Chapter Summaries

Ao Tu tried to persuade Little Alligator Dragon to take a post in Heaven, but Little Alligator Dragon chose to remain in the Black Water River with Mingniang. After Mingniang tried to seduce Ao Tu to win a place in Heaven, he offered her a chance to enter the Heavenly Court and reclaim her family’s underwater residence if she helped him; the chapter ended with her telling Little Alligator Dragon she planned to marry a monk in Bodhisattva Manjushri’s service.

• Ao Tu offered Little Alligator Dragon posts in Tushita Palace, Yaochi, and the Dipper Department, but Little Alligator Dragon refused and chose to stay in the Black Water River with Mingniang.
• Little Alligator Dragon drank a pot of wine, became tipsy, and was carried away by the clam maids while Mingniang continued attending to Ao Tu.
• Mingniang visited Ao Tu at midnight and tried to seduce him, but Ao Tu repelled her with divine thunder and exposed her true shell-covered form.
• Mingniang confessed she wanted a chance to enter the Heavenly Court, and Ao Tu offered to help her and restore her family’s underwater residence if she followed his instructions.
• Mingniang told Little Alligator Dragon she was leaving to marry an old monk who tended the fires for Bodhisattva Manjushri, and she rebuked him as an unworthy wild demon.

Mingniang left Little Alligator Dragon for an old monk, who was actually Ao Tu in disguise, and the heartbreak drove Little Alligator Dragon to seek a position in Heaven. Ao Tu took him toward the Dipper Department, but first visited Tushita Palace, where Taishang Laojun left him a task to deliver Immortal Elixirs to the Queen Mother of the West.

• Mingniang rejected Little Alligator Dragon and left with the old monk, who revealed himself as Ao Tu and threatened her when she tried to seduce him.
• Little Alligator Dragon returned to his palace heartbroken, then asked Ao Tu to help him become an official in Heaven.
• Ao Tu taught Little Alligator Dragon about gift-giving and public and private relationships, and Little Alligator Dragon obtained gifts from Ao Run.
• Ao Tu and Little Alligator Dragon entered the Heavenly Court secretly and visited Tushita Palace, where Gold Horn and Silver Horn welcomed them.
• Ao Tu glimpsed a thirty-three-story Pagoda in the rear hall, then received a Treasure Box of Immortal Elixirs from Gold Horn to deliver to the Queen Mother of the West.

Ao Tu delivered Laojun’s elixir to the Queen Mother of the West and sought help from the Heavenly star lords for Little Alligator Dragon. He left after learning of Great Emperor Gouchen’s plans for the stars, while the fairy in red was left embarrassed by her sisters’ questions about Ao Tu’s teasing.

• Ao Tu visited Douniu Palace, where Taibai Jinxing and the other star lords agreed to recommend Little Alligator Dragon as an Underworld Water Star Official.
• Great Emperor Gouchen gave Ao Tu healing medicine and asked him to find a vicious demon to help persuade the immortals to support restoring the ancient stars; Ao Tu suggested Blood Sea King.
• At Yaochi, Ao Tu persuaded the fairy in red to announce him to the Queen Mother of the West by giving her a Bodhi Seed, then revealed that he had teased her by calling it a gift for the Queen Mother.
• Ao Tu healed the Crimson Pearl Immortal Grass with Great Emperor Gouchen’s medicinal paste and presented Laojun’s elixir to the Queen Mother of the West, who invited him to talk.
• The fairy in red rejected Ao Tu’s apology gift and later told her sisters what had happened; when they urged her to report him, she admitted she had been at fault too.

Ao Tu reclaimed the Black Water River God’s residence, ordered him to prepare villagers for a bridge-building pilgrimage, and settled at Blood Sea Cave with Red Boy serving him. When Tang Sanzang and his disciples reached Drillhead Mountain, Red Boy disguised himself as a helpless child and called to Wukong, who was about to approach before Tang Sanzang stopped him.

