Tang Sanzang is no soft-hearted, foolish monk who cannot tell humans from demons. He is Tang Xuanzang of the Great Tang, journeying west alone to uphold the true Dharma.
Sun Wukong is no Monkey King bent beneath the weight of a tightening headband spell. He is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, whose Golden Cudgel sends gods and Buddhas fleeing.
The Buddhist scriptures of the Great Thunderclap Temple cannot save all the people of the world, not even in the reign of Li Shimin, the Son of Heaven and Khan of Heaven.
The quest for scriptures? No longer a game played out as punishment, nor a pilgrimage undertaken out of mercy. It is a quest for truth.
The Great Thunderclap Temple is not the end. In Tianzhu, countless faiths stand side by side, and Buddhism, in decline, needs to travel east to survive.
