Recaps

Sun Wukong learned why Chechi Kingdom favored Daoists and met monks enslaved by the Daoist masters. After hearing how the three masters had won the king’s favor, he told the monks to leave.

• Sun Wukong learned from two Daoists that the kingdom’s king favored Daoism and that their master was the imperial preceptor.
• The Daoists said three immortal masters had ended a long drought by summoning wind and rain, winning the king’s favor.
• Sun Wukong claimed he was searching for his missing monk master, and the Daoists took him to the beach to look among the monks.
• The monks told Sun Wukong that the three masters had destroyed their temples and forced them into slavery.
• Sun Wukong learned the masters had further impressed the king with their magic and prayers, then told the monks to leave.

Sun Wukong learned that the monks of Chechi Kingdom were trapped in forced labor and could not escape, so he killed two Daoist supervisors and gave the monks monkey hairs to protect them. He and Tang Xuanzang entered the city with the monks, where Sun Wukong planned to confront the king and Daoists at court the next morning.

• The monks told Sun Wukong that the kingdom’s search orders made escape impossible and that they could not even kill themselves because their attempts always failed.
• The monks explained that Buddha had told them to wait for Tang Xuanzang and his disciple, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, to rescue them, delighting Sun Wukong.
• Sun Wukong killed two Daoists who refused to release the monks without permission, then revealed his identity after the monks feared the consequences.
• Sun Wukong smashed the monks’ cart, gave them monkey hairs for protection, and promised to defeat the Daoists after seeing the emperor.
• Tang Xuanzang and Zhu Bajie found Sun Wukong with the monks, and the group entered the city together.

Sun Wukong and his disciples secretly entered the Three Purities Temple while the Daoists were away, where Zhu Bajie ate the offerings and the group was mistaken for the Three Purities. Sun Wukong promised the Daoist masters holy water, leaving them scrambling to bring containers.

• The monks welcomed Sun Wukong and his disciples to Vajra Hall, believing Sun Wukong was the savior foretold in a dream.
• Sun Wukong found the Daoists holding a nighttime ritual and took Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing to the Three Purities Temple to eat the offerings.
• Zhu Bajie threw the three statues into a latrine, transformed into Taishang Laojun, and ate the food offerings.
• A young Daoist heard laughter in the hall, and Great Immortal Tiger Power, Great Immortal Luli, and Great Immortal Goat Power found the offerings gone and believed the Three Purities had visited.
• Sun Wukong promised the Daoist masters holy water, and they hurried to fetch containers for him.

Sun Wukong and his companions tricked the three great immortals with urine disguised as holy water, then faced the imperial preceptor’s accusations when Tang Xuanzang sought to exchange the group’s travel permit. The king hesitated after hearing Sun Wukong’s defense, just as a crowd arrived to request an audience.

• Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing filled the vase, basin, and vat with urine and passed it off as holy water to the Daoists.
• Great Immortal Goat Power noticed the pig stink, and the angry Daoists attacked Sun Wukong and his companions, who escaped.
• The next morning, Tang Xuanzang and his companions went to court to have their travel permit exchanged, where the imperial preceptor accused them of killing disciples, freeing monks, and desecrating his temple.
• Sun Wukong challenged the imperial preceptor’s claims and denied breaking into the temple, making the king hesitate.
• A subordinate told the king that a crowd outside was asking for an audience, possibly to pray for rain.

The king challenged Tang Xuanzang and the three royal preceptors to compete in praying for rain, with the travelers’ lives at stake. As Great Immortal Tiger Power began the ritual, Sun Wukong secretly stopped the Daoist’s weather effects and arranged for the heavenly beings to follow his own commands.

• The king offered to pardon Tang Xuanzang and his companions if they could make rain, but threatened to behead them if they failed.
• Sun Wukong persuaded Great Immortal Tiger Power to pray for rain alongside Tang Xuanzang, and the Daoist announced the effects of each strike of his command token.
• Great Immortal Tiger Power summoned wind, but Sun Wukong flew into the sky and ordered Wind Granny to stop it.
• The Daoist summoned clouds, thunder, and lightning, while Sun Wukong directed the Dark Cloud Boy, the Duke of Thunder, and Mother of Lightning to interfere.
• Sun Wukong instructed the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas to produce the weather at his staff’s signals, then returned to the platform unnoticed.

Sun Wukong helped Tang Xuanzang pray for rain, then summoned the Dragon Kings to prove the Daoists had not earned the credit. The king stamped the travelers’ documents, but the State Preceptor persuaded him to take them back and agree to another contest.

