Chapter Summaries

Sun Wukong faced the Four Heavenly Kings, who had come to capture him, and sent a hair-double to fight them. The battle turned against his double, but the confrontation paused when Sun Wukong recounted the humiliating injury he had inflicted on the Luohou Star Lord, making the Heavenly Kings laugh.

• The Four Heavenly Kings introduced themselves and told Sun Wukong that he had to fight them or return to the Heavenly Court for punishment.
• Sun Wukong created a hair-double and sent it to attack the Wide-Eyed Heavenly King while the other Heavenly Kings engaged the real Sun Wukong.
• The Much-Hearing Heavenly King joined the fight against the double, and he and the Wide-Eyed Heavenly King beat it back into a monkey hair.
• Sun Wukong praised the Heavenly Kings' strength and mentioned how badly he had defeated the Luohou Star Lord.
• The King Who Upholds the Nation asked what Sun Wukong had done to the Luohou Star Lord, and Sun Wukong described how his double accidentally struck him in the rear with the Jingu Bang.
• The Much-Hearing Heavenly King and the other Heavenly Kings laughed at the Luohou Star Lord's misfortune.

Sun Wukong fought the Four Heavenly Kings after they chose to attack him together. He defeated three of them and then approached Much-Hearing Heavenly King.

• Wide-Eyed Heavenly King chose to have all four Heavenly Kings attack Sun Wukong at once, and Sun Wukong accepted the challenge.
• Sun Wukong charged the King Who Upholds the Nation, who blocked Jingu Bang with his twin maces and summoned the Purple-Gold Flower Fox Marten.
• Sun Wukong used Three Heads and Six Arms to strike the Purple-Gold Flower Fox Marten and drive it away.
• Growth Heavenly King and Wide-Eyed Heavenly King joined the King Who Upholds the Nation in attacking Sun Wukong, but he knocked Growth Heavenly King's Qingfeng Sword away and jabbed Wide-Eyed Heavenly King in the chest.
• Sun Wukong defeated the three Heavenly Kings, returned to his normal form, and walked toward Much-Hearing Heavenly King.

Sun Wukong defeated the Much-Hearing Heavenly King despite the Hunyuan Pearl Umbrella absorbing his Jingu Bang’s attack, then captured him through a contest of physical strength. After all Four Heavenly Kings conceded and left, Sun Wukong returned to the Water Curtain Cave to recover.

• The Much-Hearing Heavenly King used the Hunyuan Pearl Umbrella to absorb Sun Wukong’s powerful strike.
• The umbrella sucked in the Jingu Bang, so Sun Wukong left the staff behind and attacked Mo Lihai with his bare hands.
• Sun Wukong overwhelmed Mo Lihai in their fistfight, captured him, and prompted the umbrella to release the Jingu Bang.
• Sun Wukong told the Four Heavenly Kings that he could not reveal his master’s identity, and they accepted their defeat and promised not to return.
• The Four Heavenly Kings rode away on auspicious clouds, and Sun Wukong returned to the Water Curtain Cave to rest and recover.

Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing heard the Four Heavenly Kings’ report that Sun Wukong had defeated them and explained how he had assessed the monkey’s strength. The commanders considered how to capture Sun Wukong, but Li Jing feared the cost of a mass assault.

• The King Who Upholds the Nation told Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing that the Four Heavenly Kings had failed to defeat Sun Wukong, who had overpowered three of them while using Three Heads and Six Arms.
• The Wide-Eyed Heavenly King proposed besieging Flower-Fruit Mountain with a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and using the eighteen Heaven-and-Earth Net formations to exhaust Sun Wukong.
• Li Jing questioned the plan because it could cause enormous losses, then revealed that his investigators had judged Sun Wukong worthy of the title Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
• Li Jing explained that Nezha had insisted on fighting Sun Wukong again; Nezha lasted longer than before but was still defeated.
• Li Jing said he had summoned the Four Heavenly Kings after Nezha’s defeat, hoping they could capture Sun Wukong, but they had also failed.

Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing explained that sending the heavenly army against Sun Wukong would cost the Heavenly Court most of its troops. The Four Heavenly Kings faced the question of how to deal with him when even Li Jing expected to lose in a fight.

• Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing asked Wide-Eyed Heavenly King whether he understood the cost of trying to capture Sun Wukong.
• Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing said an earlier estimate predicted around twenty thousand casualties among a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals.
• Wide-Eyed Heavenly King admitted he had expected no more than around two hundred casualties.
• Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing warned that Sun Wukong's Heaven and Earth Manifestation could lead to at least fifty thousand deaths, thirty thousand disabled soldiers, and twenty thousand injured.
• Wide-Eyed Heavenly King agreed the price was great and asked what other choice they had.
• Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing said even he would likely be defeated by Sun Wukong.

The Jade Emperor recounted how Sun Wukong had disrupted the Peach Banquet and plundered the Peach Garden and Taishang Laojun’s alchemy chamber. Bodhisattva Guanyin arrived at the Heavenly Court to learn what had happened, while Li Jing and the Four Heavenly Kings considered how to deal with Sun Wukong.

• Li Jing and the Four Heavenly Kings worried that retreating or failing to capture Sun Wukong would earn them the Jade Emperor’s punishment.
• Wide-Eyed Heavenly King proposed using the heavenly army to wear Sun Wukong down, while Much-Hearing Heavenly King suggested asking the Heavenly Court for help.
• Bodhisattva Guanyin arrived at the disordered Peach Banquet with Pilgrim Hui'an and went directly to the Hall of Numinous Treasure to see the Jade Emperor.
• Bodhisattva Guanyin asked why the Peach Banquet venue was deserted, and the Jade Emperor explained that Sun Wukong had thrown the banquet into chaos.
• The Jade Emperor recounted Sun Wukong’s origins, his appointments as Keeper of the Heavenly Horses and Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and how he ate the peaches and stole the elixirs.

Pilgrim Hui'an went to Flower-Fruit Mountain to learn how the heavenly army was faring against Sun Wukong. After Li Jing recounted the army’s defeats, Muzha insisted on challenging Sun Wukong, and the fight was about to begin.

• The Jade Emperor sent Guanyin to gather news from Flower-Fruit Mountain, and Guanyin dispatched Pilgrim Hui'an to Li Jing’s camp.
• Li Jing welcomed Muzha and explained that Sun Wukong had defeated the Nine Luminaries Star Lords, Nezha, and the Four Heavenly Kings.
• Li Jing told Muzha that the heavenly army had been routed and planned to seek reinforcements from the Heavenly Court.
• Muzha asked to fight Sun Wukong, and Li Jing reluctantly agreed after warning him to stay safe.
• Muzha challenged Sun Wukong outside the Water Curtain Cave, and Sun Wukong mocked him as weak before Muzha insisted they settle it in a fight.

Sun Wukong easily defeated Muzha after learning he was Nezha’s older brother. Muzha returned to Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing, admitted his defeat, and set off to report the battle to the Jade Emperor and Guanyin.

• Sun Wukong asked Muzha to identify himself before fighting, and Muzha introduced himself as Pilgrim Hui'an, Guanyin’s disciple and Nezha’s older brother.
• Muzha attacked Sun Wukong with his staff, but Sun Wukong sent him flying with the Jingu Bang.
• Sun Wukong let Muzha strike his shoulder, but the blow did not hurt him, and he disarmed Muzha and knocked him away again.
• Sun Wukong spared Muzha and returned to the Water Curtain Cave, while Muzha decided to leave rather than challenge him again.
• Muzha returned to Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing, reported his defeat, and left to inform the Jade Emperor and Guanyin.

After the heavenly army failed to capture Sun Wukong, Bodhisattva Guanyin recommended Erlang Shen, and the Jade Emperor summoned him to fight the monkey. Erlang Shen reached Flower-Fruit Mountain and arranged for Li Jing to tighten the encirclement while he faced Sun Wukong.

• Muzha reported that Li Jing and the hundred thousand heavenly soldiers had failed to capture Sun Wukong.
• Bodhisattva Guanyin recommended Erlang Shen, and the Jade Emperor sent him a troop deployment order.
• Erlang Shen accepted the summons and hurried from the Guan River Estuary to Flower-Fruit Mountain.
• Li Jing welcomed Erlang Shen and expressed confidence that he could defeat Sun Wukong.
• Erlang Shen asked Li Jing to tighten the formations, reinforce the surrounding guard, and hold up the Demon-Revealing Mirror while he fought Sun Wukong.

Erlang Shen recovered his strength and led the Heavenly Court’s assault on Sun Wukong’s Water Curtain Cave with Li Jing’s army. Sun Wukong came out to face them and learned that Erlang Shen would challenge him alone, though he could not identify the newcomer.

