The Battle in Journey to the West
Chapter 188 - 184: Wielding the Magical Treasure Iron Fan Fiercely

Chapter 188: Chapter 184: Wielding the Magical Treasure Iron Fan Fiercely

Zhuge Liang had set up the Seven Stars Altar to borrow the east wind and assist Zhou Yu with his fire attack on Cao’s Navy Camp.

All of Cao Cao’s warships had already been chained together into a flotilla, and if a fire were to be set, naturally no one would escape.

However, Zhuge Liang had been trying to borrow the wind for two days, but still there was no sign of any movement, which made Enlightenment Dao anxious; could it be that the Seven Stars Sword had no effect? The immortals in the heavens weren’t taking notice?

Although Enlightenment Dao was anxious, he had no other choice but to quietly wait. Zhuge Liang was also puzzled, but knowing that borrowing the wind was no trivial matter, he figured perhaps the immortals in the heavens hadn’t noticed, so on the third day, he continued to ascend the altar to perform the ritual.

Meanwhile, Princess Iron Fan, upon seeing that the Ox Demon King hadn’t returned home for a long time and hearing rumors of his affair with another woman, was absolutely furious. She took the Banana Leaf Fan and left the Banana Leaf Cave, heading towards the Water Curtain Cave of Flower-Fruit Mountain in Dongsheng Immortal State.

As she passed through Southern Toad Continent, she suddenly noted below someone performing rites on the Seven Stars Altar, arranging the Twenty-Eight Mansions Formation, offering all kinds of sacrifices, while a group of people held various banner treasure banners. She couldn’t help but think to herself, "Who is this wild daoist who has come to deceive others now?"

With a casual sweep of her divine sense, she was taken aback, surprised, "Isn’t that my teacher’s Seven Stars Sword? I saw it once in Doulu Palace, how did it end up in this person’s hands?"

Curious, she halted her steps to watch Zhuge Liang invoke the wind, but after a long while, there was still no breeze.

Enraged, Princess Iron Fan thought, "This man has erected the Seven Stars Altar, corresponding with the Big Dipper in the heavens; the immortals above should have noticed by now, yet they refuse to grant the wind! This sword is my teacher’s Seven Stars Sword, could it be that they think my teacher is less than the Jade Emperor? Not willing to grant the wind? Outrageous! This person is using my teacher’s Seven Stars Sword, and yet they dare not show up!"

Princess Iron Fan watched Zhuge Liang wielding the Seven Stars Sword at the altar to invoke the wind, but there was not the slightest stir, and her anger flared. After all, the Seven Stars Sword was a divine sword of the Taoist sect, a magical treasure of Laojun, and she had seen this sword in Doulu Palace. Now Zhuge Liang was invoking the wind, but no immortal official responded, was this not a slight to Laojun’s dignity? As Laojun’s secret disciple, how could she tolerate this?

Princess Iron Fan was originally the princess of the Raksasa Kingdom, which had been destroyed by enemy states, and Laojun happened to be heading out through the Hangu Pass and saw the abandoned baby girl, so he took her in and eventually matched her with the Ox Demon King who was an underling of the Green Ox in his seat. This relationship was unknown to outsiders.

With rage in her heart and seeing the immortal officials from the heavens refusing to generate the wind, she felt compelled to act, lest others think Laojun lacked influence. A plea with the Seven Stars Sword brought forth no wind, which was like a slap in Laojun’s face.

In reality, the Great Emperor of Heavenly Court had long anticipated Iron Fan Princess’s interference, which was why he had not taken action sooner. However, she did not realize that she had fallen into the calculations of those deeply scheming emperors.

Princess Iron Fan opened her mouth and took out the Banana Leaf Fan from under her tongue, shook it a bit, and it grew larger. She went to a distance and fanned once towards the sky!

A fierce wind arose, a violent southeasterly wind that was so strong it nearly made it impossible to keep one’s eyes open.

