the feet of the huge Tian Mountains, on the Saint continent, there's a tiny river spring where Agate is born.
And right beside this spring there is a castle made of pure ice. In the courtyard of this castle, a large ice table. Pef stood in front of this table, his senses active as the few surviving gods of this planet arrived to the conference.
Cellia, his friend and a water goddess. Now much stronger than before, but that was relative.
Artus, the god of the cold wind.
Volcanis, the god of fire. Or so he said.
Lastly, Gaia, the goddess of trees.
"Everyone has arrived, I see. Welcome to the Tian Mountains. We have some things to talk about." the man said glancing at his guests with a deliberately slow look.
Gaia was a rather mousy looking woman, keeping her face hidden shyly under green locks of hair. She wore a robe made of leaves, and seemed a bit scared.
"Well, congratulations I guess. You've reached the Perfect Divinity stage, in just a few years. And I notice there's nobody else alive, even Harvester was killed." she said in a melodic voice.
Pef nodded towards her but instead turned to the godling beside her, the arctic god. "Artus, you have choice. Enroll in the Veritas Legion. We have a wonderful training program. I expect you'll reach next stage in a thousand years or less." he spoke in a grave tone.
He wouldn't be as crass as to threaten the guy, but the future was always uncertain. Why risk leaving the planet at his mercy and come back to find a glaciation?
Artus was a tall and muscular figure, wearing an armor made of ice, with icicles serving as thorns. Imposing as he was, it meant little in the current new world order.
The man glanced towards Cellia for help, but there would be no help. Not in this. Cellia shook her hair, azure highlights jingling for a second.
"All hail our new overlords then. Should have expected this..." the godling muttered and slumped his shoulders.
Pef's gaze moved to stare at Volcanis.
In truth, the fire god was close to his own ascension, and he would become rather powerful indeed. A dozen times stronger than Cellia, as she was now. He couldn't let him and his cult take over the planet, once that happened.
The fire god was dressed in a red leather armor of sorts, with a belt full of smithing tools and a huge magma-like hammer at his side. Volcanis was a crafter god archetype, and a rather accomplished one. His cult ruled one of the planetary superpowers, and he was aided by a Saint as well.
"I'm not the type to go and fight other people's wars, Lord Pef. Forging is my calling." Volcanis proclaimed in a dignified voice.
Pef smiled. "An army needs weapons, Volcanis. Many other items as well. Logistics is the basis of warfare, after all. The General makes these knives for her soldiers. She makes command gloves like this one. I think you'll do great once you gain some real methods." he explained holding his hand out, while grinning widely. His knife flew out and hovered in front of the fire god.
'So, you think he'll bite, dear glove?' Pef asked inward.
'Of course. I came up with this plan after all. He's burning to learn how to be a real smith. And now that metals have appeared, he only needs a body to get his hands busy.' the glove replied smugly.
"You can make me the Legion's artisan? Just making weapons? Doesn't sound so bad..." Volcanis mused while poking at the flying knife with a cautious finger. One could almost feel his desire to take apart the knife and look inside.
"What about me then? You plan to make me grow your Legion's crops? Hmph!" the green-haired goddess exclaimed in near outrage. Gaia was helping grow crops anyway, and didn't need to be told what to do, thank you very much!
"As for you, Lady Gaia... You don't belong here. In this universe, I mean. Your Veridian Legion is gone, but you can rebuild it, once you return to your real strength." Pef argued back, bowing minutely towards her.
That surprised the life goddess, who looked at the sky wistfully.
"Errr. I cannot leave this planet, God Pef. I tried. That strange force is binding me too tight to the surface. I cannot even reach the moon!" Gaia complained while pointing at the sky, and then drew back, hiding under her long hair.
The young god smiled gently and nodded towards Cellia. "Show her."
Cellia's hand waved through Gaia. In a second, Gaia vanished, being drawn inside the dantian of Lady Cellia. A minute later she reappeared, a bit confused but happy. "There's an ice moon inside, and I wasn't bound to this planet anymore! A bit cold and sterile, but that wouldn't bother me much." she explained to the other godlings.
With a hand gesture, Pef drew the life goddess into his own inner world. It wasn't just a gesture, as it involved manipulating divine energy and protecting the life of the traveler during transition, but it did work. What mattered here was the intent, not the movement.
His inner avatar manifested beside Gaia, on sand beach. In front of them, there was an immense ocean, a billion kilometers of blue sea, while small waves were washing gently on the island's shore. There was no moon here, to create tides. Not yet anyway.
"How about my inner world?" Pef asked gently.
"This, This! Is amazing! There's everything you need to live. Well, except plants and stuff..." Gaia exploded in a loud voice.
She took a deep breath, then did a round check of the island. It was kinda small, merely a kilometer in diameter, but once she seeded some plants...she could work with it, make it a paradise.
Pef smiled at her eager expression, then gestured around, raising some rocks and a small hill. Landscaping the inner world was a bit difficult. His head already hurt, so he hurried to explain.
"We can import some plants. Maybe some animals as well. I'm new at this, but in time the island's landmass will grow. For now, a dozen people could live here, I guess."
"The sun...is that your very soul?" Gaia asked instead, her face illuminated by the inner light. High in the sky there was a blinding yellow light, a field of divine energy.
"Yeah. There's no sun in here actually, only my inner core. I just wished to be light. You remember, I'm very new at this..." Pef admitted with a slight blush.
