Journey to the West: A Duel of the Faith (2021) Movie Script
1
When Heaven and Earth first formed,
the world order was still taking shape.
All living beings wished
to become immortals
and live forever.
Little did they know
that the Celestial Palace way up in Heaven
solely relied on the support of
the ever-operating Heavenly Pillar.
The Iron Lady Star Deity,
who represented the power of Heaven,
thus used immortal ascension as bait
to make the mortal cultivators
suffer like hell.
They had to work day and night
to ensure the Celestial Palace
in heaven functioned normally.
The path to immortality
became the path of death.
All living beings complained bitterly,
yet the gods turned a deaf ear to them.
Until one day,
the mortal world finally
found out the truth.
In order to rescue their loved ones,
a war against gods and the power of Heaven
has therefore begun.
The living beings in Qingya rebelled
in the name of seeking freedom.
The Iron Lady Star Deity is ordered
by the Jade Emperor to suppress
the rebellion and uphold the law
of Heaven on his behalf.
Ah!
A bunch of pests.
Today,
I'll crush you all.
It's been years.
I didn't expect you still couldn't
get over that thing.
Well.
Venerable Lord,
why did you peek into my dream again?
Don't you know
that it's very disrespectful?
I promised your mother I'd discipline you
on behalf of her.
As an elder,
it's necessary
and reasonable to observe
your thoughts sometimes.
What's wrong with that?
Fine.
Then do you think
it's reasonable for the Celestial Palace
to rely on its immense divine power
to treat the outmatched mortal world
in such a brutal way?
The Celestial Palace rules the Three Realms,
Five Elements, Six Paths and Yin and Yang.
It relied on the order of Heaven and Earth
that's existed since the beginning of the world
to create time and space, humans and gods.
To maintain the order, sometimes...
Death is inevitable.
In other words, because of
their final sacrifice, we can...
We can resume our lives and live in peace.
You say that all the time.
I remember it.
Also, you can't always...
Stay at the South Heaven
Gate and idle away.
I will strive to improve myself.
Wrong.
You can't always ignore that person.
Talk to him.
After all, he's your father.
It's okay if you don't listen to
me, but you should listen to him.
He's just a prisoner,
but I'm a celestial warrior.
Maybe some other time.
You are always sharp-tongued.
Sun Wukong, a monkey born from a stone,
gained a human body after absorbing
the essence of the sun and the moon,
and receiving the nurture of Yin and Yang.
The Jade Emperor hereby
invites you to the Celestial Palace
and appoints you
as Chief Protector of the Horses.
Hope you'll fulfill your duty
and won't let His Majesty down.
Chief Protector of the Horses.
It sounds like an honorable position.
We worked very hard to
help you get this position.
After careful consideration, we think
you'll be a perfect fit for this post.
After all, you are also
an animal by nature.
It'll be easier for you
to manage the horses.
Monkey, put all jokes aside, the horses
are waiting for you to feed them.
You may leave now.
Although the Horse Stables are at the
lowest level of the 36 layers of heaven,
the celestial horses are precious.
You can't treat them as ordinary horses.
You need to follow strict diet rules
when you feed them.
There are altogether 81 horse stables.
They must be cleaned three times a day.
If someone needs a horse,
the name of the person and his purpose
must be clearly recorded.
If anything happens to the horses,
you can't afford to compensate
even if you die 10 times.
Have I made myself clear?
Yes, very clear.
What's this groove for?
This groove is used to
deal with horse manure.
The Horse Stables stinks.
Remember, do not let the odor
get out and disturb the gods.
Do you remember?
Yes, I remember.
Alright, that's all.
If there's anything you don't understand
figure it out yourself.
Hey, hey. Come to visit when you have time.
I finally got you.
Hi.
Come here.
Do not make a sound later.
Just follow my lead.
Okay.
Don't stop.
Push harder.
Hurry.
Come on! Push!
Don't stop. Get up. Quick.
Get up.
Ger up.
How come you were also caught?
I came here this time to get
you out of this horrible place
in secret.
Hey, be quiet.
What are you waiting for? Hurry and jump.
Hey, make way. I'll go first.
Jump. Come on. Jump.
Is it safe?
Could you show us how to do it?
I'm fine. It worked. I did it.
Guys, hurry and jump. It's safe.
Come on.
Let's go.
Push.
Push.
Push.
Push.
My goodness.
Run!
Finally, I got them all out.
Don't worry.
Now that they are gone,
I'll be your playmate.
Hey.
I'm talking to you.
They all left.
Why are you still here?
I can't leave.
I must stay here.
Stay here?
Have you lost your mind
because of the shock?
Come on. Leave.
Don't mind me. I can't leave.
You think I really mind?
Go.
Heavenly Imprisonment Mark?
Tell me,
who are you?
I've told you,
I can't get out of here.
You monkey,
you'll get me in trouble.
So what if you have the imprisonment mark?
If you can't get out from the barrier,
then let's leave from
the South Heaven Gate.
Come on. Move.
I need to go back.
My Lord,
you know it's the Heavenly
Imprisonment Mark.
Even if you can save me for now,
you can't save me forever.
I've promised someone
I'd get all the people enslaved
by the Iron Lady Star Deity out of here.
I won't leave anybody behind.
Now, move.
Erlang.
You've got a nerve, you demonic money.
The power of Heaven rules all.
I won't allow you to offend it.
Let that person go and come with me
to the Lingxiao Hall to plead guilty.
Otherwise...
Always
the same lines. It's getting old.
If you want to pick up a fight,
just cut the crap and do it.
Run.
You are such a handful.
And now, it's my turn.
Erlang.
You demonic monkey. I'll kill you.
What do you think you are doing?
Stop messing around. Let's go.
Come on.
None of you can leave.
If you want to die,
I'll grant your wish.
Stop it.
Let him go.
I'll leave with you right now.
Let him go.
I once heard something interesting
that Fairy Yunhua, the younger
sister of the Jade Emperor
secretly went out with a mortal scholar.
And not only that, she
even gave birth to a son.