Zhuge Liang was immediately overjoyed, as he watched the soldiers holding the treasure banners below being blown this way and that, and he ordered them to kneel down and give thanks hurriedly.

Princess Iron Fan swung the Banana Leaf Fan repeatedly, sending out gust after gust, buzzing fiercely.

Zhou Yu and others had already prepared and, seeing the fierce wind pick up, immediately dispatched troops, ready to set Red Cliffs on fire.

Zhuge Liang then placed the Seven Stars Sword back on the altar, bowed twice, quickly changed his clothes, and descended from the altar, rushing towards the riverbank where Zhao Zilong of Changshan was waiting. Zhou Yu had harbored intentions of getting rid of Zhuge Liang, and now that he had summoned a great wind, the situation was critical. Zhuge Liang’s continued presence surely spelt great trouble, so he sent men to search South Screen Mountain for Zhuge Liang to capture and kill him. However, Zhuge Liang had anticipated this and had left a step ahead.

Enlightenment Dao saw that Zhuge Liang was sensible to leave the sword behind. With a gesture, the Seven Stars Sword flew up and landed in his hands.

This time, even Enlightenment Dao had fallen into the calculations of the Great Emperor of Heavenly Court. Without the Seven Stars Sword, Princess Iron Fan certainly would not have acted. If the Great Emperor of Heavenly Court had intervened, it would inevitably have given rise to criticism from the Buddhist sect, and conflicts between the two sides could arise again, something they all wished to avoid.

Enlightenment Dao discovered the source of the wind and couldn’t help but laugh; it was his sister-in-law using the Banana Leaf Fan! The Banana Leaf Fan had two sides, one belonging to Doulu Palace that was yang, and the one in Princess Iron Fan’s hands was yin. The yang Banana Leaf Fan was used to stoke the Bagua Oven’s flames for alchemy, while the yin Banana Leaf Fan was for summoning chilling winds and rain.

For alchemy, one naturally wouldn’t use the yin Banana Leaf Fan, lest it extinguish the flames, so this yin Banana Leaf Fan was given to Princess Iron Fan for self-defense. Without a magical treasure to counter it, no matter how powerful you were, you would still be sent flying.

Just as Enlightenment Dao was about to greet her, he spotted a member of the Buddhist sect flying from afar, stepping on a Dragon Elephant, none other than the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon Bodhisattva!

"Oh dear, here comes my old rival. He hasn’t yet reached the realm of the Mixed Yuan Golden Immortals, but my primordial spirit, having undergone the trial of violent thunders, is much stronger than ordinary people. Even if faced with a Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal, I still could put up a fight. I wonder if I could contend with this Mahoraga now, and have a showdown of life and death?" Enlightenment Dao, seeing the arrival of Great Mighty Celestial Dragon Bodhisattva, was eager to clench his fists and rub his palms, having just defeated the Dragon King and acquired a Golden Sand Pill, and was now brimming with confidence.

Great Mighty Celestial Dragon descended from the heavens and said, "Woman, hold your steps! Why do you fan such evil winds here?"

Princess Iron Fan saw a monk approaching, and this monk was quite handsome. But hearing the hostile tone in his voice, her irritation, already present, flared up even more. She said, "I intend to keep fanning, what are you going to do about it?"

The Great Mighty Celestial Dragon spoke grimly, "Stop it at once!"

Princess Iron Fan, however, chuckled and said, "I simply refuse to stop!"

As she spoke, she wielded the Banana Leaf Fan fiercely once more, and with a whoosh, the wind blew even stronger. Flames began to flicker at Red Cliffs, indicating that Zhou Yu’s strategy to set fire to Red Cliffs was indeed successful.

Seeing the firelight at Red Cliffs and Princess Iron Fan still fanning, the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon was consumed with rage, stormed over on the Dragon Elephant, and threw a punch straight at Princess Iron Fan!

Princess Iron Fan could not help but curse, "What a fierce and vicious monk you are, resorting to violence without a word of reason?"

