In Jupyter, the Divine Sea spanned hundreds of thousands of kilometres, covering the central region of the entire super-plane. Spread out around this massive ocean were seven smaller seas, each uniquely dotting the map of Jupyter. These seas were not hospitable areas and were well-known forbidden zone in the entire super-plane. Any of the seas was incredibly deadly to weak cultivators and even upper-ascendants would lose their life if they insisted on going to the depths. Only divinities would dare to travel in these regions but the Divine Sea Sect made sure that no foreign divinity was bold enough to do so. But, there was a major exception to this, which was the Paradise Sea Sect.

The Paradise Sea was special due to many reasons. It was created by the water of lightness, which was so light that if one fell into the sea, they would directly fall through the bottom with absolutely no resistance. This was because it was a sea in the skies! But this was not the only property of this light water. It contained a very mild energy of vitality that gave birth to many beautiful sea races. The consumption of the sea-water could give one vitality to live a long and healthy life. It could also be used to cultivate several magical abilities and refine treasures. Due to the vitality emanating from the water, it was also the habitat for numerous spirit beasts. The water also had a calming effect that could treat several illnesses like cultivation deviation and demonic corruption. Due to these reasons, the Paradise Sea was one of the most famous tourist spots in the entire dominion. The Paradise Sea Sect was the de-facto owner of this sea. Naturally, it was a powerful force.

Paradise Sea Divinity was even older than Divine Sea Divinity. She was the only surviving consort of the Lord of 33 worlds, Arthan Pendragon. Naturally, after taking ownership of the Paradise Sea, she used its geographic advantages to create a tourism and pleasure spot for cultivators. The Paradise Sea Sect was also the largest pleasure-house in the entire dominion. Of course, it was completely different from the brothels found in the mortal world. The fairies of the sect were extremely alluring and possessed natural beauty. They also mastered all forms of charm techniques. The experience cultivators could gain in this place could not be matched easily. The fairies usually cultivated different sexual cultivation techniques as well, generally obtaining cultivation strength alongside resources for their services. This business of pleasure was actually the main source of income for the entire Divine Sea Sect!

Of course, not everyone at the sect was involved in this business. It was a voluntary choice. But, in a world where strength decided life and death, beautiful cultivators who could easily progress using this arrangement hardly ever rejected the option. Dual cultivation was a very widespread branch of cultivation. It was also a very popular pleasure activity among cultivators. This was especially the case for cultivators who had given up on their cultivation journey. Such cultivators preferred living a life of pleasure before their lifespan came to an end. There were many possible sources of entertainment in the cultivation world, catering to such cultivators. There were many hobbies that one could invest in, including several arts and different branches of knowledge like formations, beast rearing, botany and so on. There were several entertainment options available as well, like illusory dreams, martial competitions and so on. Even hunting and torture of weak native races was carried out in some hidden circles. But, even though the entertainment industry was a giant in the cultivator's economy, the pleasure industry was still the bigger giant. There dual cultivation dao in the 26 dominions was developed to the extent that one could reach the divinity stage of cultivation through it. For cultivators, who were able to mould their bodies and souls using different laws, each interaction would be completely unique. The physical sensation of different laws was completely different. As each upper-ascendant was unique in their law, it led to several flavours of pleasure. Besides, through different techniques, the connection of bodies could be channelled into souls. Using specialized techniques, one could achieve pleasure that was simply impossible for mortals to achieve. And Paradise Sea Sect was the holy land for such experiences. This was the reason why Gareen had accepted to toil for a thousand years to become a dharma protector at the sect.

In this sect, in one of the disciple quarters, Ashley was studying different charm techniques. Her dao seed had been noticed by the Seiren elder, who had accepted Ashley as an in-name disciple. She was nurturing her carefully, teaching her several enchantment and enslavement techniques as well as different dual cultivation methods. In fact, in the last 2 decades, Ashley had already sprouted her imperial dao seed and was learning to combine different enslavement techniques with her imperial dao. The natural compatibility between enslavement magic and imperial dao caused her battle strength to be higher than others in the same realm. Alas, her cultivation was quite slow and she had only reached the ascendant realm recently. After all, the main cultivation method used by the majority of disciples included sexual cultivation techniques. Through dual cultivation, disciples of the charm path could perfect their techniques as well as grasp deeper intricacies of the charm law. Without indulging in dual cultivation, progressing in charm and enslavement laws was very slow. As Ashley was married to Michael and had no thoughts of being unfaithful, she did not indulge in dual cultivation, much to the Seiren elder's chagrin.

While she had a great love life with Michael, he was not skilled in dual cultivation. His massive willpower made him almost immune to all charm methods, making him unsuitable for Ashley to practice her cultivation with. Besides, he was also busy governing Aterna, making it difficult for them to meet frequently. Ashley was not much worried about her slow cultivation speed. The road to cultivation was not short and the initial burst in speed was not what was needed to go a long distance. But while she was not concerned about her pace of cultivation, her teacher felt differently.