• Li Jing advised Erlang Shen to rest before fighting Sun Wukong, and Erlang Shen recovered his Law Power.
• Li Jing ordered his generals and a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers to surround the Water Curtain Cave with the eighteen Heavenly Net and Earthly Web Grand Formations.
• A little monkey warned Sun Wukong about the army, and Sun Wukong told the monkeys to stay safe before putting on his battle gear and leaving the cave.
• Sun Wukong confronted Li Jing’s forces and mocked their previous failed attempts to capture him.
• Erlang Shen stepped forward and declared that he would fight Sun Wukong one-on-one, promising to leave Flower-Fruit Mountain if he lost.
• Sun Wukong questioned Erlang Shen’s origins and concluded that he was not an immortal of the Heavenly Court.

Erlang Shen confronted Sun Wukong on the Jade Emperor’s orders, and the two fought to a standstill before acknowledging each other’s strength. Sun Wukong insulted the Four Heavenly Kings, angering them as the confrontation continued.

• Erlang Shen introduced himself and charged Sun Wukong with his double-edged trident.
• Sun Wukong blocked Erlang Shen’s rapid thrusts with the Jingu Bang and counterattacked.
• Erlang Shen and Sun Wukong traded blows, but their armor prevented either from suffering a serious injury.
• Erlang Shen praised Sun Wukong’s strength, and Sun Wukong returned the compliment while insulting the Four Heavenly Kings.
• The Heavenly King of Ten Kingdoms threatened Sun Wukong, while the other three glared at him angrily.

Sun Wukong paused his fight with Erlang Shen to find the hostile watchers, then resumed their battle as they traded Law Seals and clashed at close range. The fight escalated when both transformed into figures with Three Heads and Six Arms, leaving Sun Wukong delighted to face an opponent who could match his technique.

• Sun Wukong spotted the Four Heavenly Kings glaring at him, teased them about their expressions, and resumed his fight with Erlang Shen when they ignored him.
• Erlang Shen hurled several Law Seals at Sun Wukong and charged, but their opposing seals exploded and blasted both fighters backward.
• Erlang Shen thrust his double-edged trident at Sun Wukong's throat, and Sun Wukong blocked it with the Jingu Bang before the two passed each other.
• Sun Wukong transformed with Three Heads and Six Arms and split the Jingu Bang into three, then charged Erlang Shen.
• Erlang Shen also transformed with Three Heads and Six Arms and duplicated his double-edged trident, exciting Sun Wukong to continue the battle seriously.

Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen tested their strength in a Three Heads and Six Arms battle that ended in a stalemate. Sun Wukong invited Erlang Shen to rebel against the Heavenly Court, but Erlang Shen refused, and Sun Wukong silenced a heavenly soldier who mocked the invitation.

• Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen charged at each other and locked weapons while trading attacks and Law Seals with their other hands.
• After fighting for a quarter of an hour without either gaining the advantage, Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen separated and praised each other's strength.
• Sun Wukong invited Erlang Shen to join him in rebelling against the Heavenly Court, but Erlang Shen laughed and refused.
• Sun Wukong offered Erlang Shen the position of deputy cave master at Water Curtain Cave if he changed his mind.
• A heavenly soldier mocked Sun Wukong's invitation, and Sun Wukong struck him with a Law Seal, making the other soldiers fall silent.

Sun Wukong resumed his contest with Erlang Shen, using hair clones that Erlang Shen identified with his Heavenly Eye. Sun Wukong then transformed to gigantic size, and Erlang Shen matched him, setting up a test of their strength.

• Sun Wukong warned Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing to keep his soldiers from laughing at him, then challenged Erlang Shen to another contest.
• Sun Wukong created hair clones and attacked Erlang Shen, who used his Heavenly Eye to identify the real Sun Wukong and strike him.
• Sun Wukong attacked again, and Erlang Shen once more found and confronted his real body with the help of his Heavenly Eye.
• Erlang Shen explained that his Heavenly Eye could see through illusions, and Sun Wukong recalled his clones and used Heaven and Earth Manifestation to grow enormous.
• Erlang Shen also used Heaven and Earth Manifestation, and Sun Wukong eagerly prepared to test his strength against him.

Sun Wukong lost his fight with Erlang Shen and fled rather than be taken to the Heavenly Court. After escaping Erlang Shen’s first trap, he flew toward the sea with Erlang Shen pursuing him.