• The fairy in red stopped her sisters from reporting Ao Tu, admitting that she had looked down on him before recognizing his true form and feeling hurt by his judgment of her.
• Ao Tu returned to the Black Water River, froze the river god’s soldiers, dragged the fleeing Black Water River God back, and ordered him to tell villagers in dreams that a holy monk would build a bridge.
• Ao Tu named his new home Blood Sea Cave on Broken Arm Peak and spent about half a year making Red Boy serve him, while Red Boy secretly planned to take revenge.
• After Tiger Vanguard reported Tang Sanzang’s approach, Ao Tu sent Red Boy to gain the pilgrims’ trust and obtain their cultivation techniques.
• Red Boy reached the road ahead of Tang Sanzang and his disciples, disguised himself as a bound child, and called Wukong his uncle; Wukong moved to help, but Tang Sanzang warned him that the child was a demon.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples rescued Red Boy, who revealed that he was the Bull Demon King's son and invited them to Fire Cloud Cave. After a welcoming vegetarian feast, they stayed the night in his cave, where Wukong quietly went out to wash their clothes.

• Wukong untied Red Boy from a tree and explained to Tang Sanzang that Red Boy was his nephew, the son of his sworn brother, the Bull Demon King.
• Red Boy called Tang Sanzang his grandmaster and invited him and his disciples to his cave to repay Wukong for the rescue.
• Red Boy led the travelers through a cliff passage, across a stream, and through a forest to Withered Pine Ravine and Fire Cloud Cave.
• Red Boy welcomed the group with lesser demons, arranged a vegetarian feast, and provided rooms for them to stay overnight.
• Bajie and Sha Wujing fell asleep while Tang Sanzang reviewed scriptures, and Wukong went out alone to wash their clothes.

Wukong stayed with Tang Sanzang and the others at Red Boy’s mountain stronghold, entertaining Red Boy with stories of his exploits. Red Boy used their growing trust to persuade Wukong to teach him a cultivation method, while concealing that he wanted the complete method and was preparing to face an opponent.

• Red Boy washed and dried the pilgrims’ clothes, then asked Wukong to recount his battles with Heaven’s forces and other foes.
• Wukong told Red Boy stories through the night and over the following days, while Tang Sanzang repeatedly postponed the group’s departure at Red Boy’s urging.
• Red Boy claimed his parents had driven him away and that he was lonely, then warned that winter snow would make travel dangerous; Tang Sanzang agreed to stay longer.
• Red Boy asked Wukong to teach him skills for protection, and Wukong taught him a cultivation method he had learned in Wuji Kingdom.
• When Wukong offered to defeat Red Boy’s opponent, Red Boy declined and asked to learn a few moves so he could fight the opponent himself.

Wukong taught Red Boy part of a cultivation method while Red Boy grew attached to him and his companions and delayed Tang Sanzang’s departure. Red Boy led Wukong and Bajie to confront his enemy Ao Tu, but Ao Tu defeated them and captured Bajie, Red Boy, Sha Wujing, Tang Sanzang, and the white horse, while Wukong escaped.

• Wukong taught Red Boy an incomplete cultivation method and martial arts, while Bajie and Sha Wujing helped train him; Red Boy repeatedly postponed Tang Sanzang’s departure as he sought the method’s continuation.
• After the snow melted and spring arrived, Red Boy held a farewell banquet and asked Wukong and Bajie to help him defeat the Blood Sea King, his sworn enemy.
• Red Boy, Wukong, and Bajie went to Blood Sea Cave, where Red Boy fought Ao Tu but was trapped by Ao Tu’s spell.
• Wukong and Bajie joined the fight, but Ao Tu’s Black Lotus blocked Red Boy’s Samadhi True Fire, and the flames and smoke drove Wukong into retreat after a series of transformations.
• Ao Tu captured Bajie and Red Boy in the Black Lotus, pursued Wukong to Fire Cloud Cave, and then captured Sha Wujing, Tang Sanzang, and the white horse as Wukong escaped.

Ao Tu captured Tang Sanzang, Sha Wujing, Bajie, and Red Boy, then defeated Wukong with the Black Lotus and imprisoned the captives. Wukong fled to seek help, while the Jade Emperor learned that he had arrived at the Heavenly Court requesting an audience.

• Ao Tu captured Tang Sanzang, Sha Wujing, Bajie, and the white horse, while Wukong returned to find them gone.
• Ao Tu had Tiger Vanguard beat Red Boy until he pretended to surrender, then led him outside to confront Wukong.
• Red Boy and Wukong attacked Ao Tu together, but the Black Lotus blocked their blows and Ao Tu knocked Wukong away.
• Ao Tu returned to the cave, ordered Sha Wujing beaten, and had Tiger Vanguard imprison him with Tang Sanzang, Bajie, and Red Boy.
• Bajie and Red Boy discussed their failed plan in the Prison Cave while Sha Wujing suffered from his injuries.
• At Lingxiao Hall, the Jiazi Tai Sui God reported peace across the Three Realms, and a spirit official announced that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven was requesting an audience.