Later, Fairy Yunhua felt
embarrassed about it
and went to the Peach Mountain
to live there alone,
leaving her husband and son
in the Celestial Palace to suffer.
Do you think it's a rumor or the truth?
If you dare to defame Fairy Yunhua again,
I... I... I'll fight you with my life.
It's cold, isn't it?
Yang Tianyou, I didn't expect you
to be this courageous.
Now,
take this medicine.
It can relieve the pain caused by the
poison of the Heavenly Imprisonment Mark.
You'll feel better.
Come on.
Just take it.
What the heck is this?
This is actually my urine.
Hey, do you feel there's heat
spreading all over your body
and you've started to warm up?
- You...
- You what?
I'm trying to save your life.
Save my life? How can
you manage to do that?
Hmph, don't look down upon monkeys.
Although I can't remove
the imprisonment mark,
I know who can.
You are useless.
You are the gatekeeper
of the Celestial Palace.
How could you let that monkey break
the prisoner out right under your nose?
Look at that monkey.
Look how arrogant he is
down the Mortal Realm.
You seriously embarrassed
the entire Celestial Palace.
Who knows if he set them free on purpose?
Don't forget that he is
half-human after all.
Star Deity,
I'm willing to lead the Army of Heaven
to Mount Huaguo
and have a battle with... with that monkey
to reclaim our ruling power.
Please allow me to go.
Are you suffering from phthisis?
I'm fine. I'm fine.
Yang Jian,
how long have you severed
the Celestial Palace?
Over 500 years already.
It's been that long,
and you don't even have a decent weapon.
Sorry that I wasn't thoughtful enough.
Your birth father committed
an unforgivable crime.
The gods showed mercy
and let him work in the Heavenly Prison
to atone for his crime.
Unfortunately, he's after all a mortal.
And now, he even made another mistake.
Yang Jian, you are his son.
Could you do me a favor?
Help me persuade him.
Persuade him to mend his way.
If that demonic monkey
gets in your way again,
with this Tri-point Double-edged
Sword, you'll no longer be outmatched
when you fight him.
I won't let you down, Star Deity.
Come to think of it,
this place used to be one of the most
prosperous states in the East Land.
Do you believe
mortals can gain immortality
through cultivation?
They did.
If it hadn't been for Lady Liuli,
I'm afraid they would've still
been kept in the dark.
Liuli?
Who's Liuli?
She originally was the human side
of the Iron Lady Star Deity,
and she integrated with her.
Being that she couldn't stand
what the god side of her did,
she transformed into Liuli
during the war against gods
and fought the god side of her.
She's the one I told you
who can remove your imprisonment mark.
And these are all the war survivors.
Because of the deep grudge
they've been holding
for 100 years,
they've become night demons.
And they've waited here
for another 100 years
with the hope of rescuing
their loved ones back one day
from the hands of the Iron Lady Star Deity.
I get it.
So you managed to go
to the Celestial palace
to save us.
And this is why.
How much longer do we have to stay here?
I can't take it anymore.
What's the rush?
Would you like
to drink my urine again to warm up?
No.
Are there
any ghosts?
They are coming.
They?
Who are they?
Demons! They are demons! Demons!
Iron Lady Star Deity!
Hey.
That's Liuli.
She's not that crazy
woman up in the Heaven.
Lady Liuli.
The sky-patching stone.
I heard you have a name now.
Patriarch Bodhi said I was unable
to concentrate, so he named me Wukong,
hoping that I can be focused
and aware of Wisdom in Essence.
Wukong.
Then have you accomplished
the mission I asked you to do?
Yes. All we need to do now is to wait.
This person has a close connection
with Qingya Village.
But his life is in danger.
Lady Liuli, hope you can help him.
The Heavenly Imprisonment Mark.
She's always like this,
trying to control everybody.
This stupid man.
Why does he have to come at this time?
Erlang.
Look.
It's removed.
The imprisonment mark has been removed.
Ridiculous.
I was wondering who it was.
As it turns out
it's just an insignificant
celestial warrior.
He came here to find his father.
He's not against Qingya Village.
Lady Liuli, he's not a threat to us.
Look at him. Do you think
he'd let us go?
Years ago,
you led the people of Qingya
to fight against the Celestial Palace.
The Star Deity spared you
for old time's sake.
But instead of repenting of your sin...
- See? I'm right, aren't I?
- You became a night demon.
Since I'm here to capture
the demonic monkey,
I may as well take down all of you.
Stop.
I don't believe that I can't kill you.
This Tri-point Double-edged
Sword can't hurt me.
I didn't expect there would be
such a powerful divine
force hidden in your body.
And
you didn't even know it yourself.
It's a demon's lie.
I am a demon.
But what are you?
Thank about it. You served
the Celestial Palace wholeheartedly,
yet how did they treat you?
Your mother
gave birth to you
and then discarded you like weeds.
She'd rather be buried
under the Peach Mountain
than meet you and your father.
You are lying.
Your father ended up suffering
miserably in the Heavenly Prison.
She made you the different one
that everybody despised,
bullied, and tortured.
She made both you and your father
the shame of the world
and the thorn in the eye of all people.
Have you forgotten all of that?
Erlang,
don't listen to her.
Your mother was buried
under the Peach Mountain
willingly to protect you.
That's it. That's the force
I was talking about.
And the angrier you get,
the more powerful it'll become.
Today,
let me help you
change your fate.
Wake up!
Your mother is suffering from
the pain of tribulation every day for you.
She wants you to live a good life,
not to belittle yourself.
It's impossible.
Erlang.
Are you okay?
I'm fine.
The people in the Heavenly Prison
have returned.
Mother.
Brother.
Dear, you are finally back.
You abandoned humanity
for the rules of Heaven,
and I abandoned divinity for freedom.
I thought I'd completely
separated from you,
but in the end,
I turned into you.
Turns out
I'm the one who made a mistake.
If your mother comes back,
our family
can also reunite like them.
Take care.
I'll still be yours in the next life.
My dear,
I'll wait for you in Qingya.
Mother.
Mother.