"Pretty good for a novice. We'll need to adjust the wavelength a bit, as plants eat light to grow...and a new memory just appeared! Go away, this is important!" Gaia said in a demanding tone, sitting herself in a lotus position. She began meditating on the warm sand, ignoring Pef and everything else.
Our hero blinked a bit confused, then shrugged. The avatar vanished, leaving only the soundless waves crashing on the beach. Maybe he should implement background noises? Eh, maybe another time. Generating visual waves was hard enough. Sound waves could wait.
Back at the conference table, Pef turned towards Cellia.
"She likes it, like I told you. Just needs some plants." he explained while scratching his cheek.
Cellia nodded wisely. Damn Pef had a huge ocean in his dantian, and even an island. Of course Gaia would love it, compared to her own frozen moon. Plus she couldn't make a sun in the sky, yet.
"Okay then. You finished your recruiting. Now it's time for the hard part. Beat me in a duel." she demanded while manifesting her sword ki and creating an ice sword in her hand. Not that she would actually try to win. She wanted that baby, after all, which meant she had to let him win. That didn't mean she would make it easy for him.
Pef gulped and did the same, forming an ice sword and exploding with sword ki.
The other two godlings present eyed each other and exchanged some unseen message, and took off at speed. When monsters fought, it didn't make sense to stay near and risk getting snuffed.
The ice castle crumbled behind them, as the two gods fought, beams of sword ki flashing and illuminating the sky.
Farther away, under the Etna fire cone, a Saint smith glanced towards the distant noisy reverberations and sighed. He needed better friends.
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PefVersed in the lewd.
Over the next decade, the entire planet changed dramatically, as all the minor cults and kingdoms got absorbed into the Veritas Empire.
From Frigia to Gea then Blue Xi and the Red continent, a single world government was established. This mainly meant same language, laws and currency. Local rulers remained mostly the same people, only their titles changed, like say from First Lord to Second Lord, then taking oaths to the Empire's ruling family, thus allowing the Legion first pick on local recruits and materials.
The Legion had protocols and manuals for such events, guiding new planets into becoming more civilized and productive. Trade, education, administration and military were systemized and subsidized to various degrees. Large cities could support a university and a few high schools, while small towns would be supported into establishing primary schools.
The Wall Guard, Guardians and other military orders were integrated into the Legion proper, and the former Patriarchy began to export people to a few more continents as soon as enough troops could be trained and assembled as defensive forces for the colonists.
Mining and metal industry became the focus of this new civilization, aided by huge farms for bamboo growing and concrete factories. The Legion maize plantations were spread near every town and village, as it could be cultivated almost anywhere.
In another century the civilization level rose to be comparable to 19th century on Earth, with some local varieties like domesticated eagles the size of a passenger airplane.
God Pef focused on Void Dao during this period, often voyaging the solar system to explore distant asteroids and planets and bring back rare minerals or elements, which were then gifted to Lady Lin or Saint Firali to experiment with. The lunar base grew into a huge city and shipyard, and the main center of Lacrima's Sky ranked or higher cultivators who could use their innate gravity manipulation to live normally.
Pef's speed and blink distance increased steadily with use, reaching 1000 kilometers in a single jump. The new Void Formation arrays could amplify that jump a thousand times, and thus a viable propulsion system for spaceships was born. If those spaceships were the same size as a human.
Sure, the void arrays could be and were grafted onto Pef's armor, but to move a ship these arrays would need to be much stronger.
This challenge was also solved by Pef. Sure, our main hero wasn't a genius inventor, but his powers allowed him to duplicate and enlarge the void formations a thousand times as well. Enough to power a kilometer long voidship.
Then, as soon as the radio was invented by a local, Pef announced to the world he will depart towards another galaxy, as soon as the lunar shipyards finished outfitting the first voidship of the Legion.
As one could imagine, this voidship had little to do with the Earth spaceships from Pef's memories.
Most ship systems were based on magical formation arrays and the very structure of the ship was simply made from a scooped-out Monarch eel. A modernized magic eel, of course. Air scrubbing, lights and temperature, and a thousand various controls were all formation and magic array based, printed with gold and platinum on the walls and commanded from main bridge via a holographic interface.
Inside the bridge of the voidship, Firali and Cellia were applying the last touches. Pef and Lin were testing the holographic navigation array, based on Lia's insights into the Dao of Light.
"I think it's ready, beloved husband." Lia mused as the hologram came online, depicting the local galaxy's stars with bluish light and their ships' projected route in orange.
"It certainly looks ready. Let's hope it won't burn out on us midway..." Pef answered, not so convinced.
From the console next to them, Cellia rose and glanced at her husband. "You realize you do not actually need a voidship to fly to this Demon Galaxy. Blink is enough. Your inner world can sustain 20 people now."
Pef nodded and grinned. "Yeah, of course I know. But I wanted a ship. Who doesn't want a spaceship? Plus, the knowledge of building such ships will remain as my legacy. I expect the entire galaxy to be colonized and full of humans when I return." he explained with a smile.
Firali blinked with both eyes, and nodded to himself, admitting that the work on the voidship had been the most inspiring project he ever endeavored. He gained so many insights now, he was close to his own ascension.
The new Dao of Metal was wonderful, and complemented his original Dao of Fire perfectly. And with Volcanis now anointed as a Legion smith, his own path was set.
