The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 185 - 181: Magic Combat When the Fog Fills the River

Chapter 185: Chapter 181: Magic Combat When the Fog Fills the River

But it was said that Kongming had taken the "Taiyi Divine Calculation" taught by Ghost Valley to calculate, and had determined that a thick fog would cover the river, which was the perfect time to "borrow" arrows from Cao’s Naval Camp.

On the first day, there was no activity; on the second day, still no activity; it was not until the third day that Kongming called Lu Su to join him on a boat trip.

Enlightenment Dao had arrived at Eastern Rivers early and watched everything clearly. However, he knew about the famous story of "Zhuge Liang borrowing arrows with straw boats" from later generations. Zhou Yu intended to harm Zhuge Liang, who agreed to gather one hundred thousand arrows within three days. Hence, when a great fog covered the river, he provoked Cao’s Army at the naval camp, but Cao Cao, who was cautious and suspicious, dared not come out, and commanded the army to release arrows, amassing over one hundred thousand arrows after one bout of shooting.

"Why hasn’t the fog risen today?" Enlightenment Dao stood amidst the clouds. The moonlight was clear and the stars sparse, with no fog over the river although he had observed the heavens last night and discovered that there should have been a great fog covering the river today.

If there was no fog today, then Zhuge Liang’s plan was bound to fail, and he would indeed die at Zhou Yu’s hands! Enlightenment Dao clearly did not want to see this happen; after all, Zhuge Liang was the foremost strategist under Liu Bei’s command, and the fate of Shu Han was built through his strategies. Although overly eager afterwards, leading frequent expeditions from Qishan, which exhausted the resources and weakened the state.

Seeing no fog today, Enlightenment Dao couldn’t help feeling anxious internally and thought, "If the fog doesn’t appear, then I shall create it! I possess the Divine Skills of Rain Mage Chi Songzi; conjuring fog is as easy as turning over my hand."

Rain Mage Chi Songzi had been in charge of controlling clouds, rain, and creating fog since ancient times; he managed the weather, possessing Divine Skills mainly related to it.

"Create fog!" Enlightenment Dao shouted, his mouth opening wide, spraying out white mist, which instantly engulfed the entire Yangtze River.

As Zhuge Liang ordered the boats to head toward Cao’s Naval Camp, he was still wondering if the fog wouldn’t rise today. In a moment, however, he saw the fog forming and was immediately overjoyed, thinking to himself, "It seems Heaven hasn’t abandoned me!"

Zhuge Liang, with his profound skills and courage, had precisely calculated the weather using "Taiyi Divine Calculation" and was exceptionally adept at anticipating Cao Cao’s thoughts, thus agreeing to Zhou Yu’s request. Speaking of Zhou Yu, he was also a disciple of the sage Sun Wu; masterful in military strategy, but had a fate marked by an early death. Though a Grand Commander, his life was destined to be short, and he was fundamentally mismatched against Zhuge Liang, who was to overcome his challenges.

When Enlightenment Dao exerted his Divine Skills to create fog, the entire river was immediately so foggy that it was hard to see anything; however, Zhuge Liang, proficient in "Taiyi Divine Calculation," would not lose his way in the thick fog.

Ghost Valley, Mozi, and Zou Zi, three individuals who together taught their disciples—were they just ordinary people?

Ghost Valley was initially from the School of Diplomacy but later grasped supreme Dao through Taoist scriptures and achieved the status of a Human Sage. Zhuge Liang precisely used his techniques of forming alliances to persuade Eastern Wu to join forces with Liu Bei against Cao Cao, his eloquence nearly matchable to Zhang Yi and Su Qin.

Just as Enlightenment Dao had finished placing the thick fog, someone immediately sensed something amiss.

Who do you think this person was? It was none other than Ao Kuang, the Eastern Sea Dragon King with vast virtue!

Ao Kuang wondered, "Huh? I’ve accepted a Golden Sand Pill from the Buddhist sect and was just about to disperse today’s fog, and now who has created this fog? I must clear it quickly, lest they claim I took the perk but didn’t do my job and cause me trouble."