Take care. Take care.
The path ahead is long and difficult.
Promise me
you'll keep on going no matter what.
Alas,
I didn't know
your son suffered so much
in the Celestial Palace.
It wasn't easy for him.
Hey, why don't you talk him into
coming to Mount Huaguo with me?
I...
Hey.
Erlang,
I'll stop running.
Bring me back to the Celestial Palace.
You finally got out.
Why do you want to go back?
I
Put your mother in trouble.
I don't want to do the same to you.
Son,
hand me over to the Celestial Palace.
I wonder if our tree house is still there.
What?
Do you still remember the way home?
Yes.
Of course I do.
I didn't expect to be back again
in this lifetime.
You cried a lot when you were little.
Your mother
would calm you down with this windmill toy.
You watched it
turn round and round...
Who would've thought
you'd grow up so quickly.
Yeah.
So many years have passed.
It can be fixed, right?
The condition is limited.
Let's have a simple dinner tonight.
I'll cook something nice for you tomorrow.
Come on. Have a taste. See if you like.
The Venerable Lord told me
my mother is the Goddess of Wind
who controls the wind
and creates different climates.
That's right.
Though the wind is intangible,
you can feel it everywhere.
Every time when the wind blows, I'd feel
your mother is right by my side.
I finally understand why my mother
fell in love with you.
Father, it's fixed.
Not bad, huh?
What's wrong?
Erlang,
have you thought it through?
You should know
that we can't escape from them.
A mortal will always remain as a mortal.
No matter how long
he's stayed in the Celestial Palace,
his humble nature
will never change.
- Father.
- Huh?
The congee is about to dry up.
Please go inside and
help me adjust the heat.
Alright.
Yang Jian, how dare you disrespect
the power of Heaven and abuse the law?
The Star Deity is merciful,
and she orders you to take this criminal
to come back with me
to the Taiyin Hall to plead guilty.
Otherwise...
So that's how it feels.
It's indeed annoying.
Fine. I've never liked you anyway.
We can fight,
but if you destroy anything in my yard,
I won't let you off.
I tried my best to convince Yang Jian
to come back,
but instead of admitting his mistake,
he insisted on staying with that criminal.
He even said you three...
He said...
Anyway, he was arrogant and out of control.
I of course couldn't
let him insult you, I...
If it hadn't been for his divine weapon,
how could an insignificant
celestial warrior like him
have been able to hurt me?
Rebel! Rebel!
Yang Jian is such a rebel!
Gather our people. Follow me
to arrest this evil traitor.
Get your weapons.
True Lord.
- True Lord.
- True Lord.
Someone,
take the True Lord to the divine physician.
True Lord. True Lord.
- True Lord.
- True Lord. True Lord.
Look, the Venerable Lord
is upright and just.
How did he train such
a traitor disciple like Yang Jian?
If word gets out,
the Venerable Lord will be humiliated.
Wait,
Erlang is not the
Venerable Lord's disciple.
It's not the Venerable Lord's fault
that Erlang stooped to betray.
It's just
that the Iron Lady Star Deity will soon
get out of her closed-door cultivation.
We all know her temper.
If the Star Deity finds out about
this, Erlang will be in big trouble.
You two, please speak up.
My hearing is bad,
and it's hard to tell
if you are suggesting something.
Fine. I'll go to the Mortal Realm myself.
Venerable Lord, wait.
Yang Jian is one of us, and
he still has a long way to go.
Sun Wukong, however, is an outsider.
And he's committed a big sin.
We should leave a chance to our own kid
to make up for his mistake
in front of the Star Deity.
I know what I'm doing.
Good. Good.
It's a brilliant idea.
Erlang,
carrying the basket
with one shoulder is wrong.
Why?
It'll hurt your shoulder.
Don't worry.
I'm used to carrying it like this.
What is that old gentleman doing
over there?
Sir, what are you doing?
Do you need our help?
Years ago, I came across this fish,
and I liked it very much.
So I kept it in a water vat,
and I fed it with grain and
took care of it every day.
But after it grew up,
it started to be drawn to the outside world
and always tried to leave.
My little fish, you thought the
outside world was interesting,
but you didn't know
that you'd die
once you left the water.
Let me help you.
Father, you have difficulty in walking.
Please go home first.
Let me help this gentleman.
Okay.
In case he has an accident
since he's too heartbroken.
Sir, please accept my condolence.
Sir, how much longer
do I have to carry you?
You feel tired already
after carrying me only a little while?
Don't you remember who carried you
on his back all the time
when you were little?
What? Now that you
reunited with your father,
you don't need me anymore?
Venerable Lord,
since I've brought my father here,
I won't go back
to the Celestial Palace anymore,
nor will I let my father
return to that horrible prison.
Yang Jian,
are you really going to be that fish
that died of dehydration?
Maybe to the fish,
being free, even just for a brief time,
is better than being confined
in that small water vat
for the rest of its life.
Being free?
Sounds like you've met Liuli.
You only know that the Iron Lady Star Deity
would get whatever she wants by all means,
but there were times
she also talked about freedom a lot.
Her?
She's a lofty god.
How would she know
what freedom really means
to all the living beings?
She knows it better than anybody does.
100 years ago, the Jade Emperor asked
the Star Deity to oversee the Three Realms
and the law of life.
Later, the Star Deity found
out that the human side of her
had sympathy for the living beings,
and the pity clouded
her judgment in a subtle way.
She thus decided to keep the god side
of her and abandon her human side.
And that's how she became the decisive
and merciless Star Deity you see today.
Unexpectedly, the abandoned human side
of her ended up in the Mortal Realm.
In the name of freedom, she became
the crowd-pleasing Liuli
to fight against the Iron Lady Star Deity,
the god side of her.
You can of course choose to be free,
but Sun Wukong has styled himself
the Great Sage Equaling Heaven
and kept making trouble
in the Celestial Palace recently.
How's that my concern?
Sun Wukong broke your father out
of the Heavenly Prison.
If no one takes responsibility for it,
neither he nor your father
can get away with it.
You know the Star Deity very well.
