The Sequel to Journey to the West: The Real and Fake Tathagata
The Investiture of the Gods has ended, and the day the Journey to the West is completed should mark the triumph of its mission. Instead, it becomes the beginning of a catastrophe that engulfs the Three Realms! To seize dominion over the Three Realms, the Tathagata uses his alms bowl to blot out the sky and secretly destroy Liu'er, while imprisoning the true Wukong in the boundless, chaotic secret realm of No Delusion. He drains Wukong's spiritual essence and seals his stone heart, leaving him no hope of ever rising again. The Tathagata even steals his place as Buddha, allowing Liu'er to take the title of Victorious Fighting Buddha, while laying a shocking plot in which every immortal and Buddha is merely a pawn.
After a century in captivity, the true Wukong receives the teachings of the Lamp-Lighting Buddha's remnant soul and Bodhi's divine consciousness, then breaks his seal with a hair from his own body. The honest-minded Bajie sees through the fake monkey's flaws, and the five members of the master-and-disciple party secretly forge an alliance against the Buddha. The purge of Flower-Fruit Mountain and the massacre at the Water Curtain Cave, where Liu'er slaughtered the monkey clan, finally set Wukong's fury ablaze.
To save the Great Sage, destroy the false Buddha, and expose the Tathagata's true face, the master and disciples join forces with the Bull Demon King, Erlang Shen, the Great Immortal Zhenyuan, and other demons, immortals, gods, and fiends. They storm the underworld to seize the Book of Life and Death, wreak havoc in the Heavenly Court to take the Pangu Banner, and steal the Lamp-Lighting Buddha's relic from Spirit Mountain, before breaking free of their prison into the chaotic void.
The true Wukong awakens the source of his Chaos Stone Monkey nature and takes up the Golden Cudgel once more. With one strike, he shatters the false Buddha; with two moves, he routs the Buddhist army; in three battles, he defeats the Tathagata and takes command of the cosmos! From prisoner to Chaos Great Sage, from lying low on Spirit Mountain to remaking the Three Realms, the five members of the master-and-disciple party break through every law and restore order to the cosmos. With their stone hearts, they attain the Dao and safeguard peace throughout the Three Realms!
