Recaps

The Black Bear Spirit held Tang Xuanzang hostage to force Sun Wukong to let him escape with the kasaya. Ao Lie ambushed the Black Bear Spirit, and Sun Wukong rescued his master before joining the fight, leaving the Black Bear Spirit’s escape blocked by Wukong’s clones.

• The Black Bear Spirit threatened to kill Tang Xuanzang unless Sun Wukong let him go, while Tang Xuanzang urged Sun Wukong to retrieve the kasaya.
• Ao Lie crept behind the Black Bear Spirit as Sun Wukong distracted him, then struck when the Black Bear Spirit loosened his grip on Tang Xuanzang.
• Sun Wukong carried Tang Xuanzang to safety and went to help Ao Lie, who announced his identity as the third prince of the Dragon Palace of the Western Sea.
• The Black Bear Spirit summoned a black tornado and tried to flee, so Sun Wukong created clones with replica Jingu Bangs to block his path.

Sun Wukong subdued the Black Bear Spirit after Tang Xuanzang repeatedly stopped him from killing the demon and asked for the kasaya back. When the Black Bear Spirit refused, Tang Xuanzang had him restrained so he could teach him, while Sun Wukong and Little White Dragon waited nearby.

• Tang Xuanzang stopped Sun Wukong from striking the Black Bear Spirit and urged him to restrain the demon instead.
• Sun Wukong and his clones joined Little White Dragon in defeating the Black Bear Spirit and demanded that he return the kasaya.
• The Black Bear Spirit refused, and Tang Xuanzang intervened again to stop Sun Wukong from killing him.
• Tang Xuanzang asked Little White Dragon to bind the Black Bear Spirit to a tree so he could teach him and bring him into the Buddhist fold.
• Sun Wukong and Little White Dragon watched Tang Xuanzang, then joked about the hardships of their journey west.

After Tang Xuanzang subdued the Black Bear Spirit, Bodhisattva Guanyin took him away for guidance and told Sun Wukong to protect Tang Monk on the journey. Sun Wukong retrieved the kasaya from Black Wind Cave and returned to find Tang Xuanzang reforming the old monk.

• Tang Xuanzang dispelled the Black Bear Spirit's savagery, leaving him unable to attack.
• Bodhisattva Guanyin arrived, praised Tang Xuanzang and Sun Wukong for subduing the Black Bear Spirit, and took the bear away to guide him.
• Bodhisattva Guanyin told Sun Wukong to protect Tang Xuanzang and cooperate with the White Dragon Horse, then hinted that something good might happen at their next stop.
• Sun Wukong went to Black Wind Cave, reclaimed Tang Xuanzang's kasaya, and ordered the lesser demons to stop troubling people and cultivate.
• Sun Wukong returned to the temple and found Tang Xuanzang helping the old monk overcome his obsession with kasayas.

Sun Wukong and Tang Monk reached a valley shrouded in foul haze and stopped at a farmhouse to seek food and information. The farmer revealed that the haze might have come from Old Gao Village, then agreed to explain the village after Sun Wukong pressed him about a big black pig.

• Sun Wukong sensed something dangerous in a murky mountain valley and found a nearby house where he and Tang Monk could rest and beg for food.
• A frightened householder opened the gate, but Tang Monk calmed him and explained that they were traveling from the Great Tang to fetch scriptures.
• After serving them porridge, the householder denied knowing about the valley’s strange conditions, then said the miasma must have drifted from Old Gao Village.
• Sun Wukong pursued the fleeing householder and demanded to know what was in Old Gao Village.
• The householder agreed to tell them about the village but asked them not to reveal that he had spoken, fearing trouble from a big black pig.

A former hired hand told Sun Wukong and Tang Monk how a dark, strong laborer at Old Gao Village transformed into a black pig spirit, killed workers, and imprisoned Gao Cuilan. The two monks reached Old Gao Village and met Squire Gao, who welcomed them and asked them to subdue the spirit.

• A former hired hand recounted how the dark laborer transformed into a huge black pig, killed workers, and seized Gao Cuilan.
• Sun Wukong and Tang Monk decided to visit Old Gao Village, despite the man's warning that many would-be demon slayers had died there.
• The man escorted Sun Wukong and Tang Monk to the village gates, then fled when they continued toward the village.
• A guard mistook Sun Wukong for a demon and tried to shut the gates, but Tang Monk explained that they had come to help.
• Squire Gao welcomed the monks and asked whether they had come to subdue the black pig spirit.

