Volume 1: Unsayable – Chapter 70: The Demon Encirclement Formation
Seeing that their outnumbered forces still found it hard to win, Nezha grew even more panicked. In his distraction, Wukong seized the opportunity to strike him on the left arm with his staff. The pain was excruciating, and he no longer dared to fight, retreating instead to hide among the heavenly troops.
In no time, the gods and celestial officials in the sky were scattered in disarray, too afraid to stay in the air any longer. Seeing that they couldn’t gain even the slightest advantage, Li Jing gave the order: “Launch a full-scale attack on Flower-Fruit Mountain and sever its roots. No matter how many leaders they have, they won’t be able to hold on alone!”
Thus, the gods led their heavenly troops to attack the east side of Flower-Fruit Mountain, while Marshal Tianpeng, Nezha, and the Star Lord of Water led 20,000 troops from the River of Heaven to the west side, near the sea. These men were among the best in celestial combat skills, so they naturally used their strengths to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses.
Marshal Tianpeng had been defeated by Wukong and was filled with frustration. In this battle against demons, he had vowed to achieve great merits so he could make an unreasonable request of the Jade Emperor. Since he couldn’t defeat them in a one-on-one fight, success in the siege of the mountain was essential—otherwise, when would his anguish end?
Tianpeng led the troops at the front, Nezha supported from the center, while the Star Lord of Water held back at the rear. Upon reaching the west side of Flower-Fruit Mountain, Tianpeng flew low over the sea, overjoyed. There was no one on the west side—could it be that the demons were naturally afraid of water, using it as a natural barrier?
As the military saying goes: “Strategic locations must be heavily guarded!” After all, demons were still just demons and couldn’t achieve anything great. Once Marshal Tianpeng destroyed their mountain and dug out their caves, he would surely claim the greatest credit in this battle against demons.
The more Tianpeng thought about it, the more excited he became. He ordered the first 10,000 troops to climb the mountain quickly from the sea. The troops obeyed and dived into the water to search for the base of the mountain. The River of Heaven troops weren’t very good at flying but were invincible in water. Most of them were elite fish and shrimp demons selected from the four seas; in the ocean, they felt as at home as they did on land.
As these 10,000 troops entered the water, the surface remained calm, with each soldier moving like an arrow leaving the bow, quickly approaching the rocks of Flower-Fruit Mountain.
Just then, a little monkey appeared out of nowhere, standing on a rock and mocking Tianpeng with a strange laugh. Tianpeng felt uneasy and raised his rake, shouting, “Get away quickly, or you’ll lose your life!”
The little monkey nodded and replied, “Whose life will be lost?” With a wave of his right arm, a loud rumbling sound came from the bottom of the sea, followed by turbulent waves, as if thousands of dragon gods were at work. The waves rose to a height of five zhang.
Countless heavenly soldiers were swept out by the huge waves and forced onto the rocks. Scarlet flowers of blood bloomed instantly before being erased by the waves. The little monkey waved its left arm again, causing the waters around Flower-Fruit Mountain to retreat rapidly, forming a strange bowl-shaped structure. Although Tian Peng was the marshal of the water army, he had never seen such a feat before and was stunned speechless. The little monkey said gently, “Retreat quickly, or you’ll lose your life!”
Tian Peng roughly counted and found that this single wave had killed at least three thousand soldiers. Fuming, he gritted his teeth and shouted, “What a vicious demon!” He picked up his halberd and charged at the little monkey to kill it. The little monkey’s expression grew even more mocking: “If I don’t kill you, you kill me—what’s there to talk about?” It didn’t dodge at all. Just as Tian Peng attacked, a silver whip appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around his left foot and flinging him away. Unprepared, Tian Peng soared upward like a kite with a broken string and plunged into the heavenly net, tightly wrapped by the silver threads. The general in charge of the net was too busy to see who it was and, delighted that someone had fallen into the net, shouted, “Pull it in!”
When Nezha arrived, he saw the soldiers in front of him silent and hiding in the water, while Marshal Tian Peng was nowhere to be found. He saw a little monkey on the rocks and knew it must be a demon. Before he could speak, someone in the water said, “Another one has arrived!” Relying on his skill in swimming, Nezha dived in to search and saw a huge dragon killing indiscriminately. The dragon’s single horn was sharp as a spear, and its scales were like knives. With each roll, the blue-green water turned bloody. These soldiers were ordinary and had no strength to fight back.