• After around three hundred exchanges using Heaven and Earth Manifestation, Erlang Shen narrowly defeated Sun Wukong, who fled on his Somersault Cloud.
• Erlang Shen pursued Sun Wukong into a forest, where Sun Wukong hid his true body as an ant in an anthill and sent a double disguised as a sparrow.
• Erlang Shen caught Sun Wukong’s double, but realized the deception and hurried back to the forest.
• Sun Wukong emerged from the anthill, transformed into a crow, and flew away while Erlang Shen spotted him with his Heavenly Eye and pursued him as an eagle.
• Sun Wukong flew south toward the sea, changed into a falcon, and climbed into the clouds as Erlang Shen kept after him.

Sun Wukong fled Erlang Shen across the sky, into the sea, and through the jungle, using his transformations to evade capture. Erlang Shen followed his traces south, but Sun Wukong tricked him into passing over the river where he was hiding as a stone.

• Sun Wukong plunged into the sea as a falcon and transformed into a fish, while Erlang Shen followed him in the same form.
• Sun Wukong blended into a large school of fish, but Erlang Shen used his Heavenly Eye to find him and resume the chase.
• Sun Wukong swam to shore, transformed into a leopard, and disappeared into the jungle; Erlang Shen used his Heavenly Eye to track his route south.
• Sun Wukong changed into a stone and hid in the river as Erlang Shen crossed without searching it.
• Erlang Shen followed Sun Wukong’s fading traces and found one of his hairs, realizing Sun Wukong had tricked him.

Sun Wukong escaped Erlang Shen along the river and hid in a village temple by disguising himself as a bodhisattva. Erlang Shen discovered him but waited for the worshippers to leave before capturing him, until an older woman distracted Erlang Shen by offering him a bride.

• Sun Wukong left a mocking message for Erlang Shen and fled west, while Erlang Shen tracked his traces with his Heavenly Eye.
• Sun Wukong hid in a village temple disguised as a bodhisattva and waited among worshippers as Erlang Shen searched the village.
• Erlang Shen found Sun Wukong in the temple but held back to avoid frightening or harming the worshippers.
• As the worshippers began to leave, Erlang Shen prepared to seize Sun Wukong, but an older woman approached and offered to find him a bride.

Erlang Shen was mistaken for an unmarried traveler and dragged toward a village by a matchmaker who wanted him to meet local women. He tried to avoid hurting the mortals while worrying that Sun Wukong would escape if he stayed away too long.

• A matchmaker saw Erlang Shen at the temple and insisted on taking him to her village to find a wife.
• Erlang Shen said he was married, but revealed that he lived by the Guan River Estuary and had the surname Yang.
• The matchmaker disbelieved him and seized his arm, deciding to bring him to meet the village’s unmarried women.
• Erlang Shen secretly planned to reject every girl and return to the temple as soon as possible.
• Young women crowded around Erlang Shen and began touching him, leaving him afraid that resisting would make one of them demand that he take responsibility.

Sun Wukong escaped Erlang Shen by impersonating a Bodhisattva, then hid in Erlang Shen’s temple at Guan River Estuary disguised as him. Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing discovered his whereabouts with the Demon-Revealing Mirror and told Erlang Shen where he was.

• Sun Wukong replaced the Bodhisattva statue after the worshippers left and decided to hide in Erlang Shen’s temple at Guan River Estuary.
• Sun Wukong disguised himself as Erlang Shen and settled into the temple without being recognized by Erlang Shen’s subordinates.
• The auntie took Erlang Shen from house to house to meet young women, then accepted his gold ingot and let him leave.
• Erlang Shen searched for Sun Wukong near the temple but found no trace of him, then told Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing what had happened.
• Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing used the Demon-Revealing Mirror to find Sun Wukong and revealed that he was hiding in Erlang Shen’s temple disguised as Erlang Shen.

Erlang Shen recovered his strength before confronting Sun Wukong at his temple, where the two fought to a standstill. As the Jade Emperor and the immortals watched, Bodhisattva Guanyin proposed helping Erlang Shen, and Taishang Laojun offered his Vajra Bracelet.

• Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing told Erlang Shen where Sun Wukong was and advised him to recover before confronting him.
• Erlang Shen restored his Law Power, then went to his temple and challenged Sun Wukong.
• Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen fought with their weapons but neither gained the advantage.
• The Jade Emperor and the immortals watched the battle from outside the Southern Heavenly Gate.
• Bodhisattva Guanyin proposed striking Sun Wukong with his Jade Purity Bottle, but Taishang Laojun offered his Vajra Bracelet instead.