Wukong sought Heavenly aid against Ao Tu, and Heavenly King Li and the Great Year Department descended to confront the demon. Ao Tu defeated the assembled gods and captured many in his Black Lotus, while Wukong escaped and Heavenly King Li kept his Pagoda safely away.

• Wukong told the Jade Emperor that Ao Tu had abducted Tang Sanzang and his junior brothers, and the Jade Emperor ordered Heavenly King Li and the Great Year Department to help.
• Wukong challenged Ao Tu outside Blood Sea Cave, and the two fought evenly with their weapons and Three Heads and Six Arms.
• Sun Patrol God and Night Patrol God joined the fight, but Ao Tu broke Sun Patrol God’s club and struck the god away, while Night Patrol God fled.
• The assembled gods attacked Ao Tu with spells and treasures, but he endured their assault and drove them off with Divine Fire, Divine Water, Divine Thunder, and a hurricane.
• Wukong escaped on a Somersault Cloud, while Heavenly King Li used his Pagoda from a distance and refused to bring it down to trap Ao Tu.
• Ao Tu’s Black Lotus blocked the Pagoda’s light, and he gathered the gods who could not escape into the lotus.

After defeating the Great Year Department, Ao Tu kept Red Boy as his attendant while the Heavenly Court sent another force to subdue him. Ao Tu devastated the assembled gods with the Soul-Scattering Gourd, leaving their fate unclear.

• Heavenly King Li and the Great Year Department failed to defeat Ao Tu, and Jiazi Great Year reported their losses to Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor.
• Ao Tu imprisoned the captured divine generals, ordered Tiger Vanguard and White Bone Spirit to leave, and kept Red Boy as his attendant by threatening him and the pilgrims.
• About twenty days later, Ao Tu saw the Thunder, Dipper, Water, and Fire Departments arrive and told Red Boy he would show him how to rebel against Heaven.
• The divine generals attacked Ao Tu with fire, floods, thunder, and starlight, while Wukong and the Twenty-Eight Mansions wounded him in battle.
• Heavenly King Li used the Demon-Revealing Mirror but then threw his Pagoda at Ao Tu, who countered with the Soul-Scattering Gourd and caused the Heavenly Court's forces to fall from the sky.

Ao Tu used the Soul-Scattering Gourd to defeat the Heavenly Court’s forces, and even Guanyin Bodhisattva could not overcome the treasure. The Jade Emperor approved Taibai Jinxing’s proposal to offer Ao Tu amnesty and a heavenly title, leaving the demon’s response uncertain.

• Ao Tu captured the Heavenly Court’s divine generals with red sand from the Soul-Scattering Gourd and ordered Red Boy to lock them in prison caves.
• Wukong reported the gourd’s power to the Jade Emperor, then went to Spirit Mountain, where Tathagata Buddha identified the Black Lotus as an evil anomaly and sent Guanyin Bodhisattva with him to defeat Ao Tu.
• Tathagata Buddha gave Guanyin Bodhisattva a golden relic and a gold-lacquered vessel, and separately sent Manjushri Bodhisattva to invite Great Emperor Zhenwu.
• Wukong challenged Ao Tu at Blood Sea Cave, but fled when Ao Tu used the Soul-Scattering Gourd; Guanyin Bodhisattva’s Jade-Cleansing Bottle was broken, and she retreated after the red sand damaged her Lotus Throne.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva and Wukong returned to Lingxiao Hall, where Taibai Jinxing proposed granting Ao Tu the title of Blood Sea Great Sage Who Pacifies the Netherworld in exchange for his submission.

Taibai Jinxing proposed amnesty for Ao Tu, but Guanyin Bodhisattva brought the Buddha’s warning about the Black Lotus and Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor sent Great Emperor Zhenwu to subdue him. Ao Tu escaped Zhenwu’s attack but was cornered by Manjushri Bodhisattva, and Red Boy helped him before Ao Tu revealed a strange transformed form and ordered Red Boy to steal the Banana Leaf Fan.