She wouldn't forgive your father
or let this thing go.
But if you can convince Sun Wukong
to plead guilty,
you'll be able to make up
for your own mistake.
And I'm sure the Star Deity
will go easy on Yang Tianyou.
What do you say?
Kids,
I know this guy. You may leave.
Come to think of it,
I'm known as the Great
Sage Equaling Heaven,
and I've always been a proud person
who's never given a damn to anybody,
yet today,
I actually
ended up in this situation.
Yang Jian,
are you also here trying to
kill me as the Star Deity did?
As a celestial warrior,
I will do whatever it takes to kill you
if you insist on resisting.
But as your friend,
I want to give you a piece of advice.
With all you've done, you satisfied
your own needs,
but have you ever thought about them?
Are you really going to
sacrifice their lives
for your own pride and stubbornness?
Don't let Mount Huaguo
become another Qingya.
Who's your friend?
Pick up your weapon.
You bunch of stupid gods.
Don't try to fool me.
You just can't get over the hatred.
You hate yourself
for not being able to protect Mount Huaguo.
Shut your mouth!
You hate that even though you call yourself
the Great Sage Equaling Heaven,
you are just a monkey born from a stone
whom nobody in this world
takes seriously.
You can't even face yourself.
How are you supposed to protect them?
Just come with me.
No matter what happens,
let's face it together.
Yang Jian,
you were ordered by the Star Deity
to go to the Mortal Realm,
but you grew fond of it and went astray.
Luckily, you realized
you were wrong in time,
and brought Sun Wukong back
to the Celestial Palace.
Which can make up for your mistake.
Hope you'll conduct
yourself well from now on.
I'll follow your
instruction, Venerable Lord.
Rise, please.
Wukong,
you disregarded laws, repeatedly
violated the rules of Heaven,
and made a lot of trouble.
Will you plead guilty?
Now that I'm here,
I'm ready to accept any punishment.
You should've been severely punished
for your evildoing,
but given the boundless grace of Heaven
and the fact that you are carrying
the essence of Heaven and Earth
since you were born
from the sky-patching stone,
you can make amends for your faults
by keeping the horses and reflecting
on your mistakes for 500 years.
Are you willing to accept that?
I am.
Sun Wukong,
kneel and thank the Venerable Lord.
I've said it before.
I will not kneel to anybody.
How outrageous!
Celestial warriors, take him.
Yes.
No need.
Wukong,
the Star Deity is broad-minded
and didn't blame you.
Hurry and go to the Horse Stables.
Hold it.
Sun Wukong,
tell me,
have you realized the freedom
you and Liuli advocated?
Bring him.
No way to escape.
Niu?
- No one can get away.
- Stand up.
We'll be trapped
in the Heavenly Prison forever.
Stand up.
We can never go back.
I knew it.
You've never planned on letting us go.
Yang Jian.
Yang Jian, I know
for all these years you've been
bothered by your demigod identity.
This thing is called
Nine-reincarnation Immortal Elixir.
It can help your father
ascent to Heaven, avoid death,
and gain immortality.
Kill him,
and your father will become a god like us.
Your mother married a mortal
and gave birth to you.
If your father becomes a god,
no one will criticize her
for her crime anymore.
And from now on,
the gods in Heaven will
no longer despise you.
Kill him.
I've been looked down
upon since I was little.
I've always dreamed
about reuniting with my parents.
Your path is over now.
But I
still have a long way to go.
How could there be such a good thing?
Mortals will stay mortals forever.
They can never gain immorality.
Yang Jian,
I guess
you are not a fool after all.
You could've become a god.
Why do you have to look for death?
Just because
you can abandon
certain things
doesn't mean
I can, too.
Venerable Lord, I'll leave the rest to you.
Erlang, you are destined
to go through this tribulation.
May you go through it smoothly.
Let me out.
Let me out.
Let me out.
Do you see it?
This is what he's got
for going against Heaven.
You taught them to fight for their freedom,
but as it turned out, you pushed them
into an eternal abyss.
No matter it's Sun Wukong
or the people in Qingya Village.
It's you.
You put them in this trouble.
I'm not wrong.
It's your fault, not mine.
I didn't do anything wrong.
It's you. They ended up like this
because of you.
Today,
I'll activate the Nine-heaven Thunderbolt
and kill this monkey once and for all.
I'll let the Three Realms
know what order is.
I'll let all living beings
give up on fighting back.
I'll have the entire world bow to Heaven!
Erlang,
why are you crying?
Mom, why do they always bully me?
Why am I always the one who's wrong?
Come here.
Erlang,
I feel for you.
They once said I was wrong.
And then what?
And then...
And then I had you.
You made me the happiest
person in this world.
I didn't give up back then,
so you can't give up either.
Yang Jian,
I knew you wouldn't die easily.
I didn't realize that I actually opened
your truth-seeing eye by accident.
Iron Lady Start Deity,
the god side and the human side
should be kept together
and never separated.
But you, as a goddess,
can't even accept who you are,
how can you
accept all living beings?
Nonsense!
The mortals are pests who deserve to die.
Only gods are the supreme beings
in this world.
Yang Jian, let me lend you a hand.
Yang Jian,
charge through.
The Celestial Palace is ruthless
and you constantly break your word.
Today, I'll destroy it
and free all living
beings from its tyranny.
It's the Star Deity's fault.
The Celestial Palace
has nothing to do with it.
If you destroy it, it'll cause chaos
to the Three Realms.
So what?
I'll wipe it out anyway.
If you insist on doing this,
you'll have to defeat me first.
And you all know what happened afterwards.
The Sakyamuni Buddha buried me under
the Five-finger Mountain for 500 years,
asking me to wait for a pilgrim of the Tang
Dynasty going to the West to retrieve sutras.
A pilgrim who goes to retrieve sutras.
So he's a monk.
Why should I wait for him?
Hey, is it you?
A monster!
Hey. Hey. Hey.
As for Yang Jian... Oh, wait,
he's now known as God Erlang,
he's still the same,
except he has a dog now.
Be good.