Sun Wukong learned that the Black Pig Spirit had imprisoned Gao Cuilan in the rear courtyard of Old Gao Village and planned to rescue her while the spirit was away. After waiting until the third watch, he transformed into a sparrow and slipped into the courtyard.

• Squire Gao told Tang Xuanzang and Sun Wukong that the Black Pig Spirit had taken Gao Cuilan and kept her in the inner room for more than two years.
• Sun Wukong proposed rescuing Gao Cuilan, disguising himself as her, and confronting the Black Pig Spirit, but Tang Xuanzang warned him not to take a life unless necessary.
• Squire Gao explained that the Black Pig Spirit left at the third watch each night, and Sun Wukong agreed to wait until then.
• At the third watch, Sun Wukong spotted the Black Pig Spirit riding away on a black cloud and transformed into a sparrow.
• Sun Wukong flew into the rear courtyard and headed toward the house while Tang Xuanzang told Squire Gao to wait at the agreed meeting place.

Sun Wukong rescued Gao Cuilan from Zhu Ganglie and reunited her with Squire Gao. When Zhu Ganglie returned, Sun Wukong disguised himself as Gao Cuilan to trick him.

• Sun Wukong entered the bridal chamber and revealed himself to Gao Cuilan, who fainted from fright.
• Gao Cuilan agreed to leave with Sun Wukong but begged him to spare Zhu Ganglie, explaining that he had never mistreated her.
• Sun Wukong brought Gao Cuilan back to Squire Gao, and she reunited with her parents.
• A demonic wind announced Zhu Ganglie's return, so Sun Wukong sent Tang Xuanzang and the Gao family away and took Gao Cuilan's appearance.
• Zhu Ganglie entered the room, and Sun Wukong greeted him as his wife, leaving him stunned.

Sun Wukong rescued Gao Cuilan and confronted Zhu Ganglie, who recognized him as the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses after their fight began. Zhu Ganglie used an Azure Spirit Pearl to repel Sun Wukong’s attack and claimed it was a treasure formed from a primordial divine stone.

• Sun Wukong revealed himself to Zhu Ganglie after kicking him away and said he had rescued Miss Gao.
• Zhu Ganglie attacked Sun Wukong, then summoned his Nine-Toothed Rake when he began losing.
• Sun Wukong summoned the Jingu Bang and overpowered Zhu Ganglie, who recognized him as the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses.
• Sun Wukong raised the Sea-Calming Divine Needle to strike Zhu Ganglie, but Zhu Ganglie blocked it with the Azure Spirit Pearl and its rebounding force blasted Sun Wukong away.
• Zhu Ganglie told Sun Wukong that the Azure Spirit Pearl was a mountain-guarding treasure from a divine stone that fell when heaven and earth were first created.

Sun Wukong used Samadhi True Fire to force Zhu Ganglie to flee into Black Pig Cave, then transformed into a pangolin and tunneled inside. After they fought for three hundred rounds, Zhu Ganglie asked for a truce, and Sun Wukong pointed at him.

• Zhu Ganglie used the Azure Spirit Pearl to repel Sun Wukong’s attacks and tried to leave, but Sun Wukong attacked him with Samadhi True Fire.
• Zhu Ganglie fled on a black cloud to Black Pig Cave, and Sun Wukong chased him there on a Somersault Cloud.
• Sun Wukong could not break through the Nine Heavens Mysterious Stone doors, so he transformed into a pangolin and dug a tunnel into the cave.
• Zhu Ganglie mistook the pangolin for prey, but Sun Wukong revealed himself and challenged him with the Jingu Bang.
• Sun Wukong and Zhu Ganglie fought for three hundred rounds, after which Zhu Ganglie asked to call a truce.

Sun Wukong defeated Zhu Ganglie, but stopped short of killing him when Zhu Ganglie revealed that Bodhisattva Guanyin had sent him to wait for Tang Xuanzang. Sun Wukong ordered Zhu Ganglie to come meet his master.

• Zhu Ganglie made a duplicate of himself, but Sun Wukong answered by creating several monkeys and quickly defeated both Zhu Ganglies.
• Zhu Ganglie transformed into a gigantic wild boar and charged Sun Wukong, who grew into his own enormous true form and slammed him into the ground.
• Sun Wukong pinned Zhu Ganglie with the Jingu Bang and prepared to kill him for bringing disaster to the world.
• Zhu Ganglie revealed that Bodhisattva Guanyin had commanded him to wait for a scripture seeker from the Great Tang named Tang Xuanzang.
• Sun Wukong recognized Zhu Ganglie as Guanyin's promised surprise, walked away, then told him to come meet Master.

