"Bloody hell" Paragon muttered inward, as he and his Fairy wife, Misty were deposited without much ceremony at the door of his mother-in-law court, which for some reason looked like a small pond, in the middle of a huge city devoid of other humans.
"It will be fine, dear. My mother won't hurt you...I think." Misty spoke with a cheerful voice, and flapped her wings in encouragement.
Sighing impotently, Paragon followed his wife into the pond, and vanished as soon as his feet entered the water.
A tall statue-like Fairy awaited on the other side, seated comfortably on a wide sofa made of some unknown leather.
"Mom!" Misty shouted and flew towards the Fairy Godmother, only to be re-directed and forcefully seated at a small but intricately bone table that just appeared in front of the Goddess.
Paragon resisted the urge to slap his forehead, and simply walked to his reserved spot and sat down, and only nodded at the powerful cultivator who was now his family.
At least his father had gifted him a pair of Skills, beside that purple pill worth more than an entire universe.
His Identify Skill worked just fine as he touched the table. 'Desolate Beast collar bone, Tier 7. Main attribute, Heaven's Laws. Multiple Formations detected, Tier 8.' the Skill provided without fail. At least this time, his father did provide him something useful. He wasn't sure how the Skill was able to identify anything, but it still had problems with Tier 8 definitions. Possibly because his father himself was only at Tier 7, after he died and got a new body.
"You must be Paragon, the strange child that Pef didn't know how to handle." the statue Goddess addressed him in a flat voice.
"I am, Goddess Kalima. As for 'handling', my father used to be...rash. Someone had to manage our Monarchy, while he chased adventure all over the universe and later the multiverse and beyond." the green-haired Saint answered politely.
For some reason, the Fay goddess smiled slightly, then turned towards her daughter. "You broke your Seal, little one. Well, a part of it at least." she admonished Misty in a kinder voice.
"I did, Godmother. I have found my destined one." the younger Fairy declared with a proud voice, while glancing at her wonderful husband.
"Was that a Skill, son-in-law?" Lady Kalima asked with a curious voice.
"... It is. A form of appraisal. This table is made of a Tier 7 beast bone. It also has some Formations on it." Paragon admitted with a frown.
He didn't expect a Skill could be detected, but then this was a Tier 8 goddess. It made sense they'd have formidable senses.
"Indeed. Your father killed this beast, during his 'adventures'. He was only an Elder Realm God back then..." The Fay Godmother continued with a longing tone, one that clashed with her statue aspect abruptly.
He exchanged a knowing glance with Misty, then placed his Universe Ascension Pill on the table, at the same time with his wife. "We were given these pills, Lady Kalima, but they are much too strong. I think they will burn us from inside out." Paragon explained while staring at the dangerous pill. His Skill did provide an explanation, but it was too short. 'Universe Ascension Pill, Tier 5. Main attribute, Dao of Alchemy.'
Typical of his father, to give out something like this as a wedding gift. Billions of years of cultivation, in a small purple pill. But he suspected it was also a test.
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The Goddess simply opened her palm, making the pills appear in her hand. "They are as expected, the work of Lord Rejin. And even better than his last Universe pills. But these ones, they would not work on mere Saints. They contain the energy of a trillion galaxies, thus you need to become Galaxy Gods to use them."
Paragon nodded. The pills were basically bombs, waiting to detonate inside an unwary user.
"You know, some years back, Pef sold us a pill like this. We traded over a billion cultivators for it, mostly Sovereign Realms, but also Monarchs and Saints. Pef wanted to rebuild his Legion, and we gained another Universe God, who has since become an Elder God. I now begin to reconsider that trade." Lady Kalima said in a soft voice, as the pills floated back onto the table.
"A Tier 5 cultivator can defeat a billion Saints, without even breaking a sweat." Misty argued as she grabbed her pill and stored it away.
"Pef defeated even a golith at Tier 5, and made it run away. In Elder Realm, he butchered over 60 nu-goliths by himself. My Commander has fought a single golith at Tier 6, and had to run away himself. The pill itself is not important." the Fay Goddess concluded in a bitter tone.
Paragon listened carefully, not at the words but at their meaning. It wasn't that the pill was useless, it was the user who had to be worthy of it. What the Goddess meant, was that among those billion cultivators that his father bought with that pill, there would be some worthy ones, strong enough to win against a golith even with a lower Realm.
Maybe only one in a million, but that would still give the Legion a thousand powerful fighters.
"The fault is with you, Fairy Godmother. You chose the wrong person to ingest the Universe Pill." Paragon spoke plainly, and ignored the panicked look of his wife.
The Goddess eyes' twinkled at his answer, and just ignored it, instead the Goddess filled the table with a feast of various pastries and fruits, and then she added a bottle of wine.
"Firstly, you have to eat and drink. My selves are also entertaining my other guests, Lady Xie Xi and Lord Sylvan, the Elf King. They have just consumed their own pills before arriving, which makes it all the more interesting. Pef never fails to amaze me."
"Is this green apple pie? I love that!" Misty exclaimed in unbridled joy, then she gulped a whole pie in a few bites.
Paragon just smiled and sampled the food slowly, while avoiding his wife's favorites. It wasn't like there would be anything of low quality at a Tier 8 table.
Then he poured wine in a pair of glasses and took a small sip, just to taste. He didn't normally drink, but today was quite special.
Like a thunder striking his soul, the Divine Wine entered his meridians and expanded them, while Dao insights poured in. In mere minutes he comprehended the last parts of his natural essence, and completed the Water Dao, while also gaining insights into a dozen more.
He managed to catch a glimpse of the Skill notice, saying 'Divine Wine, brewed from Pearl Sea wine and Desolate Beast blood. Purity, 93 percent. Purpose, enlightenment.'
Then, he Ascended and caught a glimpse of Lady Kalima hiding behind a white paper fan, with a pair of rainbow-like but invisible wings covering the welcoming gazebo and more.