Furious, Nezha swung his Hun Tian Ling to entangle the dragon. The dragon flicked its tail, and a silver whip intertwined with the Hun Tian Ling. The two silently struggled in the water. Nezha thought, “Even the prince of the dragon palace isn’t my match, yet you overestimate yourself.” As this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly felt the water around him surge with immense force, pressing down on him. Nezha frantically waved his Hun Tian Ling, but it seemed stuck as if tied to the five great mountains, refusing to move. With no choice, he reluctantly let go and soared upward just in time to avoid the pressure. By the time he reached the air, his back was drenched in cold sweat. He hurried back and ordered the ten thousand soldiers following him to turn around immediately and not stay in the water for long.
When Water Deity met Nezha, he asked what had happened. Nezha replied angrily, “The demon’s power is unfathomable. We lost this battle!”
Nezha had dominated the three realms for thousands of years without ever suffering a defeat. Yet in just one day, he lost two of his precious magical artifacts. Most infuriatingly, his life-saving artifact, the Heaven-Subduing Silk, was also taken by that evil dragon—how painful! While he sat head bowed in despair, he had no idea that to the east of Huaguoshan, the Four Celestial Masters, the Four Vajras, and the Eight Bright Stars were also in extreme distress.
These men led 60,000 heavenly soldiers into the mountains east of Huaguoshan. At first, everything was fine; not a single demon soldier was seen along the way, suggesting that the demons must be hiding in some corner and could be defeated by holding their ground. At the Four Vajras’ command, the army accelerated its pace.
After marching a short distance, they found the surroundings shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see even a few feet ahead. Zhang Daoling, one of the Four Celestial Masters, exclaimed, “Bad news! We’ve fallen into the demons’ formation!”
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A poem goes:
This formation arises naturally, containing heaven and earth according to the Three Powers;
Few comprehend its esoteric teachings of the Chán School; within its depths lie great mysteries and celestial secrets.
The heavenly deities entered the vast formation laid out by Fengtong. Suddenly, everything before them became blurred, as if the formation stretched across heaven and earth, with its structure resembling the Yellow River. A cold wind howled, and dark mist enveloped everything, obscuring the sun and moon. It was a vast, mysterious expanse, filled with a gloomy atmosphere that reached the heavens and darkened the earth.
Although Fengtong seemed to set up the formation effortlessly, it actually required thousands of years of effort to complete. This formation technique was natural, relying on the rocks and trees in the mountains. From the outside, it appeared unremarkable, but once inside, one realized it contained profound secrets and life-or-death mechanisms. It followed the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, with orderly entrances and exits, and its intricacies were comparable to those of an army of millions.
Zhang Daoling studied it for a long time but couldn’t figure it out. He said to the other three celestial masters, “At first glance, this formation seems to follow the Three Powers, but within it there are twists and turns, yet also straight paths. What should we do?” Ge Hong laughed and said, “It’s useless for me. I only know how to refine elixirs; I’m not even familiar with formation techniques.” The other two celestial masters also shook their heads, saying it was difficult.
The Fire Deity, whose nature was like raging fire, snapped, “Back off! Let’s burn it all down with fire—what does that formation matter?” Zhang Daoling replied, “That’s absolutely impossible. Every formation has a focal point. Once found, the formation can be easily broken. But if we touch other parts, those inside will surely suffer.” At that moment, Li Jing came up from behind, saying in surprise, “These demons even understand formation techniques! Hmph, nothing but tricks of evil spirits!” Seeing it was Li Jing, Zhang Daoling quickly said, “As the great marshal who subdues demons, how can you risk your life by entering the formation?” Li Jing sighed and said, “The Heavenly River army has returned in defeat, losing 30% of its forces. If we don’t achieve success now, this battle is doomed to failure! I’m just an ordinary man—what’s there to lose?”
Seeing Li Jing ready for battle, the soldiers’ low morale improved slightly.
At that moment, the Southern Growth Heavenly King stepped forward and said, “I can give this formation a try!”
Li Jing was overjoyed upon hearing this: “It is precisely when Vajra appears that demons can be subdued.”
Zhang Daoling showed doubt and, after much hesitation, still asked, “The art of formations is the authentic tradition of Taoism. I wonder how the Heavenly King of Growth can break such formations.”
The Heavenly King of Growth replied solemnly, “Taoist formations have countless variations, which I naturally do not understand. But with this, I believe these formations are not worth fearing.” With that, he took out a small Vajra mace from his bundle behind him and placed it in his hand. It was twelve fingers long and shaped like a double-headed trident.
Zhang Daoling recognized the object and said, “Is this a Buddhist Vajra mace?”
The Heavenly King of Growth replied, “Indeed. This mace embodies the true Buddha nature, cutting off afflictions and destroying demons and illusions. It is the sacred object held by the Buddhas in our faith, used to strengthen the mind through the powers of ‘concentration’ and ‘wisdom’.”