• Sun Wukong had Tang Xuanzang chant scriptures while he summoned wind, clouds, thunder, and rain, then cleared the sky at the king’s request.
• The Daoists disputed Tang Xuanzang’s credit for the rain, so Sun Wukong summoned the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, who appeared in the sky before returning to the sea.
• The king stamped the travel documents and handed them to Tang Xuanzang, but the State Preceptor asked to wager again, and the king took the documents back.
• The State Preceptor proposed competing with Sun Wukong in seated meditation on platforms built from stacked tables.

Tang Xuanzang and Sun Wukong faced Great Immortal Luli in contests of seated meditation and guessing objects. After Sun Wukong secretly sabotaged the guessing contest’s contents, Tang Xuanzang won, leaving the king and his court astonished.

• Tang Xuanzang offered to compete in seated meditation, and Sun Wukong flew him to the high platform after he admitted he could not climb it.
• Great Immortal Luli sent a bug to bite Tang Xuanzang, but Sun Wukong transformed into a centipede and bit Luli, winning the contest for Tang Xuanzang.
• Great Immortal Luli challenged Tang Xuanzang to guess what was inside a cabinet, and Sun Wukong secretly destroyed the clothes and painting within it.
• Tang Xuanzang called the cabinet’s contents rubbish, and the king opened it to find only rubbish inside.
• After a servant placed a peach in the cabinet, Sun Wukong ate it and left the pit; Tang Xuanzang guessed what remained, astonishing the king and court.

Sun Wukong defeated the imperial preceptors by surviving beheading and having his organs removed, while secretly preventing them from doing the same. Great Immortal Tiger Power died as a headless tiger, and Great Immortal Nuli transformed into a white-haired deer after Sun Wukong carried away his organs.

• Sun Wukong volunteered to be beheaded, grew a new head after Great Immortal Luli used the Land God to keep his original one from returning, and reassured Tang Xuanzang.
• Great Immortal Tiger Power had his head cut off, but Sun Wukong sent a dog made from a monkey hair to carry it away, leaving Great Immortal Tiger Power to die as a headless yellow-haired tiger.
• Sun Wukong cut open his belly and showed that he could replace his intestines, prompting the king to offer him his travel permit.
• Great Immortal Nuli cut open his abdomen to imitate Sun Wukong, who transformed into an eagle and carried away his internal organs.
• Great Immortal Nuli collapsed and transformed into a white-haired deer.

Sun Wukong survived Great Immortal Goat Power’s boiling-oil trial, exposed the cold dragon aiding him, and helped the pilgrims leave the kingdom with their travel document. Later, the journey brought Tang Xuanzang and his disciples to a vast expanse of water with no visible shore.

• Great Immortal Goat Power challenged Sun Wukong to bathe in a cauldron of oil, and Sun Wukong hid as a nail while the king thought he had died.
• Tang Xuanzang used Great Might Heavenly Dragon to stop the king’s men and asked the king for yellow paper to burn for Sun Wukong.
• Sun Wukong revealed himself, forced Great Immortal Goat Power into the cauldron, and discovered that the Dragon King of the North Sea had used a cold dragon to chill the oil.
• The Dragon King of the North Sea removed the cold dragon, and Great Immortal Goat Power was burned; Tang Xuanzang obtained the travel document and the pilgrims departed.
• As autumn came, Tang Xuanzang and his disciples traveled late into the night and heard rushing water ahead.
• Sun Wukong flew above the water and saw that it stretched as far as he could see, with no shore in sight.

Tang Xuanzang and his disciples reached the Tongtian River and sought shelter in a nearby village. After the old man who lived there agreed to host them, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie frightened the monks in his hall, and Tang Xuanzang scolded them.

• Ancestor Hongjun reassured Ao Changsheng that the group could handle the tribulation he had arranged for them.
• Sun Wukong found a stone marker identifying the river as the Tongtian River, which stretched for eight hundred li and was difficult to cross.
• Tang Xuanzang followed the sound of cooking to a row of homes and approached one alone, asking its old resident for a place to stay.
• The old man doubted Tang Xuanzang's account until Tang called over Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, whom the old man then invited inside.
• Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie startled the monks chanting in the hall, and Tang Xuanzang reprimanded them for frightening their host's friends.