Where are you going? Wait for me.
When Heaven and Earth first formed,
the world order was still taking shape.
All living beings wished
to become immortals
and live forever.
Little did they know
that the Celestial Palace way up in Heaven
solely relied on the support of
the ever-operating Heavenly Pillar.
The Iron Lady Star Deity,
who represented the power of Heaven,
thus used immortal ascension as bait
to make the mortal cultivators
suffer like hell.
They had to work day and night
to ensure the Celestial Palace
in heaven functioned normally.
The path to immortality
became the path of death.
All living beings complained bitterly,
yet the gods turned a deaf ear to them.
Until one day,
the mortal world finally
found out the truth.
In order to rescue their loved ones,
a war against gods and the power of Heaven
has therefore begun.
The living beings in Qingya rebelled
in the name of seeking freedom.
The Iron Lady Star Deity is ordered
by the Jade Emperor to suppress
the rebellion and uphold the law
of Heaven on his behalf.
Ah!
A bunch of pests.
Today,
I'll crush you all.
It's been years.
I didn't expect you still couldn't
get over that thing.
Well.
Venerable Lord,
why did you peek into my dream again?
Don't you know
that it's very disrespectful?
I promised your mother I'd discipline you
on behalf of her.
As an elder,
it's necessary
and reasonable to observe
your thoughts sometimes.
What's wrong with that?
Fine.
Then do you think
it's reasonable for the Celestial Palace
to rely on its immense divine power
to treat the outmatched mortal world
in such a brutal way?
The Celestial Palace rules the Three Realms,
Five Elements, Six Paths and Yin and Yang.
It relied on the order of Heaven and Earth
that's existed since the beginning of the world
to create time and space, humans and gods.
To maintain the order, sometimes...
Death is inevitable.
In other words, because of
their final sacrifice, we can...
We can resume our lives and live in peace.
You say that all the time.
I remember it.
Also, you can't always...
Stay at the South Heaven
Gate and idle away.
I will strive to improve myself.
Wrong.
You can't always ignore that person.
Talk to him.
After all, he's your father.
It's okay if you don't listen to
me, but you should listen to him.
He's just a prisoner,
but I'm a celestial warrior.
Maybe some other time.
You are always sharp-tongued.
Sun Wukong, a monkey born from a stone,
gained a human body after absorbing
the essence of the sun and the moon,
and receiving the nurture of Yin and Yang.
The Jade Emperor hereby
invites you to the Celestial Palace
and appoints you
as Chief Protector of the Horses.
Hope you'll fulfill your duty
and won't let His Majesty down.
Chief Protector of the Horses.
It sounds like an honorable position.
We worked very hard to
help you get this position.
After careful consideration, we think
you'll be a perfect fit for this post.
After all, you are also
an animal by nature.
It'll be easier for you
to manage the horses.
Monkey, put all jokes aside, the horses
are waiting for you to feed them.
You may leave now.
Although the Horse Stables are at the
lowest level of the 36 layers of heaven,
the celestial horses are precious.
You can't treat them as ordinary horses.
You need to follow strict diet rules
when you feed them.
There are altogether 81 horse stables.
They must be cleaned three times a day.
If someone needs a horse,
the name of the person and his purpose
must be clearly recorded.
If anything happens to the horses,
you can't afford to compensate
even if you die 10 times.
Have I made myself clear?
Yes, very clear.
What's this groove for?
This groove is used to
deal with horse manure.
The Horse Stables stinks.
Remember, do not let the odor
get out and disturb the gods.
Do you remember?
Yes, I remember.
Alright, that's all.
If there's anything you don't understand
figure it out yourself.
Hey, hey. Come to visit when you have time.
I finally got you.
Hi.
Come here.
Do not make a sound later.
Just follow my lead.
Okay.
Don't stop.
Push harder.
Hurry.
Come on! Push!
Don't stop. Get up. Quick.
Get up.
Ger up.
How come you were also caught?
I came here this time to get
you out of this horrible place
in secret.
Hey, be quiet.
What are you waiting for? Hurry and jump.
Hey, make way. I'll go first.
Jump. Come on. Jump.
Is it safe?
Could you show us how to do it?
I'm fine. It worked. I did it.
Guys, hurry and jump. It's safe.
Come on.
Let's go.
Push.
Push.
Push.
Push.
My goodness.
Run!
Finally, I got them all out.
Don't worry.
Now that they are gone,
I'll be your playmate.
Hey.
I'm talking to you.
They all left.
Why are you still here?
I can't leave.
I must stay here.
Stay here?
Have you lost your mind
because of the shock?
Come on. Leave.
Don't mind me. I can't leave.
You think I really mind?
Go.
Heavenly Imprisonment Mark?
Tell me,
who are you?
I've told you,
I can't get out of here.
You monkey,
you'll get me in trouble.
So what if you have the imprisonment mark?
If you can't get out from the barrier,
then let's leave from
the South Heaven Gate.
Come on. Move.
I need to go back.
My Lord,
you know it's the Heavenly
Imprisonment Mark.
Even if you can save me for now,
you can't save me forever.
I've promised someone
I'd get all the people enslaved
by the Iron Lady Star Deity out of here.
I won't leave anybody behind.
Now, move.
Erlang.
You've got a nerve, you demonic money.
The power of Heaven rules all.
I won't allow you to offend it.
Let that person go and come with me
to the Lingxiao Hall to plead guilty.
Otherwise...
Always
the same lines. It's getting old.
If you want to pick up a fight,
just cut the crap and do it.
Run.
You are such a handful.
And now, it's my turn.
Erlang.
You demonic monkey. I'll kill you.
What do you think you are doing?
Stop messing around. Let's go.
Come on.
None of you can leave.
If you want to die,
I'll grant your wish.
Stop it.
Let him go.
I'll leave with you right now.
Let him go.
I once heard something interesting
that Fairy Yunhua, the younger
sister of the Jade Emperor
secretly went out with a mortal scholar.
And not only that, she
even gave birth to a son.