Nowadays, Ao Kuang had driven away the River Gods of both the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, taking control of these waters, thus his mana cultivation had soared. Having also gained a third of the North Sea territory, his power advanced even further, although the realm of Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal remained too profound to reach without grasping the mysteries of the Hunyuan. Indeed, he would benefit from listening more to the teachings of Yuan Shi Immortal Monarch, but, as a Dragon King responsible for rainfall, his duties were overwhelming, never daring to overstep or fall short, the slightest mistake could provoke celestial retribution, thus every rainmaking was personally handled by him, taking no chances with his subordinates.

The Golden Sand Pill, crafted from Taiyi Pure Gold, is extremely rare; a single pill represents a whole mountain of Taiyi Pure Gold refined. As a member of the Taoist sect, when asked for help by the Buddhist sect, naturally, they had to make a significant offering.

Having accepted the Golden Sand Pill, Ao Kuang naturally had to fulfill his duties; managing fog wasn’t as complicated as controlling rain.

After he cleared the great fog over the Yangtze River, Enlightenment Dao, however, created another thick fog, messing up his plans.

Ao Kuang, realizing the timing had gone awry, swiftly wielded Divine Skills again; his hands formed a divine seal from condensed Yangtze River water energy and with a spell, the vast fog was instantly drawn in.

Seeing the fog thinning again, Enlightenment Dao frowned and secretly cursed, "Which scoundrel is ruining my good deed? Could it be some Buddhist meddling?"

Thinking thus, he twiddled a spell, silently reciting a mental method, and his stomach expanded. With a fierce blast, whoosh—a vast fog burst forth from his mouth, enveloping the entire Yangtze River again.

Zhuge Liang saw the fog rise and then disperse, feeling both shocked and angered; but soon after, the fog rose again, which relieved him somewhat, thinking secretly, "Could it be that some immortal is playing a trick on me? This sporadic rising and dispersing of fog—what does it mean?"

Meanwhile, Ao Kuang, seeing the fog he had cleared rise again, was secretly shocked and thought, "What’s going on? Who is creating this fog? There aren’t many who can conjure fog; could it be that a River God of the Yangtze has come back to cause trouble?"

Enlightenment Dao was now extremely angry, so the fog he created was several times denser than before, making it hard to see even a yard away—but was it a good fog?

Indeed:

Vast obscurity, boundless vastness.

The Dragon King was also furious internally. Having accepted a Golden Sand Pill from the Buddhist sect, he could not afford to slack off in his duties. If accused of taking money without performing, he could not bear such a burden. Now, with someone sabotaging his work, how could he not be infuriated? He thought to himself, "I must see who is causing this trouble, hindering my important duty!"

Enlightenment Dao also silently raged, "Who is this damned fool ruining my plan? Let’s go see!"

As the two pursued and retreated, they accidentally met at the center of the Yangtze River, engulfed in thick fog, unseen to each other, but their Divine Sense faintly perceived one another.

"Which Daoist friend is ruining my good deed!" the Dragon King exclaimed.

"Which Daoist friend defies the celestial order? Today is supposed to be foggy, yet who has cleared the fog?" Enlightenment Dao also questioned.

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King angrily retorted, "This place should be managed by me. How dare you spout nonsense? If I wish to clear this fog, I will, so why do you come to spoil things?"

Enlightenment Dao, equally infuriated, rebuked, "You bird-like creature, defying the celestial order, you truly deserve to die! Come out and duel with me!"

Ao Kuang, greatly angered, shouted, "Daoist friend, stop interfering with my affairs, or I won’t be polite anymore!"

As he spoke, he even started reabsorbing the fog, only for Enlightenment Dao to see his interfering action and emit a thick burst of fog, infuriating Ao Kuang instantly.

Ao Kuang cursed, "Very well, very well indeed! How admirable you are!"

Hearing his own words, he charged forward, a treasure sword appearing in his hand, striking directly at Enlightenment Dao! The Dragon King’s swordsmanship was also impressive; as his sword moved, it powerfully sliced through layers of fog, charging at Enlightenment Dao. Enlightenment Dao grunted, pulling out the Seven Stars Sword from behind him and wielding it against the approaching Dragon King!