• Taibai Jinxing proposed appointing Ao Tu the Blood Sea Great Sage of Peace, and Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor agreed to build his residence beside Wukong’s.
• Guanyin Bodhisattva warned that Ao Tu’s Black Lotus threatened the Three Realms, and Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor ordered Great Emperor Zhenwu to capture him.
• Taibai Jinxing arranged for a heavenly horse to escape from the Imperial Equine Stables, and Zhenwu descended with Wukong, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Nezha to surround Blood Sea Cave.
• Zhenwu fought Ao Tu with the Black-Carved Eagle Banner and Precious Sword, but deliberately missed a fatal strike and let Ao Tu escape.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva cornered Ao Tu and captured Red Boy after Red Boy used Samadhi True Fire to help his king escape.
• As the gods surrounded him, Ao Tu transformed and told Red Boy to steal the Banana Leaf Fan to repay the karmic debt.

Ao Tu battled Manjushri Bodhisattva and Emperor Zhenwu, then unleashed a devastating axe stroke to rescue Red Boy. The strike nearly killed Manjushri, but an unknown figure intervened and took both him and the axe-light away.

• Ao Tu endured Manjushri Bodhisattva’s attacks until Guanyin Bodhisattva immobilized him and Emperor Zhenwu pierced his chest with a sword.
• Ao Tu merged his twelve powers, broke free, knocked Manjushri from his Lotus Throne, rescued Red Boy, and drove Manjushri back.
• Manjushri Bodhisattva enlisted Emperor Zhenwu to help defeat Ao Tu, who was gravely injured and struggling to contain his power.
• Ao Tu gathered his remaining strength into a terrifying axe stroke, consuming his essence, qi, and spirit and causing his body to burst apart.
• The broken axe-light shattered Manjushri’s Dragon-Binding Pillar, severed his eight arms, and cut into his chest before an unknown figure seized them both and took them away.

After the demons were defeated, Wukong and Nezha mourned Ao Tu, who secretly returned to retrieve his treasures while Nezha briefly came back to replace a stolen offering. In the Black Water River, Ao Tu received his interception rewards and began refining demon emperor essence blood as his next quest started.

• Guanyin Bodhisattva repaired Heavenly King Li's Pagoda and restored Li's Divine Soul, while Nezha pretended to treat his father before letting Guanyin take him to Cloud Tower Palace.
• After Wukong told Nezha about Ao Tu's death, Tang Sanzang and his disciples resumed their journey, and Wukong later went to pay respects at Ao Tu's grave.
• Nezha, Wukong, and Bajie honored Ao Tu at his grave, and Bajie added himself to the gravestone as Ao Tu's friend.
• Ao Tu secretly appeared after the three left, retrieved the Soul-Scattering Gourd and Alms Bowl, and escaped before Nezha returned with a fresh steamed bun.
• Ao Tu received the rewards for his previous quest and began the Black Water River side quest with 160 days of progress.
• Ao Tu swallowed and began refining the demon emperor essence blood, sensing its strong affinity with his own bloodline.

Ao Tu refined the demon emperor essence blood, then arranged for his incarnation to pose as the Black Water River God and appear in an official’s dream. The official had arrived to investigate reports that the River God foretold a holy monk would build a bridge, and the chapter ended as Ao Tu introduced himself as the river’s Dragon King.

• Ao Tu refined the demon emperor essence blood, strengthening his magical power and deepening the mysterious force within him.
• Mingniang and White Bone Spirit felt compelled to submit to Ao Tu, and Ao Tu sent Mingniang to visit the villagers’ dreams.
• Villagers told an investigating official that the River God had repeatedly foretold a holy monk would build a great bridge across the Black Water River.
• Ao Tu seized the Black Water River God’s Seal, gave it to his River God incarnation, and ordered the old god to accept the incarnation as the new River God.
• That night, Ao Tu appeared to the official in a dream, and the frightened official called him a demon before Ao Tu identified himself as the Dragon King of the Black Water River.

Ao Tu secured the kingdom’s agreement to build a bridge across the Black Water River and demonstrate that its fish were safe to eat. He rescued children from a sacrificial rite, rejected a human offering, and warned the imperial commissioner that the bridge and kingdom would suffer if the people’s prayers were insincere.

