After achieving fame and success, Zhu Bajie returns to Gao Village with a purple-gold sash from Heaven. But when Cuilan sighs at his appearance, he falls into self-doubt. In search of a legendary beauty manual, he pesters the bored Sun Wukong into accompanying him to the mysterious Women’s Kingdom. Neither of them knows that the kingdom’s inner sanctum, the “Beauty Salon,” is actually the entrance to an ancient hidden realm called the “Heaven of Desire.” There, the fuel is the seven emotions and six desires, and the price of a transaction is not gold or silver, but “threads of affection” that embody pure emotion. The place also conceals a Buddhist trial of the heart.
Once inside, Bajie is torn between “becoming handsome to win Cuilan” and “falling for the Queen of the Women’s Kingdom.” Wukong uses his fiery eyes to see through the salon’s strange blend of demons and immortals. He also finds himself entangled with three parties: the Queen, who uses the beauty manual as bait; the White Bone Spirit, who is cultivating a naturally alluring physique; and Princess Iron Fan, who clings to him under the pretext of her Plantain Fan. As he deals with them, he must uncover the truth. Meanwhile, Bull Demon King is kept under watch by Iron Fan because his demonic cultivation makes him afraid to go near women, yet he and Bajie develop complicated feelings over drinks. After being neglected, Cuilan resolutely grows into her own and learns to manage the businesses at the Flaming Mountains. Wukong also discovers that the Queen’s soul contains a thread of affection for Tang Sanzang, while the White Bone Spirit was formed from threads of affection and is gathering admiration in order to ascend.
As the conspiracy comes to light, the threads of affection run wild and the hidden realm begins to collapse. Amid the crisis, everyone breaks free of their obsessions: Bull Demon King and Iron Fan join forces to slay their inner demons; after being enlightened, the White Bone Spirit becomes the hidden realm’s formation core; the Queen releases her thread of affection for Tang Sanzang and finds inner peace; and Bajie writes A Love Letter from Gao Village and realizes that “a sincere heart beats a handsome face.” In the end, Wukong gains a clear understanding of the Way and learns that “love means protecting those you cherish.” The two bid farewell to everyone and set out west once more. Bull Demon King and his wife return to the demon realm, Cuilan becomes a businesswoman, and the Queen enters the cycle of reincarnation in search of an ordinary love. Thus, their trial of love and journey of self-cultivation come to a satisfying end.
It is a true, objective and multi-dimensional description. It uses the beauty salon of the Daughter's Kingdom as a carrier to show the emotional entanglement of several familiar characters. It is a supplement to "Journey to the West".