He would follow Volcanis as a Legion smith and help humanity develop better machines and tools. Even if this Legion cultivation demanded him to get married. For some reason. As if he needed a woman. Hmph!
Lia knocked lightly on Pef's belly and soon vanished inside his dantian, joining the rest of crew.
Cellia stepped next to Pef and gave him a short hug. "Safe travel, damn idiot. I'll make sure young Deng becomes a Monarch till you return. At least one Xi should learn the sword properly." she whispered then vanished away, blinking outside the ship.
Firali patted him on the shoulder, then flew away leaving the ship through an airlock.
"Yeah, he's not a verbose man. Now, what was the magic word? Ah... Engage!" Pef proclaimed heroically to the empty bridge.
'Inject 100 qi into the ignition array, sir. You don't have ensigns to do it for you...' the glove advised him in a matter-of-fact tone.
Pef blushed slightly, then proceeded to manually ignite the propulsion.
With a swirl of qi, the voidship rose from its cradle and sped off, starting the long journey. A second later, a thousand arrays pulsed and the ship vanished, to reappear a million kilometers away.
Pef checked the holomap, then pulsed the engines again. Nine million pulses later, about nine trillion kilometers spinward, he took a short break.
After eight hours of nonstop jumping, the first lightyear of the journey was finally done. Only a billion lightyears were left. Galaxies are far away, who knew?
He took a deep breath, recharging his qi. On his inner chart, his total qi reserves had grown by 10.
Damn cultivation. It was so hard. At least, his Void Dao kept growing from constant use. Other abilities and stats also during the trip. To maintain a pleasant inner core world, he had to satisfy the visual, tactile and aural demands of the crew. Female crew, all with crazy and absurd demands.
That mean his Dao of Illusions gained immense progress, and his mental abilities were finally and slowly growing as well. Very slowly.
A thousand years later, Voidship One came to a stop, in another galaxy.
Some of the crew rushed out from the inner world, happy to escape the confines of the island. It was a slightly larger island now, and waves and leaves finally sounded normally, but it was still hard to bear.
"Oh, Lin...look! We're in another galaxy!" Lia exclaimed in an uncharacteristically happy voice.
They both rushed to check the holomap, then ran to the armored viewport made of Saint tooth enamel, sliced from a certain Rock Worm's tooth. It seemed they liked the new stars.
Aria remained next to Pef, hugging him with one arm. 'I'm close to my own Ascension. I want us to land, somewhere with plants.' she asked in a qi transmission.
He glanced at his green haired wife, measuring her with his coresense. She was really close indeed.
'Okay. It will take a year or so to reach a habitable world. Meanwhile, stay on the bridge and upgrade your core. Use only gold and platinum though.' he advised Aria with his own qi pulse.
Lia and Lin flew out, checking the ship's skin and arrays for damage, while Qin and Yuan stayed silent and just walked around the ship.
Pef sighed looking at the pair. Poor Qin had never properly recovered from the worm assault at Lacrimosa, her mind still damaged by the huge loss of life in the catastrophe and her own injury by a Harvester messenger.
He looked inside, noting another wife just staring at the inner sea, by herself. Xie was hurt too, maybe even more. Her twin soul, Xia has attempted to subvert her body and was destroyed in the attempt, leaving her feeling lonely and betrayed. With this new tragedy, her cultivation has staled, barely reaching Saint rank and not growing anymore.
Pef's avatar knelt next to Xie and hugged her gently. "We're landing soon. Maybe some beasts will come and try to eat us. Wanna come out then?" he asked in a soft tone.
A flash of brutal savagery glinted for a second in her eyes. "Let's hope we find some spiders. I could eat some." she replied with a sad and grim voice.
Pef laughed. "There's my girl." They stood in silence afterwards, watching the blue waves, crashing against the shore, relentless and eternal.
The next day, Pef changed course slightly. Yellow suns tended to have more life bearing planets, and he picked the nearest one. Another year later, the voidship arrived in orbit of a small verdant planet.
Below, on the surface his senses discovered life. And not just any life. Cultivators.
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PefVersed in the lewd.
The bells of monastery tolled six times, time for lunch.
Arden drew a big breath and sat down, next to the other workers. Half a bell, then back to work. The fields of the monastery were fertile, but still needed to be ploughed and cared for.
He waited for the orange robed monk to pass by, dispensing the mana fruits and the holy water. Soon, he wolfed down the meal, and washed it down. A feeling of vigor and wellness spread through his body, refilling his depleted reserves. Half a day more. Then three more years. Then he should have enough to leave, to try for a better life in the city. If only...
"You, the blonde one!" the monk called. Arden tried to become smaller, but it didn't work. He raised his eyes cautiously, meeting the piercing gaze of the monk.
"Yes, your holiness?" he replied cautiously.
"There's no need for you to work in the fields, boy. You have the holy touch. The monastery will be happy to let you join, even as an inner disciple." the monk said in a honey voice, almost mesmerizing.
Arden fought the temptation, again. "This lowly one thanks your holiness. But I am happy right here."
The monk humphed with disdain and left, his eyes glinting with an unpleasant promise.
Arden rose to his feet, and started heading towards his spot in field. Then the sky changed.
