Chapter 185 - 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.