• Ao Tu visited the official’s dream and told him a holy monk would build a bridge across the Black Water River, asking that a river god’s temple be built beside it.
• The official explained that the river blocked trade between the kingdom’s eastern and western lands, then promised to report Ao Tu’s request to his sovereign.
• More than a month later, an imperial commissioner held a sacrificial ceremony at the river, where two little tigers and two little wolves devoured the animal offerings.
• When the commissioner’s subordinates threw a young boy and girl into the river, Ao Tu rescued them and ordered the people not to sacrifice humans.
• Ao Tu refused the maiden offered to him and told the commissioner that the temple should serve the people’s devout worship, then warned that insincere prayers could bring punishment, the bridge’s destruction, and floods.

Ao Tu threatened the Huoluo Kingdom’s envoy and declared that bridge construction at Black Water River had to wait for Tang Sanzang. After Tang Sanzang and his disciples reached the kingdom, the King welcomed them and sent them under escort to the river.

• Ao Tu told the envoy that the bridge could be built only after Tang Sanzang arrived, and the envoy decided to wait near Black Water River.
• Merchants bought land around the river, but the sovereign claimed it as Imperial Lands while allowing commoners to keep farming it.
• Ao Tu taught cultivation arts and spells to Tiger Vanguard, White Bone Spirit, Two Little Tigers, and Two Little Wolves, while warning Mingniang that his spells were demonic.
• Tang Sanzang and his three disciples entered the Huoluo Kingdom and were recognized by a household that informed the authorities.
• An official explained the bridge matter, and Wukong agreed with Tang Sanzang that they should go see the Dragon King for themselves.
• The King hosted Tang Sanzang and his disciples in the Imperial Palace, stamped their Passbook, and sent them under escort to Black Water River.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples met the Imperial Envoy in the Black Water River region and went to question the river god about the Great Bridge. Wukong confronted Ao Tu, who explained that he wanted Tang Sanzang to build the bridge so he could help the westward journey without breaking the heavenly rules.

• The Imperial Envoy welcomed Tang Sanzang and explained that the river god had requested a Great Bridge, while defending the sacrifice of children as a necessary price for the kingdom’s prosperity.
• Tang Sanzang refused to promise that he could build the bridge and agreed to inspect the river; Wukong rejected the Envoy’s elaborate preparations and offerings.
• At the riverbank, Bajie mistook the Black Water River tablet for the one from the Flowing Sand River, and Wukong corrected him before summoning the river god with his Golden Cudgel.
• Wukong seized Ao Tu and accused him of scheming against Tang Sanzang; Ao Tu admitted that he wanted the bridge to connect the Huoluo Kingdom and Chechi Kingdom and earn the people’s incense offerings.
• Ao Tu revealed that he was the Jing River Dragon King’s ninth son, Ao Jie, and explained that he needed Tang Sanzang to build the bridge because divine aid for the pilgrimage would earn merit rather than violate heavenly rules.

Tang Sanzang and his disciples agreed to help Ao Tu build a bridge across Black Water River, and the King of Huoluo Kingdom funded the project and promised tax relief. After the silver reached the river, Ao Tu claimed a Monster Rat had already stolen some, and he and Wukong wagered three blows over whether any was missing.

• Ao Tu asked Huoluo Kingdom to secure a tax-reduction decree, provide two hundred thousand taels of silver, and conscript twenty thousand laborers before he built the bridge.
• Tang Sanzang and his disciples traveled to the capital, where the King approved the funding and promised to reduce taxes by one-tenth when the bridge was completed.
• Officials escorted the silver to Black Water River while Wukong watched for the supposed Monster Rat, but he saw no sign of it.
• After the silver was stored, Ao Tu told Wukong that the Monster Rat had already stolen some, and Wukong accused Ao Tu of tricking him.
• Ao Tu wagered that missing silver would earn him three blows from Wukong, while no missing silver would earn Wukong three blows from Ao Tu; Wukong accepted.

Ao Tu exposed the theft of the bridge silver and proved Wukong had lost their wager. Wukong forced the Huoluo Kingdom’s officials to return the missing silver, then accepted his loss, while Ao Tu postponed striking him.

• Ao Tu persuaded the imperial commissioner to have the silver counted and recruit twenty thousand hired workers to build the bridge.
• The officials first reported more silver than expected, but Ao Tu revealed that Landlord Wang’s dishonest scales concealed a large shortfall.
• Ao Tu had the Black Water River God weigh the silver accurately, and the transport official admitted that Huoluo’s ministers and nobles had stolen it.
• Wukong threatened the officials in the capital, and they returned the missing silver, which he carried back to the riverbank.
• Wukong admitted defeat and offered to take the three blows, but Ao Tu said he would save them for later.