Tang Xuanzang and his disciples ate at an old man’s home and learned that a temple upriver demanded young boys and girls as sacrifices. Sun Wukong discovered the old man’s son was among the children marked for sacrifice and demonstrated that he could perfectly imitate him, leaving the old man amazed and asking why.

• Tang Xuanzang’s disciples settled in at the old man’s home, where Zhu Bajie asked for enough food for more than thirty people.
• Tang Xuanzang asked why the old man had held a ritual, and the old man explained that the Numinous Touch Temple brought rain but demanded young boys and girls.
• Sun Wukong suspected a monster was behind the temple’s demands and realized the old man’s family had to sacrifice a child that year.
• The old man brought out his son, and Sun Wukong transformed himself to match the child’s appearance, voice, clothes, and weight.
• The old man praised Sun Wukong’s transformation and asked what he intended to do in his son’s form.

Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie disguised themselves as the offerings meant for a monster that demanded a boy and a girl each year. They confronted the monster, but began to lose ground in the fight.

• Sun Wukong offered to take the boy’s place, then had Zhu Bajie transform into the old man’s daughter so they could both serve as offerings.
• The old men carried Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie to the offering place, where Zhu Bajie tried to leave after the crowd departed, but Sun Wukong insisted they wait for the monster.
• When the monster arrived, Sun Wukong gave him invented names for the children, and the monster unexpectedly chose to eat the girl first.
• Zhu Bajie revealed himself and struck the monster with his Nine-Toothed Rake, while Sun Wukong also transformed and joined the fight.
• Sun Wukong challenged the monster over the children he had eaten, and he and Zhu Bajie attacked, but the monster gained the upper hand and moved to kill them.

Ao Changsheng endured a Lightning Tribulation after widening the Tongtian River, while Ancestor Hongjun watched and briefly intervened. When the tribulation ended, Ao Changsheng had absorbed it and gained the presence of a Lightning Principle.

• Ao Changsheng told Ancestor Hongjun that he was unsure how Heaven would react to what he had made, and a Lightning Tribulation gathered over him.
• Ao Changsheng warned Ancestor Hongjun to stay back as bolts of lightning struck him, explaining that he had widened the Tongtian River.
• The lightning formed dragons that charged Ao Changsheng, but he erased them with a gesture; Ancestor Hongjun worried at how powerful he had become.
• Ao Changsheng said he would continue the Journey to the West Immeasurable Tribulation until the scripture mission was complete.
• Ancestor Hongjun used a Law Artifact to scatter a bolt of lightning, and Ao Changsheng's roar dispersed the surrounding clouds.
• The Lightning Tribulation ended, and Ancestor Hongjun learned that Ao Changsheng had absorbed it and gained the presence of a Lightning Principle.

Ao Changsheng absorbed a heavenly lightning tribulation, and a diverted bolt gravely injured the Great King of Numinous Touch. After a ragged old man devised a plan to trap Tang Xuanzang on frozen river ice, the monster caused snow to fall over the region, leaving Tang Xuanzang and his disciples stranded at the Chen Household.

• Ancestor Hongjun explained that the lightning tribulation had struck Ao Changsheng because he had grown powerful, and Ao Changsheng asked where Hongjun had diverted another bolt.
• The diverted heavenly lightning struck the Great King of Numinous Touch, who fled to his underwater lair gravely injured.
• Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie returned to the Chen Household, where Sun Wukong told Tang Xuanzang and the elders that heaven had struck the monster with lightning.
• A ragged old man advised the Great King of Numinous Touch to freeze the Tongtian River and lure Tang Xuanzang onto the ice so they could capture him.
• The Great King of Numinous Touch caused heavy snow to fall, and Tang Xuanzang and his disciples awoke at the Chen Household to find the land covered in snow.

Tang Xuanzang and his disciples attempted to cross the frozen Tongtian River, but demons broke the ice and captured him. Sun Wukong sent Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing into the river to search for their master, while a hair-made double disappeared after Zhu Bajie fell.

• Tang Xuanzang crossed the ice on the White Dragon Horse after Zhu Bajie tested the ice, tied straw to the horse's hooves, and gave Tang Xuanzang a staff.
• Demons chiseled through the ice beneath Tang Xuanzang, captured him, and took him to the Great King of Numinous Touch, who agreed to capture the disciples before eating him.
• Sun Wukong demanded that Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing enter the Tongtian River to rescue Tang Xuanzang, then used a hair to create a fake version of himself that went with them.
• Sun Wukong struck Zhu Bajie in the river, causing the fake Sun Wukong to tumble away and vanish, and Sha Wujing scolded Zhu Bajie for the fall.