The two passed by each other, the sword qi erupting, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

"Eh? Is he really the Eastern Sea Dragon King Ao Kuang?" a surprised Enlightenment Dao thought to himself, "It doesn’t make sense! Could it be that the True Martial wants this Zhuge Liang to die in Eastern Wu? If Zhuge Liang dies, how could Liu Bei ever dominate Western Shu?"

Enlightenment Dao scornfully said, "So it’s you, the Eastern Sea King of Prosperity, involved in this fog matter, which is decided by the heavens. Tonight the area around the Yangtze River is supposed to be foggy. Why did you clear the fog? Could it be that you’ve been bribed by the Buddhist sect to cause trouble?"

Ao Kuang was startled by these words. After all, generating fog was a minor matter, not comparable to something significant like rain, and so he remained undaunted and scoffed, "Nonsense!"

He didn’t see clearing a bit of fog as having any significant impact, but Enlightenment Dao understood that this act of clearing the fog had a major influence on Zhuge Liang. Without the fog, Zhuge Liang’s journey would most certainly be one with no return, likely resulting in his capture or killing by Cao’s army.

Ao Kuang had been bribed by the Buddhist sect with a Golden Sand Pill to clear the fog that night, unaware of the severe consequences this action could bring; otherwise, even with a hundredfold courage, he wouldn’t dare to do so.

"Hurry back to your Eastern Sea, I’ll take over here at the Yangtze River for now!"

Yelling, Enlightenment Dao saw Ao Kuang charge at him again and immediately stepped forward with his sword to battle him.

The two engaged in a fierce magical duel amidst the fog, evenly matched in mana, alternating between offense and defense.

Seeing that dawn was approaching, the Dragon King became extremely anxious and suddenly spit out a Dragon Ball. The ball emitted the Power of Water Spirit, striking down heavily!

Enlightenment Dao hurriedly placed the Seven Stars Sword horizontally, formed a sword technique, and with a burst of sword qi, created a large shield to block the Dragon Ball.

"Boom!"

The Dragon Ball struck and instantly exploded, and Enlightenment Dao felt as though the Dragon Ball gathered the entire Eastern Sea’s waters, surprisingly heavy. Caught off guard, he was directly sent flying.

Seeing this, Ao Kuang quickly drew out his divine seal, intending to absorb all the fog! But Enlightenment Dao was uninjured, merely sent flying, and with a pinch of his sword technique, a Sword Shadow Clone flew out from the dense fog, charging at Ao Kuang.

"Indomitable spirit!" Ao Kuang roared in fury, cursing loudly and raising his sword to block.

After exchanging a couple of strikes with the Sword Shadow Clone, he immediately sensed something was amiss. Acting on a whim, he burst back, and in that moment, the Sword Shadow Clone hissed and exploded, sword qi crisscrossing, stirring the foggy sea into turmoil, which left Ao Kuang, the Eastern Sea Dragon King, with tattered Dragon Robes, covered in sword marks, wounded all over.

In this duel amidst the fog, Ao Kuang, unalert, didn’t realize it was just a clone meant to self-destruct and immediately suffered greatly.

Indeed:

In the obscure destinies of heaven, every cause has its effect.

The Jiao Demon King had slain Ao Shun, and while the other three did not trouble Flower-Fruit Mountain due to the Great Emperor’s intervention, a long time had passed and now, Enlightenment Dao found himself battling Ao Kuang above the Yangtze River. It was fate at work.

The outcome remains unknown; please continue in the next Chapter.

PS: A novel needs foreshadowing and transitions. Yesterday’s Chapter was not filler but rather laid the groundwork for the battle of Red Cliffs. Those who accuse me of writing filler might try writing two thousand words in classical phrases to see the difficulty, along with calculating how much time it would take. Important battles in The Three Kingdoms will be highlighted, focusing on magical duels. Secular power will not be emphasized. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote at qidian.com for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)