His eyes rose incredulously toward the strange sight. A trio of people, flying just above him, and surrounded by the most amazing holy aura he had ever seen, even among the highest ranking monks.
The holy ones exchanged a few words in some melodious language, similar to the desert tribes tongue.
Then, disaster struck, the arrogant monk ordering them to land and pay homage. Followed by a crack of holy lightning striking the middle one right in the face. Customary death for those who opposed the monastery.
A trill of laughter was the only result of the monk's attack. Then the person flashed his eyes, and a helical bolt of white and silver flew back in slow motion, hitting the monk in the chest and extinguishing his holy light.
The body of the monk fell to the ground, dead and soulless.
Arden was torn. These people were powerful, and more importantly had killed the overseer monk. He could run, reach the city, perhaps. The other workers were already running, most towards the monastery, a few towards the city. That did seem the clever thing to do.
Arden drew a deep breath and prepared to follow. He never got to run though.
He woke up sometime later, woken the by angry toll the bells. His clothes were now clean, and he was resting on a magnificent bed, which had somehow appeared in the middle of the field. Fantastic beasts and warriors were fighting each other on the headboard, the detail of the artisan amazingly detailed.
The few seconds of art admiration passed, and he became aware of being stared at.
Beside the bed, a table and a couple of leather covered chairs had appeared. Two of the chairs were occupied. A woman, with strange green hair, more beautiful than anyone he had seen or dreamed about. And a man.
The one with deadly eyes. Arden began to panic.
"Sit with us, new friend. Lia will take some time to return, sorting out the cult and all." the man spoke in a mildly amused tone, gesturing towards a seat, then glancing toward the monastery.
The bells had fallen silent.
Arden gulped and almost stumbled to obey, jumping from the luxurious bed and sitting at the table.
"Your holiness...what can this lowly one do for you?" Arden asked in a wavering voice. His eyes were drawn towards the green haired woman, who was peeling a mana fruit with a curious face.
The black haired man scratched his cheek in thought.
"I've decided to start a branch of the Legion here, and you fit the profile. Gold aura and all." the man replied after a few seconds of deliberation.
"Hmmm. But which Legion will he choose, I wonder?" the green haired woman said without raising her eyes, still focused on the fruit.
"Very funny, Gaia. One starting with a V, no doubt about it." the man replied amused, while slicing another mana fruit with a thin knife. Arden blinked, trying to remember where the fruit and knife came from.
"Same place as the furniture, young one. Storage rings." the woman called Gaia answered his unasked question, while tapping gently on her companion's ring. The gem on the ring twinkled and expelled another mana fruit, which then floated magically towards him.
"Are you gods?" Arden muttered with disbelief, as even the highest monks didn't expose such marvelous powers.
"Well...there's some dispute on that. What special properties would your gods have?" The black haired man asked with an innocent voice.
Then he bit into the fruit, splashing himself with juice.
Arden wasn't a monk, and in fact he kinda feared and despised them, for claiming sainthood or even godhood for the highest ranks. His education on theology and other holy matters was mostly hearsay and village gossip. But he knew the monks were not.
He hesitated and tried to answer honestly. "Gods are immortal and eternal. They can create and destroy, give life or kill. They have mastery over elements and can fly faster than a hawk. And...they embody virtue and morals." He kinda added the last part, a result of his own thoughts and hopes.
The black haired man sighed. "There are no gods like you dream of. There are only degrees of power. As for morality, it doesn't matter at all. A brutal demon, with a million of planets full of slaves and torture pits would be just as likely to become a god as the most virtuous priest, if not more. The manner of achieving power isn't important."
"Just because you think it so, doesn't make it true, Pef. Your own predicament of being born with a heaven defying skill is called balance, not indifference." Gaia added with a small smile, making Arden blush.
Such an otherworldly beauty, plus the holy timbre of her voice. The green haired one was definitely a goddess, not that this Pef denied it himself.
"So, what do you think, most learned goddess? Is the fruit a legacy or not?" Pef asked in a more serious tone, then taking another bite from the mana fruit.
Gaia taped the fruit in front of her. "Definitely. It's not a high-tier genome like the Legion maize, but it is a modified crop for sure. Pineapple based, with beans, soy and amaranth genes added for protein and vitamin balance."
"94% percent of basic human needs. Minor mineral deficiencies, depending on soil and qi richness." Pef concluded after he finished his fruit. They both then turned towards Arden, like asking for his opinion.
Arden nodded in approval. He didn't quite get all the fancy words, but the mana fruit was indeed mostly sufficient to live on. He dug into his pocket and drew a few walnuts he kept for dinner. "Walnuts or other nuts are needed to stay healthy. Plus the holy water from the monks. Tastes of salt." he explained with a shrug.
Pef nodded back, like he had expected his answer.
"When a tier seven diety dies, they lose their form and body, and most memories. But their soul is too strong and will always reincarnate. They are also easy to recognize, as their aura is golden after rebirth." he commented as an afterthought, his voice sad for some reason.
Arden drew a sharp breath, as the golden glow around the green haired goddess suddenly gained meaning.
"He's not talking about me, boy. You have a golden aura as well." Gaia spoke in a bored tone, while focused on the brown walnut, that had somehow appeared in her hand.
"What? Am I a god? Or seven tenth of one?" Arden asked a bit confused.