Sun Wukong discovered that Tang Xuanzang was alive but trapped inside a stone coffin, then sent Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing to confront the Great King of Numinous Touch while he waited on the bank. Zhu Bajie challenged the monster and began fighting him.

• Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing argued about whether to leave Sun Wukong behind, until Wukong revealed himself and told them to keep going.
• Sun Wukong turned into a lobster and entered the monster's palace, where he learned that Tang Xuanzang was locked inside a stone coffin and that the fiends planned to eat him.
• Sun Wukong reassured Tang Xuanzang, then told Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing to challenge the monster and lure him out of the water.
• Zhu Bajie confronted the Great King of Numinous Touch at the gate and accused him of using tricks to prey on children.
• Zhu Bajie attacked the Great King of Numinous Touch with his Nine-Toothed Rake.

Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing lured the Great King of Numinous Touch onto shore, where Sun Wukong drove him back underwater. After learning that his opponent was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the monster sealed his cave and refused to come out, leaving Tang Xuanzang captive.

• The Great King of Numinous Touch fought Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing underwater, and the two pretended to flee to draw him ashore.
• Sun Wukong battled the Great King of Numinous Touch on land and forced him to retreat into the water.
• Zhu Bajie proposed luring the monster out again while Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing attacked from above.
• The old man in tattered clothes recognized Sun Wukong from the Great King of Numinous Touch's description and warned that they could not eat Tang Xuanzang.
• The Great King of Numinous Touch ordered the lesser monsters to block the cave entrance and ignore Zhu Bajie's challenges.
• Sha Wujing urged Zhu Bajie to return and discuss another plan with Sun Wukong.

After Sun Wukong failed to draw the Tongtian River monster out, he sought Bodhisattva Guanyin’s help. Guanyin captured the monster, a goldfish from his lotus pond, and sent Sun Wukong to rescue Tang Xuanzang while Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing rushed to tell Chen Household Village about Guanyin.

• Sun Wukong sent Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing to patrol the riverbank and traveled to the South Sea for help.
• Sun Wukong waited for Bodhisattva Guanyin, who eventually came out carrying a bamboo basket and agreed to go with him.
• Bodhisattva Guanyin threw the basket into the river and caught the monster, revealing it was his escaped goldfish.
• Bodhisattva Guanyin explained the goldfish’s origins and urged Sun Wukong to rescue Tang Xuanzang.
• Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing ran to Chen Household Village, where Zhu Bajie shouted that the living Bodhisattva Guanyin had arrived.

After defeating the demon in the Tongtian River, Sun Wukong accepted a giant turtle’s offer to carry Tang Xuanzang and his disciples across. The group continued west and reached a strange green landscape amid the surrounding ice and snow.

• Sun Wukong returned Tang Xuanzang to Chen Household Village, where the elders apologized and prepared to find them a boat.
• A giant turtle offered to carry the group across the river, and Sun Wukong grew suspicious until Bodhisattva Guanyin confirmed the turtle meant no harm.
• Tang Xuanzang and his disciples crossed the Tongtian River on the turtle’s back, and the turtle asked when he might cultivate human nature.
• After reaching the opposite bank, Sun Wukong helped Tang Xuanzang onto his horse, and the group continued west.
• The travelers found grass, flowers, and trees ahead in the frozen landscape, and Tang Xuanzang warned Sun Wukong to be cautious.

Tang Xuanzang and his disciples reached houses that Sun Wukong suspected were linked to monsters, so he left to find food after drawing a protective circle around his master. Zhu Bajie persuaded Tang Xuanzang to leave the circle, and the group reached another house where Zhu Bajie found clothes but no one inside.

• Sun Wukong saw Yao Qi above the houses and warned Tang Xuanzang that the place was dangerous.
• Sun Wukong drew a protective circle around Tang Xuanzang and went south to find food.
• An old man told Sun Wukong he had taken the wrong road, but Sun Wukong entered the man's house and scooped up rice.
• Zhu Bajie persuaded Tang Xuanzang to leave the circle, and Sha Wujing led the horse as the group continued on.
• Zhu Bajie entered a house, found no one there, and brought Tang Xuanzang some clothes he thought had been left behind.

Zhu Bajie was trapped by enchanted clothes, and a monster captured him, Tang Xuanzang, Sha Wujing, and their luggage. Sun Wukong learned where they had been taken and reached the monster's cave, where a crowd of little monsters awaited him.