Later, Fairy Yunhua felt
embarrassed about it
and went to the Peach Mountain
to live there alone,
leaving her husband and son
in the Celestial Palace to suffer.
Do you think it's a rumor or the truth?
If you dare to defame Fairy Yunhua again,
I... I... I'll fight you with my life.
It's cold, isn't it?
Yang Tianyou, I didn't expect you
to be this courageous.
Now,
take this medicine.
It can relieve the pain caused by the
poison of the Heavenly Imprisonment Mark.
You'll feel better.
Come on.
Just take it.
What the heck is this?
This is actually my urine.
Hey, do you feel there's heat
spreading all over your body
and you've started to warm up?
- You...
- You what?
I'm trying to save your life.
Save my life? How can
you manage to do that?
Hmph, don't look down upon monkeys.
Although I can't remove
the imprisonment mark,
I know who can.
You are useless.
You are the gatekeeper
of the Celestial Palace.
How could you let that monkey break
the prisoner out right under your nose?
Look at that monkey.
Look how arrogant he is
down the Mortal Realm.
You seriously embarrassed
the entire Celestial Palace.
Who knows if he set them free on purpose?
Don't forget that he is
half-human after all.
Star Deity,
I'm willing to lead the Army of Heaven
to Mount Huaguo
and have a battle with... with that monkey
to reclaim our ruling power.
Please allow me to go.
Are you suffering from phthisis?
I'm fine. I'm fine.
Yang Jian,
how long have you severed
the Celestial Palace?
Over 500 years already.
It's been that long,
and you don't even have a decent weapon.
Sorry that I wasn't thoughtful enough.
Your birth father committed
an unforgivable crime.
The gods showed mercy
and let him work in the Heavenly Prison
to atone for his crime.
Unfortunately, he's after all a mortal.
And now, he even made another mistake.
Yang Jian, you are his son.
Could you do me a favor?
Help me persuade him.
Persuade him to mend his way.
If that demonic monkey
gets in your way again,
with this Tri-point Double-edged
Sword, you'll no longer be outmatched
when you fight him.
I won't let you down, Star Deity.
Come to think of it,
this place used to be one of the most
prosperous states in the East Land.
Do you believe
mortals can gain immortality
through cultivation?
They did.
If it hadn't been for Lady Liuli,
I'm afraid they would've still
been kept in the dark.
Liuli?
Who's Liuli?
She originally was the human side
of the Iron Lady Star Deity,
and she integrated with her.
Being that she couldn't stand
what the god side of her did,
she transformed into Liuli
during the war against gods
and fought the god side of her.
She's the one I told you
who can remove your imprisonment mark.
And these are all the war survivors.
Because of the deep grudge
they've been holding
for 100 years,
they've become night demons.
And they've waited here
for another 100 years
with the hope of rescuing
their loved ones back one day
from the hands of the Iron Lady Star Deity.
I get it.
So you managed to go
to the Celestial palace
to save us.
And this is why.
How much longer do we have to stay here?
I can't take it anymore.
What's the rush?
Would you like
to drink my urine again to warm up?
No.
Are there
any ghosts?
They are coming.
They?
Who are they?
Demons! They are demons! Demons!
Iron Lady Star Deity!
Hey.
That's Liuli.
She's not that crazy
woman up in the Heaven.
Lady Liuli.
The sky-patching stone.
I heard you have a name now.
Patriarch Bodhi said I was unable
to concentrate, so he named me Wukong,
hoping that I can be focused
and aware of Wisdom in Essence.
Wukong.
Then have you accomplished
the mission I asked you to do?
Yes. All we need to do now is to wait.
This person has a close connection
with Qingya Village.
But his life is in danger.
Lady Liuli, hope you can help him.
The Heavenly Imprisonment Mark.
She's always like this,
trying to control everybody.
This stupid man.
Why does he have to come at this time?
Erlang.
Look.
It's removed.
The imprisonment mark has been removed.
Ridiculous.
I was wondering who it was.
As it turns out
it's just an insignificant
celestial warrior.
He came here to find his father.
He's not against Qingya Village.
Lady Liuli, he's not a threat to us.
Look at him. Do you think
he'd let us go?
Years ago,
you led the people of Qingya
to fight against the Celestial Palace.
The Star Deity spared you
for old time's sake.
But instead of repenting of your sin...
- See? I'm right, aren't I?
- You became a night demon.
Since I'm here to capture
the demonic monkey,
I may as well take down all of you.
Stop.
I don't believe that I can't kill you.
This Tri-point Double-edged
Sword can't hurt me.
I didn't expect there would be
such a powerful divine
force hidden in your body.
And
you didn't even know it yourself.
It's a demon's lie.
I am a demon.
But what are you?
Thank about it. You served
the Celestial Palace wholeheartedly,
yet how did they treat you?
Your mother
gave birth to you
and then discarded you like weeds.
She'd rather be buried
under the Peach Mountain
than meet you and your father.
You are lying.
Your father ended up suffering
miserably in the Heavenly Prison.
She made you the different one
that everybody despised,
bullied, and tortured.
She made both you and your father
the shame of the world
and the thorn in the eye of all people.
Have you forgotten all of that?
Erlang,
don't listen to her.
Your mother was buried
under the Peach Mountain
willingly to protect you.
That's it. That's the force
I was talking about.
And the angrier you get,
the more powerful it'll become.
Today,
let me help you
change your fate.
Wake up!
Your mother is suffering from
the pain of tribulation every day for you.
She wants you to live a good life,
not to belittle yourself.
It's impossible.
Erlang.
Are you okay?
I'm fine.
The people in the Heavenly Prison
have returned.
Mother.
Brother.
Dear, you are finally back.
You abandoned humanity
for the rules of Heaven,
and I abandoned divinity for freedom.
I thought I'd completely
separated from you,
but in the end,
I turned into you.
Turns out
I'm the one who made a mistake.
If your mother comes back,
our family
can also reunite like them.
Take care.
I'll still be yours in the next life.
My dear,
I'll wait for you in Qingya.
Mother.
Mother.
Take care. Take care.
The path ahead is long and difficult.
