Seeking a suitable weapon, the Monkey King creates a disturbance in the Dragon King's underwater palace and obtains the Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden-Hooped Rod).

Sun Wukong is offered a minor position in Heaven as Keeper of the Heavenly Horses (Bimawen) but, feeling insulted by the title, he rebels.

Having declared himself "Great Sage, Equal of Heaven," Wukong fights the Celestial Army and wreaks havoc in the main halls of Heaven.

The Jade Emperor summons his nephew, the powerful Erlang Shen, who battles Wukong in a fierce duel and finally captures him.

Wukong is trapped in Laozi’s furnace, but he escapes; the Buddha intervenes, challenging Wukong to leap out of his palm.

Wukong attempts the impossible leap but fails and is imprisoned by the Buddha beneath the massive Five-Elements Mountain.

The Tang Monk, Xuanzang (later Tripitaka), begins his journey to the West and passes the mountain, freeing Sun Wukong to be his disciple.

A dragon, son of the Dragon King, eats Xuanzang’s horse; Wukong helps subdue the dragon, who is then transformed into Xuanzang's new white steed.

The pilgrims stay at a monastery where a greedy old abbot plots to steal the precious Kasaya (monk's robe) given to Xuanzang by Guanyin.

The abbot’s black bear demon friend steals the robe; Wukong battles and subdues the demon, recovering the garment.

In the Gaolao Village, Wukong subdues the lustful pig demon, Zhu Bajie (Pigsy), who agrees to join the pilgrimage as a second disciple.

The group encounters a demon on Yellow Wind Ridge who uses a powerful sandstorm, forcing Wukong to seek aid from a divine helper.

At the treacherous Quicksand River, the last disciple, Sha Wujing (Sandy), is subdued and joins the group.

At the Wuzhuang Temple, Pigsy and Wukong steal the temple’s precious Ginseng Fruits, which are said to grant immortality.

The angry Taoist master, Zhenyuan Great Immortal, catches the disciples; Wukong damages the immortal tree, which Guanyin must heal to resolve the conflict.

A female demon tries three times to capture Xuanzang by transforming into a woman, an old lady, and an old man, but Wukong sees through her disguises.

Xuanzang, furious after Wukong seemingly kills innocent people (the demon's disguises), dismisses Wukong from the pilgrimage.

Xuanzang is captured by the Yellow Robe Demon in the Wave Moon Cave, who transforms the monk into a tiger.

Pigsy is sent to Flower Fruit Mountain to beg Wukong to return and save their Master from the demon.

The pilgrims encounter the Gold and Silver Horned Kings, two powerful demons armed with magical calabash gourds and ropes.

Wukong uses his cleverness and transformations to trick and capture the two demon kings, recovering the powerful magical items.

In the Kingdom of Wuji, Xuanzang receives a dream from the deceased old king, revealing that a fake king (a demon) has taken his place.

Wukong finds the old king's body in a well and helps restore him, then battles and defeats the shapeshifting demon that had usurped the throne.

The group encounters the Red Boy (Hong Hai'er), the son of the Bull Demon King, a powerful demon child who captures Xuanzang.

Red Boy's powerful Samadhi True Fire nearly defeats Wukong, who must appeal to Guanyin to help subdue the child, who becomes her disciple.

In the Chechi Kingdom, the group finds three Daoist Immortals oppressing Buddhist monks; Wukong challenges them to a contest of magic.

Wukong, Bajie, and Sandy defeat the three demon immortals—a Tiger, a Deer, and an Antelope spirit—in a battle of supernatural skills.

The pilgrims are stopped by the vast Heaven-Connecting River, which they can't cross, due to the influence of the Great White Turtle and a demon.

The group encounters a powerful water demon known as the Lingmo, or "One-Horned Monster," who captures the Master.

The pilgrims enter the Kingdom of Women, where Xuanzang is pressured to marry the queen, but Wukong devises a trick to escape.

After leaving the kingdom, Xuanzang is captured by the Scorpion Demoness in the Pipa Cave, who tries to force him into marriage.

A Six-Eared Macaque appears, impersonating Wukong perfectly and causing trouble; the two look-alikes fight bitterly.

The two Wukongs go before the Buddha, who uses his spiritual sight to identify and expose the true identity of the Six-Eared Macaque, who is then slain.

The journey is halted by the immense Flaming Mountains, which are too hot to cross, and they require the magical Iron Fan.

Wukong fights his sworn brother, the Bull Demon King, to obtain the Iron Fan, which is held by his wife, Princess Iron Fan.

Pigsy is captured by seven beautiful Spider Demons who try to lure him; Wukong attempts to rescue him and burns their lair.

The Master is poisoned by the Centipede Demon, the sworn brother of the Spider Demons; Wukong defeats the demon with help from a divine Star Lord.

Wukong investigates the theft of the Golden Light Treasure Pagoda relics by two demons, resolving a false accusation against two priests.

The pilgrims encounter a group of demons disguised as the Buddha and his disciples, who capture Xuanzang in a false monastery.

Wukong discovers the mastermind is the demon boy Huang Mei, who stole the magic of the Maitreya Buddha, who must come to subdue his own boy servant.

In the Kingdom of India, Wukong acts as a traveling physician to cure the Queen, whose ailment is caused by a demon.

The Master is captured by a powerful Lion Demon armed with a magical Purple-Gold Bell that causes a lot of trouble for Wukong.

The group faces the immense Lion Camel Ridge, where three formidable demon kings (Lion, Elephant, and Roc) hold an entire city captive.

Wukong fights the three powerful demon kings, who are finally revealed to be mounts of Manjusri, Samantabhadra, and the Buddha himself, who subdues them.

The group encounters a king who is being advised by a deer demon disguised as a Daoist, who is secretly stealing the life essence of children.

The Rat Demoness of the Bottomless Pit captures the Master; Wukong seeks help from Heaven, as the demon is the mouse who ate the Buddha's oil.

The king of the Kingdom of Xuanyang is confused and Wukong must clarify the situation surrounding the capture of Xuanzang.

The Master is captured by the Rhinoceros King, who has linked his cave to the palace, causing further chaos before he is subdued.

The group arrives in the India Kingdom, where the princess announces she is seeking a husband; Wukong suspects something is wrong.

Wukong discovers that the princess is actually the Jade Rabbit from the moon (servant of the Moon Goddess, Chang'e), who captured the real princess.

After enduring eighty-one trials, the pilgrims finally reach Vulture Peak (Griddhrakuta) in the West and are granted the sacred scriptures by the Buddha.