“Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons”
tells the story of Tang Sanzang’s early demon-hunting days,
before he acquires his famous disciples.
Sanzang, a compassionate demon hunter, believes in converting demons through nursery rhymes, a method mocked by the more aggressive Duan.
They encounter a water demon and a pig demon, with Duan capturing them as puppets. Duan falls for Sanzang, but he rejects her advances, focusing on his spiritual journey.
Sanzang’s master sends him to tame the Monkey King, trapped by Buddha. Duan helps, but is mortally wounded by the Monkey King. Sanzang admits his love for her, but she dies.
Sanzang summons Buddha, who defeats the Monkey King. Sanzang realizes Duan’s sacrifice and her unintentional arrangement of his nursery rhyme book into a sutra. He places her ring on the Monkey King, turning it into his headband.
Enlightened by his grief, Sanzang embarks on his journey to the west, accompanied by his tamed demons, now Sha Wujing, Zhu Bajie, and Sun Wukong. He sees a vision of Duan in the desert.