"Yep. In a previous life, you have reached Tier 7 and now your soul is immortal. However, you're weak as an ant now, and your memories are mostly gone. Some faint ideas of how things should be and nothing more. If you begin cultivating and reach at least Tier 1, more memories will come back. And if you reach Tier 7 again, you'll have twice the power a normal Tier 7 has, plus both sets of memories. Neat, right?" Pef asked with a smile.
Arden fell into deep thought, his hopes now stirred by the revelation. Maybe he could remember more...
The smell woke him up, sometime later. That, and the sound of waves.
The closest sea was a thousand li from the monastery, to the north. And from he had heard, it was a rocky and cold seashore, not warm sand and palm beaches.
Voices in the distance. Arden raised his head and found himself in the same soft bed as before.
A bonfire illuminating the beach and the smell of something wonderful being fried made Arden realize he was very hungry.
He made his way toward the voices and reached some sort of open cabin.
"I want pig! My own fried pig!" a girly voice demanded petulantly.
"Sorry Aria. There are no pigs in this ocean." Pef's voice replied calmly.
"You're a god. Make your ocean spawn a pig, for me!" the girl demanded in a desperate wail.
Arden snorted at the ludicrous idea. Ocean pigs!
The world froze around him, and another green haired girl appeared in front of him. Silver aura this time. Maybe it wasn't a rare hair color, after all.
"It's the new guy! Ardent, right? Wow, you're like really weak. Did you Awaken like, this week?" the girl asked him curious.
He tried to respond, but he was frozen.
The strange stand-off continued for a long minute. Then a woman with a golden aura appeared next to his nemesis and slashed a finger, making the air crack and break into almost visible shards.
A Tier 7? Probably not. Someone else like him, who died and got a new life.
"Exactly like that. I'm Lia Xi. This wild one is Aria. Don't let her gain any of your blood. You wouldn't like to survive her experiments." the kind woman explained with a pleasant smile, then somehow returned next to the fire in a single step.
"What happens if you don't survive her experiments?" Arden asked cautiously, after taking a seat at the table.
More beautiful women were now around, some helping Pef to cook, other making tea or reading things.
"We don't talk about them. May they rest in peace." a woman with short black hair answered, kissing her first two fingers in a strange salute.
"Lies! Everyone I enhanced survived!" Aria exclaimed in outrage.
Arden nodded cautiously, while vowing to never be experimented upon by the green haired menace. It sounded like surviving was somehow the worst option.
"So, what metals does your planet know? Copper, iron, tin?" the short haired woman asked him in a hungry voice. Arden noticed she also had the golden aura. Was this beach something like a club for failed gods?
"Not yet. And no, we're not reading your mind. It is just very easy to simulate the thoughts of people, then extrapolate." the woman said after raising an eyebrow.
Without him noticing, the table had filled with beautiful women, all glowing gold or white in his holy sight.
Breathtaking and imposing, and most of all, powerful.
"I see. Well, we have gold and silver and copper. And bronze, I guess." Arden replied in a shy tone. So much beauty hurt his soul somehow.
Lucky for him, Pef had finished cooking and came back to the table, filling it with various types of grilled fish, then a kind of porridge and also mana fruits.
It was delicious, especially the fish. Arden had never eaten fish before, and it was amazing.
An hour later, Pef opened his palm, holding a few colored pills in his hand. Not his hand, he had a thin leather glove on it, which Arden only now had noticed.
"Pick one, recruit. Blue hurts the most." Pef said in a warning tone.
Arden mused for a moment, trying to discern the meaning of those words.
In the end, he chose the red pill. It still hurt.
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PefVersed in the lewd.
It took a week for Arden to get used to the Xi family and their Ally, Lady Gaia.
Once he could look past their powers and the devastating beauty they all carried around like nothing, they were almost normal people. With strange quirks and ticks.
Like Lady Xie's desire to fight beasts, or Lady Lin's fascination with metals.
"Hey Arden!" A voice interrupted his reverie. Lady Xie, again.
He stopped peeling the mana fruit and turned to see what she wanted.
"Lady?"
"Who do you like more?" she asked in a fake whisper, glancing to the side.
He glanced as well, his eyes lingering on Gaia's body for a second then returning to his fruit. Damn. That goddess was too hot. His cheeks burned again.
"I'm not sure what you mean, my lady." he replied a bit confused, but still blushing.
"She's single, you know..." Xie commented in an off-hand manner, and smiling mischievously.
What! Really?
"And I hear she invited you to her Legion, as well. Maybe she likes you too." the purple haired woman whispered and then winked.
Arden thought back, at their first meeting. She did kinda, vaguely hinted at this possibility...
"Veridian Legion...but they are vanquished, aren't they?" Arden whispered back, unknowingly sliding closer to Xie, till their elbows touched.
"Indeed, they were. Millions of years ago, at least. However, it doesn't take much to restart it. A man, a woman, and plenty of duo cultivation. Before you know it, thousands of green haired children with powers over plants." she answered in a tingling voice, making Arden blush, yet again.
He almost stole a glance towards Gaia, but he stoically resisted. His cheeks were burning hot anyway.
Inside him, the holy energy, or qi as the Xi called it was gathering in a warm ball. It hurt but also felt warm and safe.
"You're making fun of me, lady Xie. Weak as an ant, and just a poor farm boy. She's a goddess..." Arden replied with bitter words.
