Wukong follows the Gold Star of Venus to Heaven and enters the celestial realm for the first time. At the Treasure Hall of Divine Mists, his unfamiliarity with heavenly etiquette shocks the assembled officials, but the Jade Emperor pardons his ignorance and searches for an appointment for him.

The only vacant position is at the imperial stables. Wukong is therefore made Ban-Horse-Plague and placed in charge of nearly a thousand celestial horses. He throws himself into the work and cares for them diligently.

More than half a month later, however, Wukong learns that his office carries no official grade at all and is regarded as one of the lowest positions in Heaven.

Furious that Heaven has treated the king of Flower-Fruit Mountain as a mere stable keeper, he overturns his official desk, draws the Golden-Hooped Rod, leaves the imperial stables, and fights his way through the South Heaven Gate.

He returns to Flower-Fruit Mountain convinced that Heaven has deliberately insulted him.

Back at Flower-Fruit Mountain, two one-horned demon kings suggest that someone of Wukong's power should call himself Great Sage, Equal to Heaven. Delighted, Wukong orders a great banner raised and demands that everyone use his new title.

The Jade Emperor responds by sending Devarāja Li Jing, Prince Naṭa, and celestial troops to subdue him.

Wukong first defeats the Mighty-Spirit God, breaking the shaft of his enormous ax. Prince Naṭa then attacks using three heads, six arms, and six magical weapons. Wukong assumes the same three-headed, six-armed form and battles him for thirty rounds before using a transformed hair to distract the prince and striking him from behind.

Unable to overcome Wukong, the celestial army withdraws.

The Gold Star of Venus again advises peace. Rather than waste troops, Heaven should simply recognize Wukong's requested title. The Jade Emperor agrees and formally appoints him Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, though the title carries no real duties or salary.

Wukong now has an official residence in Heaven and the prestigious title he demanded, but he has almost nothing to do.

He spends his days wandering freely among celestial palaces, meeting immortals and treating gods of many ranks as friends. Heaven eventually worries that giving such an energetic figure unlimited leisure will lead to trouble.

The Jade Emperor therefore assigns him to supervise the Garden of Immortal Peaches.

There Wukong discovers 3,600 extraordinary peach trees. Some fruits ripen every three thousand years and grant immortality; others ripen every six thousand years and prevent aging; the greatest ripen only once every nine thousand years and can give a lifespan equal to Heaven and Earth.

Wukong soon becomes fascinated by the oldest and most powerful peaches.

Whenever the opportunity arises, he sends the garden officials away, climbs into the trees, and secretly eats the fully ripened peaches to his heart's content.

When the Queen Mother prepares the Grand Festival of Immortal Peaches, seven immortal maidens enter the garden to gather fruit. They discover that most of the finest peaches have already disappeared.

Wukong learns from them that many of Heaven's greatest beings have been invited to the festival—but his own name is not among them.

Offended, he immobilizes the maidens and heads toward the Jasper Pool. On the way, he deceives the Great Immortal of Naked Feet and then assumes his appearance to enter the festival before the other guests arrive.

Wukong eats the divine delicacies and drinks so much celestial wine that he becomes completely drunk. Wandering away, he accidentally reaches Laozi's Tushita Palace.

Finding five gourds of finished immortal elixir unguarded, he eats every pill like beans.

Realizing the scale of what he has done, Wukong abandons Heaven and returns to Flower-Fruit Mountain. He later secretly returns once more and steals several bottles of heavenly wine for his monkeys.

The crimes are soon discovered. The Queen Mother reports the stolen peaches, the festival officials report the missing food and wine, Laozi reports his stolen elixir, and the Great Immortal of Naked Feet reveals that Wukong falsely issued commands in the Jade Emperor's name.

The Jade Emperor finally orders a full military campaign.

A hundred thousand celestial soldiers descend under Li Jing, supported by the Four Great Devarājas, Prince Naṭa, the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Nine Luminaries, and numerous other divine forces. Eighteen sets of cosmic nets completely surround Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Wukong defeats the Nine Luminaries and joins his forces in an enormous battle against Heaven.

The celestial army captures many of the demon kings and beasts allied with him, but Wukong himself continues fighting the heavenly commanders. As darkness approaches, he transforms his hairs into thousands of copies of himself, each carrying a Golden-Hooped Rod.

The duplicates drive the celestial forces back, but Heaven keeps the mountain surrounded.

Guanyin arrives in Heaven expecting to attend the Peach Festival but instead discovers the Jasper Pool in disorder and learns of Wukong's rebellion.