Promise me
you'll keep on going no matter what.
Alas,
I didn't know
your son suffered so much
in the Celestial Palace.
It wasn't easy for him.
Hey, why don't you talk him into
coming to Mount Huaguo with me?
I...
Hey.
Erlang,
I'll stop running.
Bring me back to the Celestial Palace.
You finally got out.
Why do you want to go back?
I
Put your mother in trouble.
I don't want to do the same to you.
Son,
hand me over to the Celestial Palace.
I wonder if our tree house is still there.
What?
Do you still remember the way home?
Yes.
Of course I do.
I didn't expect to be back again
in this lifetime.
You cried a lot when you were little.
Your mother
would calm you down with this windmill toy.
You watched it
turn round and round...
Who would've thought
you'd grow up so quickly.
Yeah.
So many years have passed.
It can be fixed, right?
The condition is limited.
Let's have a simple dinner tonight.
I'll cook something nice for you tomorrow.
Come on. Have a taste. See if you like.
The Venerable Lord told me
my mother is the Goddess of Wind
who controls the wind
and creates different climates.
That's right.
Though the wind is intangible,
you can feel it everywhere.
Every time when the wind blows, I'd feel
your mother is right by my side.
I finally understand why my mother
fell in love with you.
Father, it's fixed.
Not bad, huh?
What's wrong?
Erlang,
have you thought it through?
You should know
that we can't escape from them.
A mortal will always remain as a mortal.
No matter how long
he's stayed in the Celestial Palace,
his humble nature
will never change.
- Father.
- Huh?
The congee is about to dry up.
Please go inside and
help me adjust the heat.
Alright.
Yang Jian, how dare you disrespect
the power of Heaven and abuse the law?
The Star Deity is merciful,
and she orders you to take this criminal
to come back with me
to the Taiyin Hall to plead guilty.
Otherwise...
So that's how it feels.
It's indeed annoying.
Fine. I've never liked you anyway.
We can fight,
but if you destroy anything in my yard,
I won't let you off.
I tried my best to convince Yang Jian
to come back,
but instead of admitting his mistake,
he insisted on staying with that criminal.
He even said you three...
He said...
Anyway, he was arrogant and out of control.
I of course couldn't
let him insult you, I...
If it hadn't been for his divine weapon,
how could an insignificant
celestial warrior like him
have been able to hurt me?
Rebel! Rebel!
Yang Jian is such a rebel!
Gather our people. Follow me
to arrest this evil traitor.
Get your weapons.
True Lord.
- True Lord.
- True Lord.
Someone,
take the True Lord to the divine physician.
True Lord. True Lord.
- True Lord.
- True Lord. True Lord.
Look, the Venerable Lord
is upright and just.
How did he train such
a traitor disciple like Yang Jian?
If word gets out,
the Venerable Lord will be humiliated.
Wait,
Erlang is not the
Venerable Lord's disciple.
It's not the Venerable Lord's fault
that Erlang stooped to betray.
It's just
that the Iron Lady Star Deity will soon
get out of her closed-door cultivation.
We all know her temper.
If the Star Deity finds out about
this, Erlang will be in big trouble.
You two, please speak up.
My hearing is bad,
and it's hard to tell
if you are suggesting something.
Fine. I'll go to the Mortal Realm myself.
Venerable Lord, wait.
Yang Jian is one of us, and
he still has a long way to go.
Sun Wukong, however, is an outsider.
And he's committed a big sin.
We should leave a chance to our own kid
to make up for his mistake
in front of the Star Deity.
I know what I'm doing.
Good. Good.
It's a brilliant idea.
Erlang,
carrying the basket
with one shoulder is wrong.
Why?
It'll hurt your shoulder.
Don't worry.
I'm used to carrying it like this.
What is that old gentleman doing
over there?
Sir, what are you doing?
Do you need our help?
Years ago, I came across this fish,
and I liked it very much.
So I kept it in a water vat,
and I fed it with grain and
took care of it every day.
But after it grew up,
it started to be drawn to the outside world
and always tried to leave.
My little fish, you thought the
outside world was interesting,
but you didn't know
that you'd die
once you left the water.
Let me help you.
Father, you have difficulty in walking.
Please go home first.
Let me help this gentleman.
Okay.
In case he has an accident
since he's too heartbroken.
Sir, please accept my condolence.
Sir, how much longer
do I have to carry you?
You feel tired already
after carrying me only a little while?
Don't you remember who carried you
on his back all the time
when you were little?
What? Now that you
reunited with your father,
you don't need me anymore?
Venerable Lord,
since I've brought my father here,
I won't go back
to the Celestial Palace anymore,
nor will I let my father
return to that horrible prison.
Yang Jian,
are you really going to be that fish
that died of dehydration?
Maybe to the fish,
being free, even just for a brief time,
is better than being confined
in that small water vat
for the rest of its life.
Being free?
Sounds like you've met Liuli.
You only know that the Iron Lady Star Deity
would get whatever she wants by all means,
but there were times
she also talked about freedom a lot.
Her?
She's a lofty god.
How would she know
what freedom really means
to all the living beings?
She knows it better than anybody does.
100 years ago, the Jade Emperor asked
the Star Deity to oversee the Three Realms
and the law of life.
Later, the Star Deity found
out that the human side of her
had sympathy for the living beings,
and the pity clouded
her judgment in a subtle way.
She thus decided to keep the god side
of her and abandon her human side.
And that's how she became the decisive
and merciless Star Deity you see today.
Unexpectedly, the abandoned human side
of her ended up in the Mortal Realm.
In the name of freedom, she became
the crowd-pleasing Liuli
to fight against the Iron Lady Star Deity,
the god side of her.
You can of course choose to be free,
but Sun Wukong has styled himself
the Great Sage Equaling Heaven
and kept making trouble
in the Celestial Palace recently.
How's that my concern?
Sun Wukong broke your father out
of the Heavenly Prison.
If no one takes responsibility for it,
neither he nor your father
can get away with it.
You know the Star Deity very well.