Sun Wukong brought Zhu Ganglie to Tang Xuanzang, where Zhu explained that Bodhisattva Guanyin had sent him to protect the scripture pilgrim. Bodhisattva Guanyin arrived and confirmed that Zhu would become Tang Xuanzang’s second disciple, leaving Tang with the task of guiding him on the journey west.

• Sun Wukong told Zhu Ganglie that Tang Xuanzang was the scripture pilgrim and brought him to Old Gao Village.
• Zhu Ganglie stared at Gao Cuilan until Sun Wukong slapped him and twisted his ear, then sent him to explain himself to Tang Xuanzang.
• Zhu Ganglie knelt before Tang Xuanzang and revealed that Bodhisattva Guanyin had instructed him to wait for the scripture pilgrim and protect him.
• Zhu Ganglie explained that he had been Marshal Tianpeng, had been banished after harassing Chang'e, and had waited in Old Gao Village for more than fifty years.
• Bodhisattva Guanyin arrived and appointed Zhu Ganglie as Tang Xuanzang’s second disciple, telling Tang to guide him on the journey to Western Heaven.

Tang Xuanzang accepted Zhu Ganglie as a disciple and renamed him Zhu Bajie before setting out from Old Gao Village. As Gao Cuilan promised to wait for Zhu Bajie until he returned with the scriptures, he left in tears.

• Bodhisattva Guanyin urged Zhu Ganglie to overcome his laziness and follow Tang Xuanzang to obtain the scriptures.
• Tang Xuanzang named Zhu Ganglie Zhu Bajie, and Squire Gao and Gao Cuilan thanked him for subduing the demon.
• Zhu Bajie teased Little White Dragon, who revealed his true form as Ao Lie and demanded respect; Tang Xuanzang told them to greet each other as fellow disciples.
• The next morning, Zhu Bajie reluctantly prepared to leave Old Gao Village, and Sun Wukong scolded him for lingering after harming Gao Cuilan.
• Gao Cuilan told Zhu Bajie she would wait for him and become his bride after he obtained the scriptures, and Zhu Bajie turned away in tears.

Tang Xuanzang and his disciples reached a deserted, impoverished town and accepted shelter from a poor farmer’s family. The cause of the town’s poverty remained unknown as they settled in for the night.

• Ao Changsheng and Old Ancestor Hongmeng discussed weakening the Devil Race during the Immeasurable Tribulation.
• Tang Xuanzang’s group entered a deserted town and decided to rest there for the night.
• Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie frightened a farmer, who fainted when he saw them.
• Tang Xuanzang explained who his disciples were, and the farmer’s wife let them stay in her home.
• Zhu Bajie complained about the meager meal, then apologized and promised to adjust to the hardships ahead.

Tang Xuanzang and his disciples learned that the Black Wind Monster had drained the city of its oil, leaving its people impoverished. Sun Wukong sent Zhu Bajie to challenge the demon, and the peasant woman pointed him toward a tall tower.

• The peasant woman warned Tang Xuanzang and his disciples not to go outside at night, then told them a demon called the Black Wind Monster had ruined the city by drinking all its oil.
• Sun Wukong offered to deal with the demon, while Tang Xuanzang urged him to learn more about the Yellow Wind Monster first.
• Sun Wukong ordered Zhu Bajie to fight the demon, and Tang Xuanzang backed him when Zhu Bajie protested.
• Zhu Bajie agreed to go and asked where to find the Yellow Wind Monster, and the peasant woman directed him toward a tall tower.

Zhu Bajie returned battered after losing to the Yellow Wind Monster, whose powerful treasure stirred up blinding sand. Sun Wukong went to confront the monster and gained the upper hand in their fight.

• A farm woman told Tang Xuanzang's group that the city offered candles to the Yellow Wind Monster to keep him from harming people.
• Zhu Bajie went to challenge the Yellow Wind Monster but returned covered in sand and said the monster had nearly defeated him with a treasure.
• Sun Wukong set out to confront the Yellow Wind Monster despite Tang Xuanzang's concern.
• Sun Wukong found the Yellow Wind Monster at a candlelit tower, and the monster mocked him as the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses.
• Sun Wukong and the Yellow Wind Monster began fighting with their staffs, and Sun Wukong held the advantage.

Sun Wukong fought the Yellow Wind Monster, who transformed into a giant rat and unleashed a sandstorm with a black stone. While Zhu Bajie went to help, the Yellow Wind Monster’s minions attacked Tang Xuanzang’s shelter, and Tang Xuanzang surrendered after a leopard spirit took the farmer’s wife hostage.