She sends her disciple Hui'an—also called Mokṣa—to Flower-Fruit Mountain to inspect the battle and assist the celestial army if necessary.

Hui'an challenges Wukong personally. They fight for fifty or sixty rounds, but Wukong proves stronger and forces him to retreat.

When Hui'an returns to Heaven with news that even the hundred-thousand-strong army has failed to capture the Monkey King, Guanyin recommends a new opponent: Erlang, the Jade Emperor's nephew and an immortal master renowned for his supernatural abilities.

The Jade Emperor immediately summons him.

Erlang gathers the Six Brothers of Plum Mountain, his divine troops, falcons, and hunting dogs and travels to Flower-Fruit Mountain. Unlike the earlier generals, he intends to meet Wukong not merely through force, but in a direct contest of supernatural transformations.

Wukong and Erlang confront one another before Water-Curtain Cave and fight for more than three hundred rounds without determining a victor.

Both enlarge themselves into gigantic forms resembling Heaven and Earth. But while Wukong is occupied with Erlang, the Plum Mountain forces attack his army and scatter the monkeys.

Wukong retreats and begins using the Seventy-Two Transformations to escape.

He becomes a sparrow; Erlang becomes a hawk. Wukong changes into a cormorant; Erlang becomes a great crane. Wukong becomes a fish, then a water snake, then a spotted bustard. Finally, he transforms himself into a small temple, using his mouth as the entrance, his teeth as doors, his eyes as windows, and his tail as a flagpole.

Erlang repeatedly recognizes every disguise.

Wukong even escapes to Erlang's own temple and assumes Erlang's appearance, but the pursuit continues all the way back to Flower-Fruit Mountain.

At last Laozi intervenes, striking Wukong with his diamond snare. Erlang's hound bites him, and the Seven Sages pin him down and prevent further transformations.

Wukong is carried back to Heaven and sentenced to death.

At the monster execution block, celestial warriors slash him with scimitars, strike him with axes, stab him with spears, and hack at him with swords. None of the weapons can damage his body.

The gods then try fire.

That fails as well.

The Thunder Department strikes him with thunderbolts, yet not even a single hair is destroyed.

Laozi explains why Wukong has become so difficult to kill. He has consumed immortal peaches, celestial wine, and five gourds of divine elixir. These substances have fused within him and strengthened his already supernatural body.

Laozi proposes a different solution.

Wukong is taken to the Brazier of Eight Trigrams, where Laozi intends to refine him until the stolen elixir is separated from his body and the Monkey King himself is reduced to ashes.

For forty-nine days the celestial fire burns around him.

Inside the brazier, Wukong shelters beneath the compartment corresponding to the Xun trigram, associated with wind. The fire cannot directly reach him there, though the smoke permanently reddens and transforms his eyes into what become known as Fiery Eyes and Diamond Pupils.

On the forty-ninth day, Laozi opens the brazier.

Wukong immediately leaps out, kicks the furnace over, throws aside the attendants, knocks Laozi down, and retrieves the Golden-Hooped Rod.

He once again rampages through Heaven.

The Nine Luminaries hide and the Four Devarājas withdraw as Wukong fights toward the Hall of Divine Mists. Numinous Officer Wang blocks his advance, and thirty-six thunder deities eventually surround him.

Wukong responds by transforming into a three-headed, six-armed form and turning his rod into three weapons, spinning them so rapidly that the thunder gods cannot approach.

With Heaven unable to stop him by ordinary force, the Jade Emperor sends messengers westward to request the intervention of Tathāgata Buddha.

Tathāgata arrives and asks Wukong why he believes he deserves the Jade Emperor's throne.

Wukong boasts of his immortality, seventy-two transformations, and cloud-somersault capable of carrying him 108,000 miles in a single leap.

Tathāgata proposes a wager: if Wukong can jump beyond his right palm, the Celestial Palace will be his.

Certain of victory, Wukong somersaults an immense distance until he discovers five enormous pillars seemingly marking the end of Heaven. He writes a message on one and leaves another unmistakable mark before returning triumphantly.

Tathāgata tells him to look down.

The “pillars” were merely the Buddha's five fingers. Wukong had never escaped his palm at all.

When Wukong attempts another leap, Tathāgata overturns his hand. His five fingers become the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—and transform into the Five Phases Mountain, trapping Wukong beneath it.

A sacred seal is later placed upon the mountain, securing him there until the time comes for his eventual release.