According to her, Ashley was a raw gem. Her innate beauty made her very suitable to practice the charm techniques while her dao power worked perfectly with enslavement techniques. Her comprehension was also very good. The Seiren elder was already very old and was planning to attempt to break through to the divinity realm before her law withered. Hence, she wanted to groom Ashley to become her successor disciple. She did not like seeing her young disciple bound to a man. Women like them were meant to rule among the myriad planes, and not become the backdrop to powerful male cultivators. In the 26 dominions and even in the wider universe, females were considerably weaker than males as a group. This was not due to them being any less talented in cultivation but due to the difference in their starting points. In most species in the universe, males were generally stronger than females. This allowed them to acquire more resources at the beginning, allowing them to cultivate faster. This created a gap between the sexes that became harder to narrow as the realms increased. Very few women were given the care and guidance that Ashley was receiving in their cultivation. Alas! the girl was still in love with that boy from her village and did not make full use of the resources she had.

Michael Rageberg! Looks like I need to make him disappear from Ashley's life.

Such were the Seiren elder's thoughts.

On another side, Collins and Sitara Rageberg were taken in as disciples by the Paradise Harmonious Couple. Their status could be said to have taken a big leap. As the legacy disciples of elders of the sect, their status was comparable to Michael. In fact, the Paradise Couple held them in extremely high regard due to their compatibility with the yin-yang unity art. As such, while they had the status of legacy disciples, it was only a matter of time before they became successor disciples. With the yin-yang unity art, their cultivation had soared at an extremely rapid pace, having already reached rank-2 ascendant realm. Their bond after cultivating yin-yang unity had also grown to become extremely strong. Currently, they could be said to the biggest backers of the Aterna Royal family, instead of Michael or Gareen. But while their status had improved significantly, their life had become more and more hectic. The cultivation of yin-yang unity art was prioritised highly by the Divine Sea Sect. During the selection battles, most of the current sect elders would attempt to reach the divinity stage and would most likely die in the process. Thus, to make sure that the heritage of yin-yang unity art was maintained, the Paradise Sea Sect was constantly putting great pressure on the Rageberg couple to cultivate at breakneck speed. Due to this, Collins and Sitara were engrossed in cultivation almost all the time. If not for the support provided by the sect, their mental state would have long collapsed.

Currently, they were present in the seclusion chamber of the sect, constantly comprehending the laws of yin and yang, while practising yin-yang unity. As they completed their cultivation session, both of them took a small break and started using the astral crystals provided by the sect. These colourless crystals sublimated in their hands turning into gas that was absorbed in their conscient. Soon, they felt their mental energy and willpower recovering as their soul-ache subsided. Astral crystal was a staple resource for cultivators, as it allowed them to recover their mental strength when cultivating in seclusion. Lower-ascendants or law-finders generally cultivated in small bursts, hardly going into long-term seclusion. But upper-ascendants or path-finders needed to create their own path, their required terrifying exertion of mental strength. They frequently went into seclusion for several hundred years. Alas! The mental strength of upper-ascendants wouldn't support such long periods of intense cultivation. Thus, using astral crystals was their only solution. Astral crystals were generally either excavated in secret realms or were produced by astral path cultivators. One of the primary reasons why the Divine Sea Sect took the risk of exploring the Might secret realm was that they had confirmed the existence of a legacy of the astral path in the secret realm. This alone was a prize that would justify the expedition, let alone the different resources that could be obtained from the realm.

Some distance away from the seclusion chamber was the manor of the Paradise Harmonius Couple. They were drinking tea in their garden while discussing.

"Dear Wife, our disciples are progressing quite fast, it won't be long before they reach the law-master realm. If they can form their own compatible laws of yin and yang, they will be able to continue the legacy of yin-yang unity. I am quite glad that we managed to find suitable successors with some time remaining before the selection battles, or else we could have only left this final chance.", said the Harmonious Yang Elder.

"You are right dear, but this also means that we should begin preparing for our pre-breakthrough seclusion. I am very worried! Even if the chances of declaring our law is higher in the heavenly realm where universal laws are much more stable, the difficulty of passing the divine tribulation is still too high. We have to be at our peak and perfect our laws before we take the step. I still remember how our teachers died in the tribulation, we have to prepare even more. I have ...", the Harmonious Yin Elder went into a panicked rant.

Seeing this, the Yang elder held her hand and rotated the yin-yang unity qi, calming her down. Looking into the eyes of his wife, he said, "Megan, don't worry. We have already lived a long life together. If you are scared, we don't have to face the tribulation. I am happy to grow old and die, as long as you are there to accompany me."

His sincere emotions resonated with the yin-yang unity art, allowing his wife to see the vast love he held for her in his heart. A vibrant smile appeared on her face as she said, "I am not scared, dear. How can I be scared of death? Death is the natural end to all living beings. Even if I turn into ashes in the divine tribulation, I will be happy as we will always be together, even in death. But, I still want to live together with you, travelling through the universe, witnessing its grandeur with you by my side. We will win against the tribulation, and prove our love to the universe by declaring our laws."

As the couple embraced each other, deepening their love and compatibility, their yin-yang unity art became denser and more profound.

Fate was a result of the complex web of interactions between the living beings of the universe. In the previous timeline, neither the Harmonious elders and nor the Seiren elder was able to find suitable successor disciples in time for the selection battles. As a result, they were forced to undergo their tribulation in the chaotic law ocean and had ended up dying. Their legacies had become a part of the repository of the Divine Sea Sect, never appearing again in the universe. But with the advent of Ashley and the Rageberg couple in the law ocean, their future had changed drastically. Thus, now it was no longer only Michael who was influencing the web of fate. His actions had created ripples, and those ripples were now moving forward and changing the future in subtle ways. This was the influence of Aterna, a small plane in a corner of the law ocean.