Chapter 1244 Oh! Fate! Oh! Fate!
Old Man Dai pondered briefly. It was no use hiding at this point since he may figure it out given enough time. Plus, revealing the news has no downside, and it might allow them to establish some level of trust.
"It was Disaster who told me."
"The Hidden Eighth Moon?"
"Yes."
"I see," Wang Wei nodded.
"You don't seem surprised," Old Man Dai asked.
"He was on my list of people, albeit not at the top," Wang Wei explained. "Logically speaking, it explains some things. For example, I now knew why you could hide from the parasites when they came together to clean up this place.
"Thinking about it now, the fact you could hide at all means you have a decent technique. Did it come from Disaster? From what I deduce about him, he should be excellent at hiding, probably the best in the world currently."
"That's right. I did use his technique of avoiding disaster to hide myself," Old Man Dai acknowledged.
"That means you must be closed," Wang Wei added. "But how? Brothers? Apprentice? Lovers? Which is it?"
Old Man Dai's lips twitched.
"It wasn't hard to guess since your personality is very similar," Wang Wei continued. "You both value your life above everything else, and you have no shame in hiding and running when necessary. However, Disaster seems more extreme since you're willing to fight the parasites under the right circumstances."
Old Man Dai sighed; this conversation has been nothing but frustrating.
"We are disciples under the same master," he replied. "Our sect only had three of us, and the master's philosophy was 'extreme caution will lead to a longer life.' He repeated those words to us every time he had a chance."
'I was right. The Disaster Paragon does follow the Gou Dao,' Wang Wei thought.
"Your master must be very talented if he cultivated 2 Paragons in his sect."
"I guess."
"Is he dead?"
"No, he's very much alive," Old Man Dai replied with probably the most confidence since this conversation started.
"He didn't participate in the Ultimate Taboo?"
"Hell no," Old Man Dao shook his head. "He saw the trouble miles away. As soon as everything ended and he heard 99% of the participants died or were injured, he ran away from the Eternal Ascension World. I have no idea what corner he's hiding in."
Wang Wei was momentarily silent. "I don't know if I should praise this man's wisdom or…well, everyone has their way of living or cultivating. Maybe I should not judge." Regardless of his feelings about this school's philosophy, he could not deny that they've cultivated 3 Paragons. This result is proof enough that they are a substantiated philosophy.
"Wise words," Old Man Dai said. Most people who learn of their philosophy call them cowards who don't deserve their power and achievements. It's rare for someone to be polite or even acknowledge the wisdom in their philosophy.
"There is something I've been trying to figure out. Maybe you can help me," Wang Wei continued. "How did Disaster become one of these parasites? His personality indicates that he should have run away from this trouble."
"He didn't have much choice," Old Man Dai sighed. "As you may have already deduced, the true leader of the Moon and Sun Council were the two suns, but that also meant the Moon Council was left with five individuals, meaning they were not balanced. Their plan from the beginning was to have eight members.
"And when they chose the 8th, they selected Disaster because of his personality. He valued his life above everything, and such a person would only vote for the neutral decision that kept the balance since it would be chaos and strife otherwise."
Old Man Dai sighed. "When they appeared before him, he knew this was a disaster he could not escape. So, he accepted their offer with the condition his identity remained a secret."
"He was probably preparing his escape when things went awry," Wang Wei commented. "I have to admit — he's a man of foresight." It was not a simple act for Disaster to predict the eventual end of the parasites' era the moment they recruited him. It was also impressive that he was not corrupted by the power he acquired by being one of the moons.
"Master used to praise him for this quality."
"Speaking of your master, why didn't he warn you two to be careful of the upcoming chaos?" Wang Wei asked, and Old Man Dai's eyes twitched after hearing this.
"He did, but only after he had found the 'perfect hiding spot.' Sadly, it was too late for Disaster by the time the warning arrived. Luckily, Disaster did not forget our brotherly bond. He hid our connection and warned me of the many dangers coming my way."
Wang Wei nodded. "I have only one thing left to ask: Is it possible for you to help me contact Disaster?"
"You want him to join your cause?"
"If possible."
"I advise you to give up this idea," Old Man Dai said. "I know my junior brother, and he won't show up ever now that he has found a good reason to run away and hide."
"Could he at least provide me with information? He must know much about the others, which will be good enough for me."
"What's in it for him?" Old Man Dai stated. "Whether you're victorious and end this era, or they are victorious and prolong it, or you end this era and some of the parasites successfully survive, it will only bring him trouble if he associates with you.
"Riches mean nothing to him," Old Man Dai continued. "Our sect doesn't rely too much on resources, and he has already amassed more than he could imagine during his time as a moon. So, choosing your side will only increase the chances of someone retaliating against him."
"Dealing with Gou Dao people is genuinely frustrating," Wang Wei sighed. He's used to using people's desire to get them to do as he pleases. Sadly, this tactic is useless to these paranoid people.
"Gou Dao? This word perfectly encapsulates our ideology," Old Man Dai uttered, his eyes shining brightly. "It's as if we were destined to acquire this name. The master should also be pleased."
It was Wang Wei's turn to stare. There is one fundamental truth that anyone who cultivates Fate Dao will always understand — there is no such thing as a coincidence. Wang Wei just witnessed how his experience from Earth was used to officially give birth to the philosophy of Gou Dao in the Eternal Ascension World and maybe, even the entire Chaos Universe.
'Oh! Fate! Oh! Fate! When are you going to stop slapping me in the face,' Wang Wei thought to himself, his calm mood instantly ruined.
"Is something wrong?" Old Man Dai asked. Wang Wei has been an enigma to him during most of the conversation. However, he could detect his terrible mood all of a sudden.
"No," Wang Wei answered. "But we need to fight." He stood up from his cushion, showing how serious he was.
"What…What do you mean? I thought we had come to an understanding."
"We have."
"Then, why are we fighting?"
"For three reasons," Wang Wei explained. "Firstly, fighting you is a great learning opportunity; I don't want to pass on that. Secondly, I believe your true nature will show up while we fight. In my experience, battle is one of the best ways to judge someone's true character.
"Lastly, I'm in a foul mood and must vent."
"I understand the first two reasons, but what's with the last one? I don't think I did something to offend you."
"Don't overthink about it," Wang Wei said. "I'm sure this conversation was as frustrating to you as it became for me. So, I used this opportunity to vent or teach me a lesson."
"No need to say another word." Old Man Dai stood up, completely energized. He put away the tea and everything else. "Do you think this is a good place for a fight, or should we go elsewhere?"
"This place is fine," Wang Wei replied, and the old man teleported ten lightyears away to signal the beginning of the battle. They stared at each other for a while, clashing their aura to test their opponent.
'His cultivation should be around 93% Grand Dao Source,' Wang Wei concluded.
'His cultivation is lower than the Barbarian King, but he gives me a more potent threat,' Old Man Dai analyzed. 'This battle will not be as easy as I imagined.' Regardless of how he felt, he was still confident. Given their philosophy, it appeared as if members of the Gou Dao School did not know how to fight. However, that was far from the truth.
One of their core principles is surviving, so being good at fighting is necessary, especially when they find themselves in situations they cannot escape by running away.
Their members have low karma and do not rely on luck, meaning there is very little chance of suffering backlash or being tested by Heaven and Earth. However, they still use the Spiritual Qi and laws of Heaven and Earth, meaning they have yet to avoid the system entirely. As such, they must also experience unavoidable catastrophe, just like what happened to Disaster.