Silence covered their corner, and Arden unexpectedly heard a faint sob from the goddess beside him. Then she vanished, in her wake a single tear still falling.
It never reached the table, however. Pef's hand appeared and somehow snatched the falling tear, while keeping it intact. Arden froze, terrified of what might happen.
"Don't mind Xie. Her life was quite unhappy, even for this universe. What weapon do you use?" Pef asked him while storing the tear inside his glove, changing the subject as well.
Arden had to think a little, various weapons flashing through his mind. Still, the oak staff of the monks was the most familiar. "A staff, I guess."
Pef scratched his cheek, as if considering something important. "Staff then. And the complementary cultivation, of course." His finger poked Arden's forehead, and then nothing.
He woke up in the fancy bed, as hunger and the smell of something being grilled combined into a single urge. 'Gah, I need to stop fainting all the time. I'm not even working in the fields anymore.' Arden thought to himself, a bit dismayed of the poor impression he must have given to the visitors.
Then he noticed the change, a glowing core spinning inside his dantian, along with the knowledge of what it was and how to use it. Hundreds of staff forms, going from simple to highly complicated.
'I formed my Core?' Like the saint monks?
Arden took a deep breath, then followed his qi flowing along pathways and his two meridians. The extra knowledge told him he had ten more meridians to open, a very painful endeavor even if provided with the right pills.
Still, even the best trained monks needed 50 years to form their core. And he was only 12!
Hunger nudged him towards the beach house, where Pef was again cooking for his family and friends. Somehow, the friends' category now included Arden as well, along with Lady Gaia.
Arden steeled himself and sat beside Lady Gaia. "I formed my core, Lady Gaia." he announced in a fit of courage.
The woman smiled and nodded. "Amazing, right? It took me 89 years to form my core, in this life." she answered with a sad sigh.
Arden blinked in confusion. What? But she was a goddess!
"88 years, here." Lady Qin announced from across the table.
"104, for me" Lady Lin added with an amused snort.
Soon a chorus of various timelines and friendly bickering formed across the table. It seemed even these goddesses were not very good at cultivating. Or at least not very fast. They all looked young and beautiful even though they all must be over a thousand years old.
Only Pef remained silent, busy with his cooking. Once he finished and served the meal, he smiled. "I also formed my core at 12 years old. Had to kill a Core ranked Forest Badger with my fists for it. No pills back then."
"Well, we did have Red Origin Pills back in Vesuvius. They just weren't used until someone was close to Sovereign rank. I got my own red pill when I was about 20 thousands years old, and ready to breakthrough to Sovereign." Lady Yuan answered with a longing smile, as if thinking of the old days. She didn't look a day past 20 though.
"I invented the Green Meridian Pills, so I win." Gaia commented with a smirk, then poked the fish in front of her, without eating. She never ate anything, and made Arden wonder why not.
"She doesn't have a body, my young friend. Basically, she's walking around in her soul form, naked as the day before she was born." Pef explained helpfully.
Arden blinked confused. 'Naked as the day before she was born?' He glanced at the goddess then blushed again, strange thoughts going through his mind for no reason.
"Lady Gaia, where is your body, can you get it back?" Arden asked concern.
"I'm not missing a body, I am Ascended. About halfway to Tier 2, when I'll be able to reform a human body. Till then, I have this divine body, which isn't so bad." she explained gesturing at her curvy lines.
Arden nodded in agreement. She wasn't bad at all, in Arden's opinion. Pretty much perfect.
The table fell silent and all the eyes fell on him, for some reason.
"What?" Arden asked in his most innocent voice.
"Don't worry everyone. As long as Pef keeps his soul anchored here, he won't die for good." Lady Xie announced carelessly, then taking a long chug from a wine bottle.
The beach vanished, leaving only darkness. Arden died, again.
Sometime later, Arden woke up in his bed, a bit bewildered.
'I died?' he mused inward. He didn't remember dying though.
This time, Pef was sitting on his bed, observing him with concentration.
"Personally, I approve. She is quite pretty. Still, don't say it out loud, next time." Pef said in a soft tone, then patted his shoulder. Then he stepped away, faster than his eyes could see.
Arden thought back to his last memories. 'Oh, I said that out loud, didn't I?' he realized after a few moments.
He rose groggily from the bed and walked to the seashore. Then he sat on the warm sand, while his feet cooled in the small waves.
Living among gods was quite dangerous, it seemed. He would have to control himself better. And get stronger too. Especially if he was serious about Gaia.
Arden meditated for a while, sorting out his feelings. Deep inside, a core of conviction was formed, englobing his heart. Nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Just not yet. He would have to be stronger.
His goal set, he rose to his feet and started flowing through the staff Forms.
A year passed, while his cultivation grew along with his body and heart. Not that you could tell, since the sun never set on this beach. But he felt it.
Then one day, Pef offered him another choice of pills. Arden took the blue pill without hesitation.
His soul sight exploded with new colors. Nascent Soul then. A good start, but he had a long way to go.
He trained harder. Two more years, and he formed his Spirit.
Earth. Well, that mostly meant sand around here. No matter. Earth was good enough.
Except when suffocating and dying deep underground. That wasn't good. But whatever. Now he could swim through the earth like a fish in water.
Then one day, he reached Sky. And after a number of pathetic deaths, he could even fly. Just like the godhood monks. He wasn't able to fight anyone from the beach, of course.
