the Blood Sea, where Ksitigarbha converted the Asuras guarding its outskirts.
• Great Sage Yellow Wind swept away seventy-two female Asuras with his Samadhi Divine Wind, then fought the attacking Asuras as Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Guanyin intercepted three Asura Kings.
• Ao Tu summoned his Self Corpse, who used the Gratitude Bag to draw Asuras inside and turn them into devoted followers.
• Patriarch Styx appeared as a drop of blood and attacked Ao Tu, who seized Yuantu and struck Styx with the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree.
• Styx revived after being grievously wounded and challenged Ao Tu, refusing to move their battle away from the others.
• Ao Tu protected himself with the Three-Faced Five Directional Banners and said he would finish the fight quickly.

Ao Tu and Patriarch Styx fought over the Blood Sea and their competing Paths, with Ao Tu trying to force Minghe to surrender and serve as Vice Sect Leader. Ao Tu pinned Patriarch Styx beneath three joined Treasure Banners, and his Self Corpse began drawing away the Karmic Fire Red Lotus.

• Ao Tu and Minghe clashed over the Blood Sea, and the Yuantu and Abi Swords wounded Taibai Jinxing’s incarnation before he revealed another incarnation nearby.
• Ao Tu used three Treasure Banners to trap the swords, but Patriarch Styx came forward to retrieve them and fought Ao Tu with the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree and the Karmic Fire Red Lotus.
• Ao Tu demanded the lotus throne, the Blood Sea, and Patriarch Styx’s service as Vice Sect Leader, while Patriarch Styx rejected his terms and challenged his Path.
• Ao Tu inscribed his doctrine on the three Treasure Banners, joined them into a book, and pressed Patriarch Styx into sheltering within his lotus throne.
• Ao Tu called on his Self Corpse, which used the Gratitude Bag to draw the weakening Karmic Fire Red Lotus toward it.

Ao Tu and his allies defeated Patriarch Styx’s forces, while the Self Corpse captured the Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus. Patriarch Styx escaped death by reviving elsewhere, but Ao Tu had taken his swords and threatened him with further defeat.

• Ao Tu suppressed Patriarch Styx beneath his Great Dao as the Self Corpse used the Gratitude Bag to capture the Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva, Nezha, Wukong, and their allies toppled and subdued the Thousand-Eyed Asura King, while Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Manjushri Bodhisattva’s groups defeated the other two Asura Kings.
• Taibai Jinxing severed the Giant-Shouldered Asura King’s head but spared his divine soul, and Patriarch Styx’s hidden allies withdrew after seeing he had no chance of victory.
• The Self Corpse took the captured Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus to the future, leaving Patriarch Styx crushed beneath Ao Tu’s Great Dao.
• Ao Tu took the Yuantu and Abi Swords and demanded Patriarch Styx surrender, but Patriarch Styx turned into a pool of blood and revived elsewhere, boasting of his countless lives.

Ao Tu defeated Patriarch Styx, forced him to surrender the Blood Sea and serve as Vice Sect Leader, then held a banquet for the victorious immortals. At the feast, Ao Tu began recruiting divine officials for the future Evil Realm.

• Ao Tu repeatedly killed Patriarch Styx and captured the Asura Clan, but Patriarch Styx kept reviving in the Blood Sea and refused to surrender.
• Patriarch Styx dispersed himself and dried up the Blood Sea, bringing karmic retribution upon the Three Realms, but Ao Tu used the Chaos Bell to halt the chaos and restore the Blood Sea.
• Patriarch Styx agreed to serve as Ao Tu’s Vice Sect Leader after securing promises that Ao Tu would not humiliate him, drive him from the Blood Sea, or claim his treasures outright.
• Ao Tu released the Asura Clan and celebrated the end of the war with a banquet in the Blood Sea.
• Bajie, Nezha, and Wukong sampled the Blood Sea’s fruit, while Ao Tu promised positions in the Evil Realm to allies and gained the support of Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and the Eighteen Arhats.

After securing the Blood Sea, Ao Tu organized its territory and returned to the Bottomless Cave with Wukong and the others. He later helped the Rat Spirit after her attempt to seduce him was exposed, sending her with Guanyin Bodhisattva to cultivate at Mount Putuo under a magical restraint.

• Ao Tu treated Nezha’s wounds and gave him a bag of sweet fruits to take to his mother and little sister.
• Ao Tu assigned demons to offices in the Blood Sea, concealed his Great Dao there, and had Minghe make copies of a merit Treasure Banner for the territory.
• Ao Tu returned to the Bottomless Cave with Wukong, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the others, and Tang Sanzang’s party later left after the Rat Spirit failed to shake his resolve.
• The Rat Spirit tried to seduce Ao Tu after pretending to flee, but Ao Tu revealed that Guanyin Bodhisattva had stayed behind and offered to send her to Mount Putuo to cultivate.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva restrained the Rat Spirit with a treasure chain made by Ao Tu and took her to the Southern Sea.