• Sun Wukong pressed the Yellow Wind Monster, who transformed into a huge black-furred rat and summoned a sandstorm with the black stone in its mouth.
• At the farmer’s house, Zhu Bajie worried that Sun Wukong had been eaten, so Tang Xuanzang sent him to help his senior brother.
• Several spirits broke into the farmer’s house and demanded that Tang Xuanzang come with them on the Yellow Wind King’s orders.
• Tang Xuanzang used a golden light to knock down several minor fiends, then warned them to stop fighting.
• A leopard spirit seized the farmer’s wife and threatened to kill her, so Tang Xuanzang agreed to go with the spirits.

The Yellow Wind Monster’s attack kept Sun Wukong occupied while the leopard demon captured Tang Xuanzang. After learning that Tang Xuanzang had been taken to Yellow Wind Cave, Sun Wukong entered the cave in disguise while Zhu Bajie waited outside.

• The leopard demon had Tang Xuanzang bound and ordered his demons to take him away, promising to spare the peasant woman.
• Zhu Bajie arrived to help Sun Wukong fight the Yellow Wind Monster, but the monster escaped after revealing that his demons had likely captured Tang Xuanzang.
• Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie returned to the peasant woman’s home, learned that Tang Xuanzang had been taken, and headed for the mountain behind the city.
• The brothers reached Yellow Wind Cave, where Sun Wukong told Zhu Bajie to wait outside while he went in to rescue Tang Xuanzang.
• Sun Wukong plucked a hair and vanished from sight, while Zhu Bajie mistook him for someone who had disappeared.

Sun Wukong infiltrated Yellow Wind Cave to find Tang Xuanzang, but the Yellow Wind King defeated him with a powerful black bead called the Obsidian. Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie remained outside without a plan to rescue their master when the White Dragon Horse arrived.

• Sun Wukong turned into a fly and entered Yellow Wind Cave while Zhu Bajie stood guard outside.
• Sun Wukong found the Yellow Wind King drinking oil, was swallowed as a fly, and returned to his normal size inside the monster's mouth.
• The Yellow Wind King used the Obsidian to summon a fierce wind and drove Sun Wukong from the cave.
• Zhu Bajie suggested dividing the luggage and returning to Old Gao Village, but Sun Wukong warned him not to abandon Tang Xuanzang.
• The White Dragon Horse arrived and asked Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie why they had not gone to rescue Tang Xuanzang.

Ao Lie explained that the Yellow Wind Monster’s Obsidian controlled flying sand and stones, then suggested water could weaken its power. Sun Wukong sent Zhu Bajie to challenge the monster while Ao Lie prepared to bring water.

• Ao Lie told Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie that the Obsidian came from Candle Dragon and controlled flying sand and stones.
• Ao Lie suggested that water would weigh down the sand and weaken the Obsidian’s power.
• Sun Wukong asked Zhu Bajie to summon rain, but Zhu Bajie said he could no longer do it.
• Ao Lie offered to draw water from his abilities as the West Sea Dragon King’s third prince.
• Sun Wukong threatened Ao Lie with the Jingu Bang until Ao Lie agreed to help, then ordered Zhu Bajie to hold off the Yellow Wind Monster.
• Zhu Bajie went to the cave entrance and shouted a challenge to the Yellow Wind Monster.

Zhu Bajie was overwhelmed by the Yellow Wind Monster and the cave’s little demons, then accidentally drove them back by relieving himself in his pants. Sun Wukong and Ao Lie arrived to help, and Sun Wukong found Zhu Bajie fighting timidly while Tang Monk remained captive.

• The Yellow Wind Monster defeated Zhu Bajie and ordered the little demons to surround him.
• Zhu Bajie pleaded to be let go because he had to relieve himself, but the Yellow Wind Monster refused.
• Zhu Bajie shit his pants, filling the area with a foul smell that made the Yellow Wind Monster and little demons cover their noses.
• Sun Wukong and Ao Lie decided to head to Yellow Wind Cave after realizing Zhu Bajie might not rescue Tang Monk.
• Sun Wukong struck down several little demons, then questioned Zhu Bajie for fighting the rest so timidly.

Sun Wukong used Little White Dragon’s rain to neutralize the Yellow Wind Monster’s sandstorm and defeat him with the Ruyi Jingu Bang. The Yellow Wind Monster surrendered and went into his cave to bring out Tang Xuanzang.