Their powers were so far ahead, it wasn't even funny. But at least nobody called him an ant anymore.
And today, Pef offered him another pill, a white one.
"With this one, I can breakthrough to Emperor?" Arden asked in wonder. He felt he was years away from that rank.
"Not really. But we're leaving this planet, now that most things have been fixed. You're 16 now, and should make your own decision. Gaia will stay with you, if you ask her." Pef said in a flat voice.
Arden was a bit confused. 'They are leaving?' But he remembered his goal.
"What has changed, on my planet?" he asked, just to make sure.
"A hundred parasite sects destroyed, a dozen Legion chapter houses set up in major countries. A few new technologies." Pef replied with a shrug. Nothing major, in his view.
"And Lady Gaia?" Arden asked with a straight face. Nothing to hide, and useless anyway.
"You can help Gaia start her own Legion here. The galaxy we're heading to is full of demons. Not a place for peaceful relations."
Arden nodded slowly. "I'll stay and help her. I think she's worth it."
Pef nodded. "We'll be back someday, perhaps before she reaches Tier 2. With cultivation, the heart matters the most. Don't ever lose heart, Arden." Pef advised him then waved goodbye.
The sky shattered and Arden found himself in the same field he first met Pef. Only he was now much stronger and wiser. He flew up and towards the city. It would only take him a few minutes now.
Beside him, a ghostly woman's form flew as well. 'I think you're worthy too, Arden. I wonder if your children will have blonde hair...'
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<

PefVersed in the lewd.
Years passed by as Pef kept jumping the ship towards the distant Demon Galaxy.
His jumps became longer and easier, as his ability to feel and manipulate the Void increased. Even his inner world developed, a new island forming just a kilometer away from the original one.
'What does the new island mean, my glove? Am I getting closer to the next rank?' Pef asked hopefully.
His Wisdom score dropped a point in revenge. 'Indeed, Soldier. You're closer by a point in a billion.' the glove answered sarcastically.
Pef mused at the sad revelation. 'Oh. The area of the new island, compared to the surface of my inner world. One square kilometer of land, compared to a billion of ocean.'
The Wisdom point returned, even though the glove remained silent.
Pef sighed and continued the journey. Cultivation was hard. Nothing new.
He envied his newest friend, Arden. Sure, the boy was an orphan and had lived under a theocratic regime for most of his childhood, but now he had it easy. His planet was as safe as anything could be, under the patronage of a friendly Tier 1. His cultivation would be a bit too long, but without perils.
'Why did you reject Arden? He has the gold aura. And he's a good man.' Pef asked inward.
The glove remained silent, for a long time. Years passed as the ship journeyed on.
Another island appeared on the ocean. Aria took it over, cultivating her special bamboo forest in silence and ignoring everyone else. She was close to her own Ascension.
Then one day, while passing through a mostly dead galaxy, Pef felt something. He stopped the ship, focusing his coresense. A blip appeared on the holo array, and a fast moving one.
'A ship!' he exclaimed inward.
Then a huge form, covered in a resplendent blue and violet aura parked next to the Pef's eel ship.
Nearly 5 kilometers long and 2 kilometers wide, the object resembled a wide sword. A riding on top of it, a large violet-skinned humanoid shape, perhaps 4 meters tall, with 6 arms.
A strong mindpulse flashed over Pef's ship, scanning the interior. 'Human, what are you doing here?' a hateful voice asked him directly into his mind.
'I'm heading towards the Demon galaxy, on business. Nice sword, by the way.' Pef thought inward, while raising his feeble mind defenses.
'It is a third grade demonic treasure. Now, do you have anything of value to pay for trespassing?' the alien asked in a more mercantile tone.
Pef mused inward for a second.
'You will attack me anyway, right?'
'Not so stupid, after all. Now die!' the demon yelled in his mind, while the blue treasure erupted with some kind of violet energy, slicing through the Monarch ranked eel like butter.
'What is this violet energy?' Pef asked his glove, as his gloved right-hand rose and blocked the attack. To his surprise, the hit actually hurt and took half his strength to stop.
The glove was undamaged, of course. 'Abyssalforce, Tier 1. Something like sword ki, for demons. This one is just a scout. More are coming.' the adjutant explained in a flat tone.
Pef's eyes flashed, searing the demon with his helical white and silver soul spike. To his surprise, the demon was barely fazed.
'Oh, you look like a feisty one. Perhaps you do carry an artifact of some value...' the demon growled in his mindscape. A sharp pain hit Pef in the temple. His mental defenses were crumbling.
With a short Blink he arrived behind the demon and stabbed his knife into his head. An amused laughter sounded in Pef's mind.
Then the glove interfered, superimposing the combat grid. A blue icon pulsed somewhere inside the demon's stomach. Pef blinked away, watching the demon regenerate his split head with a grin.
Then the demon's grin transformed into a scowl, then a desperate face, as the knife sliced downwards, bisecting the core. A burst of violet flame followed then two bits of blue crystal remained, floating in the void.
Pef expanded his divine senses and began devouring the left over scraps of demon soul while collecting the core and the large treasure left behind.
On a whim, he brought them inside his inner world, just to give his wives something to do.
Then he collected his damaged spaceship and stored it inside the glove.
'So, a Tier 1 demon is quite strong...' he concluded after analyzing the spent ki. Almost a quarter of his reserves, plus a dull pain in his temples.