She wouldn't forgive your father
or let this thing go.
But if you can convince Sun Wukong
to plead guilty,
you'll be able to make up
for your own mistake.
And I'm sure the Star Deity
will go easy on Yang Tianyou.
What do you say?
Kids,
I know this guy. You may leave.
Come to think of it,
I'm known as the Great
Sage Equaling Heaven,
and I've always been a proud person
who's never given a damn to anybody,
yet today,
I actually
ended up in this situation.
Yang Jian,
are you also here trying to
kill me as the Star Deity did?
As a celestial warrior,
I will do whatever it takes to kill you
if you insist on resisting.
But as your friend,
I want to give you a piece of advice.
With all you've done, you satisfied
your own needs,
but have you ever thought about them?
Are you really going to
sacrifice their lives
for your own pride and stubbornness?
Don't let Mount Huaguo
become another Qingya.
Who's your friend?
Pick up your weapon.
You bunch of stupid gods.
Don't try to fool me.
You just can't get over the hatred.
You hate yourself
for not being able to protect Mount Huaguo.
Shut your mouth!
You hate that even though you call yourself
the Great Sage Equaling Heaven,
you are just a monkey born from a stone
whom nobody in this world
takes seriously.
You can't even face yourself.
How are you supposed to protect them?
Just come with me.
No matter what happens,
let's face it together.
Yang Jian,
you were ordered by the Star Deity
to go to the Mortal Realm,
but you grew fond of it and went astray.
Luckily, you realized
you were wrong in time,
and brought Sun Wukong back
to the Celestial Palace.
Which can make up for your mistake.
Hope you'll conduct
yourself well from now on.
I'll follow your
instruction, Venerable Lord.
Rise, please.
Wukong,
you disregarded laws, repeatedly
violated the rules of Heaven,
and made a lot of trouble.
Will you plead guilty?
Now that I'm here,
I'm ready to accept any punishment.
You should've been severely punished
for your evildoing,
but given the boundless grace of Heaven
and the fact that you are carrying
the essence of Heaven and Earth
since you were born
from the sky-patching stone,
you can make amends for your faults
by keeping the horses and reflecting
on your mistakes for 500 years.
Are you willing to accept that?
I am.
Sun Wukong,
kneel and thank the Venerable Lord.
I've said it before.
I will not kneel to anybody.
How outrageous!
Celestial warriors, take him.
Yes.
No need.
Wukong,
the Star Deity is broad-minded
and didn't blame you.
Hurry and go to the Horse Stables.
Hold it.
Sun Wukong,
tell me,
have you realized the freedom
you and Liuli advocated?
Bring him.
No way to escape.
Niu?
- No one can get away.
- Stand up.
We'll be trapped
in the Heavenly Prison forever.
Stand up.
We can never go back.
I knew it.
You've never planned on letting us go.
Yang Jian.
Yang Jian, I know
for all these years you've been
bothered by your demigod identity.
This thing is called
Nine-reincarnation Immortal Elixir.
It can help your father
ascent to Heaven, avoid death,
and gain immortality.
Kill him,
and your father will become a god like us.
Your mother married a mortal
and gave birth to you.
If your father becomes a god,
no one will criticize her
for her crime anymore.
And from now on,
the gods in Heaven will
no longer despise you.
Kill him.
I've been looked down
upon since I was little.
I've always dreamed
about reuniting with my parents.
Your path is over now.
But I
still have a long way to go.
How could there be such a good thing?
Mortals will stay mortals forever.
They can never gain immorality.
Yang Jian,
I guess
you are not a fool after all.
You could've become a god.
Why do you have to look for death?
Just because
you can abandon
certain things
doesn't mean
I can, too.
Venerable Lord, I'll leave the rest to you.
Erlang, you are destined
to go through this tribulation.
May you go through it smoothly.
Let me out.
Let me out.
Let me out.
Do you see it?
This is what he's got
for going against Heaven.
You taught them to fight for their freedom,
but as it turned out, you pushed them
into an eternal abyss.
No matter it's Sun Wukong
or the people in Qingya Village.
It's you.
You put them in this trouble.
I'm not wrong.
It's your fault, not mine.
I didn't do anything wrong.
It's you. They ended up like this
because of you.
Today,
I'll activate the Nine-heaven Thunderbolt
and kill this monkey once and for all.
I'll let the Three Realms
know what order is.
I'll let all living beings
give up on fighting back.
I'll have the entire world bow to Heaven!
Erlang,
why are you crying?
Mom, why do they always bully me?
Why am I always the one who's wrong?
Come here.
Erlang,
I feel for you.
They once said I was wrong.
And then what?
And then...
And then I had you.
You made me the happiest
person in this world.
I didn't give up back then,
so you can't give up either.
Yang Jian,
I knew you wouldn't die easily.
I didn't realize that I actually opened
your truth-seeing eye by accident.
Iron Lady Start Deity,
the god side and the human side
should be kept together
and never separated.
But you, as a goddess,
can't even accept who you are,
how can you
accept all living beings?
Nonsense!
The mortals are pests who deserve to die.
Only gods are the supreme beings
in this world.
Yang Jian, let me lend you a hand.
Yang Jian,
charge through.
The Celestial Palace is ruthless
and you constantly break your word.
Today, I'll destroy it
and free all living
beings from its tyranny.
It's the Star Deity's fault.
The Celestial Palace
has nothing to do with it.
If you destroy it, it'll cause chaos
to the Three Realms.
So what?
I'll wipe it out anyway.
If you insist on doing this,
you'll have to defeat me first.
And you all know what happened afterwards.
The Sakyamuni Buddha buried me under
the Five-finger Mountain for 500 years,
asking me to wait for a pilgrim of the Tang
Dynasty going to the West to retrieve sutras.
A pilgrim who goes to retrieve sutras.
So he's a monk.
Why should I wait for him?
Hey, is it you?
A monster!
Hey. Hey. Hey.
As for Yang Jian... Oh, wait,
he's now known as God Erlang,
he's still the same,
except he has a dog now.
Be good.
Where are you going? Wait for me.