• Zhu Bajie ran off to take care of his upset stomach, leaving Sun Wukong to face the Yellow Wind Monster and his Obsidian.
• The Yellow Wind Monster unleashed a sandstorm at Sun Wukong, who escaped it by leaving a hair clone in his place.
• Sun Wukong asked Little White Dragon to pray for rain, and the downpour soaked the sand and stones, rendering the Yellow Wind Monster’s technique useless.
• Sun Wukong struck the Yellow Wind Monster with the Ruyi Jingu Bang and pinned him beneath it until he begged for mercy.
• Sun Wukong ordered the Yellow Wind Monster to release Tang Xuanzang and stop harming the city’s people, and the defeated monster went into the cave.

Tang Xuanzang and his disciples defeated the Yellow Wind Monster and returned him to the town, where Xuanzang persuaded its ruler to let him spread Buddhism. Meanwhile, Guiche and Luohou agreed to enslave humans and consume their vital essence to strengthen their forces, while Xuanzang’s group set out west the next morning.

• Tang Xuanzang reunited with Sun Wukong after the Yellow Wind Monster invited him out, and the disciples discovered an old man’s bronze statue in the cave.
• Near the poles of the Primordial World, Guiche proposed that he and Luohou join forces and enslave humans to devour their vital essence.
• Tang Xuanzang and his disciples brought the captured Yellow Wind Monster back to the town, and the farmwoman called for the city lord after seeing him alive.
• Tang Xuanzang told the ruler he wanted to spread Buddhist teachings, and the ruler welcomed him and agreed to let him preach among his people.
• After spending the night in town, Tang Xuanzang and his disciples departed early the next morning, while Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie discussed their master’s enthusiasm.

Tang Xuanzang and his disciples reached a town beside the frozen Tongtian River, also called the Flowing Sand River, and learned that no one had ever crossed it. Sun Wukong urged them to cross, while Zhu Bajie advised taking a month-long detour, leaving Tang Xuanzang to decide.

• After crossing several mountains, Zhu Bajie spotted a town and hurried the group toward it to beg for alms.
• Sun Wukong scouted the town and learned that the Tongtian River’s year-round ice made the area bitterly cold.
• Town officials questioned Tang Xuanzang and his disciples, then warned them that crossing the Flowing Sand River was forbidden and suggested a long detour.
• Tang Xuanzang asked his disciples whether they should cross the frozen river or go around it.
• Sun Wukong recommended crossing, while Zhu Bajie urged Tang Xuanzang to avoid the risk and take the detour.

Sun Wukong proposed crossing the frozen Flowing Sand River, and Tang Xuanzang agreed despite Zhu Bajie's warnings. The group set out across the ice while Zhu Bajie stayed behind, grumbling at their insults.

• Sun Wukong kicked at Zhu Bajie, who dodged and hid behind Tang Xuanzang before the two argued about how to cross the Flowing Sand River.
• Zhu Bajie suggested they keep heading west, but Sun Wukong rejected his idea and Tang Xuanzang asked Sun Wukong to devise another way.
• Sun Wukong proposed walking across the river's thick ice, and Tang Xuanzang accepted his plan.
• Zhu Bajie warned that a river monster could attack them on the ice, but Tang Xuanzang asked him for a better alternative and then decided to trust Sun Wukong.
• Sun Wukong reassured Zhu Bajie that he and the White Dragon Horse would protect Tang Xuanzang, and the three headed onto the ice as they mocked Zhu Bajie.
• Zhu Bajie complained that the others were bullying him and warned that they would face retribution one day.

Sun Wukong, Tang Xuanzang, and Zhu Bajie crossed the Flowing Sand River over its sturdy ice while an enemy waited beneath them, plotting to capture Tang Xuanzang. Their banter turned into a quarrel between Zhu Bajie and the White Dragon Horse, which Tang Xuanzang stopped with a threat to use his Great Might Heavenly Dragon.

• Sun Wukong tested the ice with a blow from the Jingu Bang, nearly cracking it, then led the group across.
• A dark figure beneath the ice blamed Sun Wukong for damaging his cave and planned to break through the ice and seize Tang Xuanzang.
• Sun Wukong asked Zhu Bajie about the Heavenly River, and Zhu Bajie boasted about his former rank as Grand Marshal Tianpeng.
• The White Dragon Horse mocked Zhu Bajie for harassing Chang'e and being banished, prompting Zhu Bajie to draw his Nine-Toothed Rake and challenge him.
• Tang Xuanzang ordered Zhu Bajie to stop and threatened him with Great Might Heavenly Dragon, so Zhu Bajie begged for mercy and the group continued.