The moment Sariel mentioned a chance at godhood she knew she had Melinda's attention and she was not wrong.
To be fair, Melinda had never seen personal evidence that mortals could become gods aside from the old legends that were dedicated to such.
It was those very same legends that reiterated that while it was possible, the process was long and tedious, and not many succeed.
Of course, this did not stop every cultivator (outside of Bottom feeding cities such as this) from trying to become this Divine being.
The most information they knew from communications with gods (Via Altars) made them surmise that said gods existed in a different plane some had taken to call Paradise.
Melinda had all but given up on this general dream of godhood when she was banished to Salmon city to cultivate without valuable cultivation resources.