'You lack proper Legion gear and training still. With proper mind shields and the Legion armor, you wouldn't have taken any damage. Small fry, for a proper Soldier.' the glove said with a displeased grumble.
But then, it was rarely pleased.
However, Lin was pleased with the treasure, already devising ways to exploit it, as always.
Lia was more interested in the damaged demon core, while Qin and Yuan wanted to review to fighting abilities of the demon.
Aria was still meditating in silence, while Xie was trying to suppress a panic attack.
Pef's avatar materialized next to her, as Xie was staring at the huge sword with wide eyes. The weapon had fallen tip first into the sand, and was now a tall blue skyscraper, decorating the second island. Made quite a sight.
"What is it Xie? I beat that demon." he asked softly.
"Look higher, see the kilometer long handle? Now imagine how big those hands must be. And that filthy energy... That's what killed Xia, the first time." she whispered in a frightened voice.
Pef grimaced as he considered this. "Hmmm. Nasty. But I assumed that much. She was a Tier 3 goddess, after all. It would take something powerful to kill her."
She rested her head on Pef's shoulder. "Back then, she had horns. I remember that much. Violet eyes and horns."
"But not six hands?"
"No. Perhaps a thin tail. Two hands. And a golden armor, almost half as tall as this sword."
"A combat walker of sorts. She was fighting something big, to need such a huge armor." he mused while gazing at the immense sword. He thought it was a spaceship, not a melee weapon.
Xie shook slightly, another tear forming under her eye. "There were thousands of armors like hers, and they all died, Pef. She was powerful, but not enough."
"It's okay. A bit concerning, if the devils have Tier 3's soldiers as their standard forces, but that's for later. For now, we have our mission. Don't lose heart." he whispered, although worry was faintly seeping into his voice.
Outside, Pef resumed his journey, this time without a ship.
To his surprise, the next jump was a hundred times longer.
'What is this? How can I jump so far?' Pef asked the glove, while he began picking speed. Blink. And again. Almost no ki consumption.
The journey would take much less now. He consumed less qi and jumped farther. Everything was perfect.
'You reached one in a million parts, to the next rank. Let's hope we find more demons to kill.' the glove purred in a pleased tone.
Perfect.
Soon, he left the dead galaxy behind, and sped towards his destination.
With every year, the jumps grew longer, hastening the journey even more.
Ten years later, he reached the Demon galaxy's edge. And inside his inner world, Aria was Ascending.
The first of his family to reach divinity. Only Tier 1, but she should maintain a physical body, unlike Gaia.
Another Soldier will be helpful, especially if all the demons were hostile.
Pef stopped, as there was a faint violet barrier surrounding the galaxy in front of him. His senses began expanding, analyzing the formation for weak points.
A headache began forming in his left temple.
He blinked back, avoiding a flash of energy.
Two demons manifested some distance away, both wielding 10 meter long polearms glowing with blue energy. One of them had only five hands and was much smaller, about 3 meters.
'Simply attacking, no reason needed?' he sent towards the taller demon.
'Trespassers must die. Why do you even ask?' came the reply, a bit confused at the human not being dead.
Pef smiled as he thought of a plan. 'But I am outside the barrier. Thus, not trespassing. Correct?'
The two demons stared at each other, then back at Pef.
'Entry costs a core'
'For each of us' the smaller demon sent with a hint of greed.
Pef drew a hand behind his body and came back with half of a demoncore.
'Like this?'
The smaller demon's eyes lit up with greed. 'You found a Demon Lord's body? And one not looted for his core?'
A heavy hand slapped the verbose demon over his head. 'Give me both those halves and you can enter.'
Pef scratched his cheek, deep in thought. 'Okay, I'll give you your half, if you tell me how to enter.' Pef told the small one, precious core extended like a treat.
The crippled demon licked his lips and jumped foward, his third hand grabbing the half-core. 'Just pulse the day password, Belitor998...'
The demon didn't get to finish his words, as his own core got sliced in half, and he evaporated into violet flames.
Pef collected the loot slowly, two new cores and a nice polearm. Then he turned towards the taller demon.
'A full core, just for you. But no fake password this time' he sent, offering the new core.
'How did you know?'the demon asked while smiling.
'Deal or fight?' Pef asked instead.
'I don't need a lesser core. Half of Demon Lord's core and is a deal. Or else I suffer hellflame.' the smarter demon replied, holding two fingers down in a respectul pose. A flicker of violet energy covered his body for a moment.
Pef flicked the half core into his hand, and approached with a smile.
After a quick check for quality, man and demon passed together through to barrier.
'Even lesser cores have value. I need some information. Deal?' Pef asked as the demon watched him warrily.
'You were the one to kill that Lord, right?' the demon wondered as he began absorbing the blue gas from the core.
Pef waited, just watching the process with his coresense. It looked easy, and a bit too familiar.
With a pulse of blue light, the demon grew taller, and stronger. Tier 1, just from half a core.
'I'm looking for an old artifact, looks like a short club, black and heavy.' he sent as the demon marveled at his new strength.
'Tingel Arm, Soultraders Guild. That way.' The new Lord answered after a moment of thought.
Pef flicked the useless lesser cores into his hands. 'Well then. If I do find it there, you'll get another Lord core from me. If not...'
'Slaves wear a collar.' the demon said cryptically, then vanished.
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