Ao Tu investigated the White Lotus’s role in the Northwestern Human Race and concluded that his Good Corpse’s arrangements had failed, allowing evil souls to accumulate. After Tang Sanzang and his disciples left the mission area, Ao Tu collected his rewards and inspected the Third-Grade Green Lotus, bringing his collection of second-generation lotus thrones nearly complete.

• Ao Tu found a virtuous soul inside Zhenhai Temple’s Golden Body and recovered a White Lotus Fragment from it for his Third-Grade White Lotus.
• Ao Tu reasoned that his Good Corpse had failed to reclaim the White Lotus lent to the Northwestern Human Race, allowing savagery and evil souls to accumulate; he remained unsure whether interference or betrayal had caused the failure.
• Ao Tu believed that opening the Good and Evil Realms and resolving the Northwestern Two Lands’ lingering good and evil could earn him the merit needed to attain the Dao.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples left the mission area, and the system settled Ao Tu’s rewards, including a Third-Grade Green Lotus and a Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus Root.
• Ao Tu inspected the rewards and recognized the Green Lotus as the last of the second-generation lotus thrones he sought besides the Red Lotus, while its fragrance seemed familiar to him.

Ao Tu inspected his rewards, summoned Minghe to discuss their unprepared plans for establishing a sect, and took him out to explore the mortal world. When they encountered Tang Sanzang and his disciples, Ao Tu warned Minghe not to attack them directly and led him onward to consider another way to stop their journey.

• Ao Tu examined his rewards, treasured the Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus Root and Creation Mother Qi, and kept them from the Third-Grade Green Lotus.
• Ao Tu summoned Minghe and told him he wanted to go out for a stroll despite having made no preparations to establish their sect.
• Minghe reluctantly stayed overnight at the Bottomless Cave, then transformed his clothes to match Ao Tu's merchant disguise before they set out.
• Ao Tu and Minghe saw Tang Sanzang and his disciples traveling west, and Ao Tu warned Minghe that attacking them would bring trouble from Tathagata Monk and Daoist Jieyin.
• Ao Tu told Minghe to follow him farther ahead and look for a way to stop Tang Sanzang's party.

Ao Tu and Patriarch Styx reached the Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom, where Ao Tu planned to test the Pilgrim’s Buddhist Dharma and persuade the kingdom’s ruler to embrace Buddhism. He enlisted Guanyin Bodhisattva and assigned the reluctant Patriarch Styx the role of their wayward son.

• Ao Tu met Guanyin Bodhisattva, who explained that the king had killed 9,996 monks and needed four renowned monks to fulfill his vow; Ao Tu said he had come to test the Pilgrim.
• Ao Tu and Patriarch Styx entered the prosperous kingdom, and Ao Tu decided it was an ideal place to establish his sect because it exterminated monks.
• Ao Tu rejected Patriarch Styx’s plan to command the people through supernatural force and summoned Guanyin Bodhisattva to help devise a scheme.
• Ao Tu proposed that he and Guanyin pose as elderly parents whose bandit son would be guided back to goodness by the Pilgrim, inspiring the king to revere Buddhism.
• Patriarch Styx objected to playing their son, but Ao Tu invoked his authority as sect leader and made him agree.

Ao Tu, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Patriarch Styx assumed human identities and spent months building a life and reputation in the Dharma-Extinguishing Kingdom while Patriarch Styx became a notorious bandit. When Tang Sanzang and his disciples arrived, Ao Tu sent Patriarch Styx to stage a defeat and asked Guanyin Bodhisattva to warn them that the kingdom arrests monks.

• Ao Tu, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Patriarch Styx took on human forms, while Guanyin Bodhisattva sent the Rat Spirit to Mount Luojia.
• The three adopted the names Hua Shan, Hua Yunlong, and Hua Shan’s wife, registered in the city, and opened a school in their new home.
• Hua Yunlong became a feared street ruffian, stole a Night-Shining Pearl, and fled the city with five thousand taels of silver.
• Hua Yunlong took control of a bandit gang and repeatedly defeated the troops sent to capture him, becoming a major scourge in the kingdom.
• When Tang Sanzang and his disciples arrived, Ao Tu ordered Patriarch Styx to stage a defeat at the crossroads and asked Guanyin Bodhisattva to warn the travelers that monks were arrested there.