The mana of Princess Iron Fan was only at the second layer of a Taiyi Golden Immortal. However, the magical treasure in her hand was innate, and even for a Mixed Yuan Golden Immortal, it would likely be very difficult to subdue her.

Princess Iron Fan waved her fan, turning it around to face the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon, and fanned fiercely, instantly creating a horrific gale. The Great Mighty Celestial Dragon felt the terror of this evil wind as a point of golden light burst from his brow. The Dragon Elephant beneath him roared wildly, sinking at least several feet into the ground, yet still it kept retreating, dragging deep marks behind it.

"This fan, it’s extremely powerful. What kind of magical treasure is this?" exclaimed the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon in shock, for even as he braced himself with the strength to match Mount Sumeru, he was nearly blown away by the Banana Leaf Fan.

Such herculean physical strength was rare even in Western Heaven and was unrivaled; had it been an ordinary Bodhisattva or Buddha, they probably would have been fanned tens of thousands of miles away.

Princess Iron Fan was also startled and thought to herself, "What immense strength this fellow has, as if his feet have rooted themselves in the ground. He won’t be blown away by my fanning?"

With that thought, she raised the Banana Leaf Fan and fanned once more viciously at the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon Bodhisattva. With a whoosh, the sound of the hurricane seemed like the wailing of countless night cats, and another vicious wind burst forth from the fan, charging at the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon! That Great Mighty Celestial Dragon, with a forceful stance and a deep breath, let out a resounding Om!

With his hands forming the Unmovable Fundamental Seal and uttering Buddhist True Words, a golden light radiated from his body. The evil wind generated by Princess Iron Fan’s Banana Leaf Fan couldn’t budge him.

"Ha!" the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon roared angrily, advancing forward despite the successive gales.

Princess Iron Fan fanned several times, but the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon stood immovable like Mount Sumeru, utterly unfazed by her fanning; instead of retreating, he advanced. Veins bulged across his body like coiling dragons, muscles swelling, and his enormous strength was simply awe-inspiring.

The expression on Princess Iron Fan’s face changed as well—she had never before encountered someone who remained unaffected by her fan!

The physical might of the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon is scarce in the world, but how many Great Mighty Celestial Dragons could there be? As he faced the wind, he started to swing his fists and broke through wave after wave of vicious wind.

There are ways to counter the Banana Leaf Fan—it’s easy, for example, to use the Wind-Calming Pearl, which, when kept in the mouth, makes one impervious to being fanned away, irrespective of the fan’s power. Another way is to cultivate physical strength, anchor oneself firmly, and stand unwavering like a mountain. Of course, significantly higher mana and cultivation also work.

"Break!" With a ferocious roar, the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon’s fist headed straight for Princess Iron Fan, punching through the torrents of gales.

Princess Iron Fan turned deathly pale in a flash, unexpectedly facing the fearsome power of the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon, and knowing she couldn’t block or evade his punch, she could only close her eyes and await death.

However, just then, an Enlightenment Daoist threw a Golden Sand Pill, which struck the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon’s fist with a bang—the treasure, formed from the Taiyi Pure Golden Mountain, had immense power. With a flash of golden light, it shattered the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon’s fist mark.

Seeing help had arrived, Princess Iron Fan couldn’t contain her joy and, holding the Banana Leaf Fan, fanned fiercely once again!

The force in the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon’s punch was spent, and caught unprepared to brace his energy core and anchor himself, he was struck by the vicious wind. Immediately he tumbled and flew away, rolling in the mud and ending up in a rather sorry state.

The Enlightenment Daoist hurled the Golden Sand Pill down with a smack onto the Great Mighty Celestial Dragon, who spat golden blood from the blow, with countless bones likely broken. Now, as Princess Iron Fan fanned him again, he could no longer resist and was sent flying, soaring all the way to West Cow He State.

To find out what happens next, please tune in to the next installment. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to come to Starting Point (qidian.com) to vote with your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)