• Zhu Bajie put on the monster's clothes, which tightened and bound him, alerting the monster to the travelers.
• The monster's underlings captured Tang Xuanzang, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing and took them and their luggage to the cave.
• Zhu Bajie told the monster that Sun Wukong was his eldest disciple, and the monster ordered his underlings to wait for Sun Wukong before cooking the captives.
• Sun Wukong found the conjured house gone and learned from the mountain god and land god that a powerful monster had captured his companions.
• Sun Wukong went to the cave and questioned one of the many little monsters gathered outside.

Sun Wukong confronted the demon who had captured his master, but the demon used a white ring to take the Ruyi Jingu Bang. After the Jade Emperor’s search found no missing beings in Heaven, Sun Wukong returned with heavenly allies, including Nezha, and Nezha challenged the demon at his cave.

• Sun Wukong let a monster go after it promised to tell its king about him, then fought the demon king outside the cave.
• The demon king summoned his minions, but Sun Wukong scattered them with his Jingu Bang before the demon king used a white ring to seize the weapon.
• Sun Wukong went to Heaven and asked the Jade Emperor to check whether a monster was missing; the search found none.
• The Jade Emperor permitted immortals to accompany Sun Wukong, who returned to the cave with heavenly allies.
• Nezha told the demon king he had come on the Jade Emperor’s orders to capture him, and the demon king angrily challenged him.

Nezha and the celestial immortals failed to defeat the Yaomo, whose white ring took their weapons. Sun Wukong recovered the stolen weapons and set the demon’s cave ablaze, but the Yaomo saved Tang Xuanzang and kept his treasure; dawn broke with the Yaomo still at large.

• Nezha transformed and attacked the Yaomo with six weapons, but the Yaomo used a ring to take them.
• Sun Wukong summoned the Fire Virtue Star Lord and Water Virtue Star Lord, but the Yaomo’s ring took their weapons too.
• Sun Wukong sneaked into the cave, reclaimed his Ruyi Jingu Bang, and fought the Yaomo before letting him retreat.
• Sun Wukong returned to the cave in disguise but found the Yaomo guarding his ring, so he used monkey hairs to create monkeys that carried off the immortals’ weapons.
• The monkeys accidentally ignited the cave with the Fire Virtue Star Lord’s weapon, and the Yaomo used his ring to extinguish the flames before checking that Tang Xuanzang was safe.

Sun Wukong discovered that the monster was Taishang Laojun’s escaped azure bull, whose Vajra Bracelet had been taking everyone’s weapons. After Taishang Laojun subdued the bull and Sun Wukong recovered his weapon, the Mountain God and Land God brought Tang Xuanzang a meal.

• The Azure Bull Spirit used his white ring to take Sun Wukong and the immortals’ weapons again, so Sun Wukong went to Buddha Tathagata for help.
• The Dragon-Subduing Arhat and Tiger-Taming Arhat failed to defeat the monster, and the Dragon-Subduing Arhat sent Sun Wukong to seek Taishang Laojun.
• Taishang Laojun discovered that his azure bull had escaped while a child slept after eating a Seven-Day Pill, and he realized the bull had taken his Vajra Bracelet.
• Sun Wukong led Taishang Laojun to the Azure Bull Spirit, who surrendered after Taishang Laojun recovered the ring and used the Plantain Fan; Sun Wukong then killed the lesser demons and retrieved his weapon.
• The Mountain God and Land God brought Tang Xuanzang a meal and told him that Sun Wukong had gone to great trouble to rescue him.

Tang Xuanzang and his companions ignored an immortal’s warning not to drink local water, and Tang Xuanzang and Zhu Bajie soon suffered severe stomach pain. Sun Wukong could find no cause as their bellies swelled, leaving him unsure how to help them.

• Tang Xuanzang thanked Sun Wukong for rescuing him and promised to heed his advice, while Sun Wukong warned Zhu Bajie not to mislead their master.
• An old man warned Tang Xuanzang not to drink the water ahead, then vanished and revealed himself as a house; Sun Wukong urged the group to follow the warning.
• Sun Wukong filled a gourd with water, but a fierce wind knocked it down and spilled it, leaving the group without their supply.
• When thirst overcame them, Tang Xuanzang, Zhu Bajie, and the others drank from a lake despite the warning, while Sun Wukong abstained.
• As they neared a city, Tang Xuanzang and Zhu Bajie developed severe stomach pain and rapidly swelling bellies, and Sun Wukong found no Yao Qi or clear cause.