Dorek could not help wondering whether Daniel’s gift represented a final acknowledgment.

"Teacher has finally accepted me as a true disciple," he thought. "But why would he give me such an inheritance now? Even if he intended to pass down a Great Dao method, there should have been no need to choose this particular moment."

He quickly bowed.

"Thank you, Teacher. I will remember every lesson you have given me. I will cultivate without the slightest negligence."

Daniel smiled when he saw Dorek’s respectful attitude.

"Very good. In that case, I will leave for now. If you encounter a problem, seek me again when the opportunity arises."

Dorek bowed deeply.

"I respectfully see Teacher off."

Daniel’s figure flashed and vanished from the Holy See.

After leaving the sacred district, he silently commanded the system to return him to his original timeline.

His body disappeared completely.

Within twenty-four hours, the spacetime of the mission universe would be formally sealed. It would not resume until Daniel returned through the special item he had purchased. When that happened, he would reappear at the same general historical stage rather than discovering that millions of years had passed.

Daniel emerged inside the Chaosverse, within Golden Holy Mountain.

The familiar scenery caused him to release a long breath.

His journey had produced a harvest far greater than he originally expected.

The instant his aura appeared, two figures sensed him and hurried over. Both wore extremely serious expressions.

Daniel examined them. Their cultivation had improved during his absence, and both had already reached a higher sage-rank level.

Durt spoke first.

"Brother Daniel, something terrible has happened."

Daniel raised an eyebrow.

"What happened?"

Durt’s face was filled with worry.

"The Myriad-Race Universe has been locked by an external power. Its flow of time has been forcibly accelerated. At the current rate, the universe may exhaust its remaining lifespan in only several thousand years."

Daniel drew in a sharp breath.

Several thousand years meant almost nothing to a complete universe. It was equivalent to a mortal discovering that only a few seconds remained before death.

More importantly, the change had been imposed from outside.

An Eternal Grade expert was almost certainly responsible.

"Have the native Eternal experts of the Myriad-Race Universe not intervened?" Daniel asked.

Every major universe had produced Eternal Grade beings. Although such experts escaped the Time River and weakened their direct ties to ordinary causality, many still retained an attachment to their home universe.

A universe was often their second homeland.

Several supreme factions within the Myriad-Race Universe had been established personally by Eternal experts. If their home faced destruction, those founders should not have remained indifferent.

"Did something happen to them?" Daniel asked.

Durt hesitated before answering.

"Yes, and the situation is worse than we first believed. You have probably heard of the Eternal Tribulation, the great calamity involving Eternal Grade experts. Beings secretly supported by the Great Dao hunt Eternal experts who possess the potential to transcend its control."

Durt sighed.

"Almost every native Eternal expert connected to the Myriad-Race Universe died during the latest Eternal Tribulation."

Daniel froze for a moment.

"All of them died?"

He had not expected the situation to become so severe in such a short period.

Durt nodded.

"The Myriad-Race Universe has fallen into complete disorder. Many regions already resemble the beginning of an apocalypse."

Daniel became silent.

Earth was located within the Myriad-Race Universe. He could not ignore the approaching destruction.

In addition, Oracle Shamir had once mentioned the Sacred Origin Forbidden Land. That place might contain the opportunity Daniel needed to comprehend the Law of Destruction and break through to Oracle-grade.

"There is no need to panic yet," Daniel said. "When the sky collapses, the tallest powers will be forced to bear the first impact. A faction as old as Golden Holy Mountain should possess emergency arrangements."

Daniel had originally intended to visit the Flying Fish Starfield, but the sudden disaster forced him to change his plans.

He needed to return to the Myriad-Race Universe immediately.

Soon, an Emperor-class sacred vessel entered the Chaos Starsea.

Daniel piloted the ship at maximum speed. Along the route, he saw countless cultivators crossing the chaotic sea. Even the weakest among them stood near the peak of Divine-grade, and Oracle-grade experts appeared everywhere.

"The situation is completely different from before," Daniel thought. "The number of powerful outsiders has increased dramatically. Most of them must have been attracted by the mutation of the Myriad-Race Universe."

The sacred vessel rapidly approached the universal barrier.

Countless starships were fleeing outward from the Myriad-Race Universe. At the same time, even more vessels were entering from outside.

Daniel immediately understood why.

The universe had entered its final years. Time acceleration was forcing countless natural treasures to mature. Forbidden lands and secret realms that normally required vast periods to open were unlocking one after another.

Opportunities appeared like plants after a storm.

Meanwhile, the supreme native factions were preoccupied with evacuation plans. Their control over territory had weakened greatly. Outside cultivators were taking advantage of the chaos to enter, seize inheritances, and search for artifacts before the universe died.

"That explains the unusual activity," Daniel murmured.

He looked at the approaching barrier.

"Once the universe truly enters the final stage of Great Dao destruction, no outsider will dare enter. By then, every treasure will be accompanied by Tribulation-Ash corruption and death."

The thought caused Daniel to inspect his own body for the Great Dao Tribulation Mark he had once carried during the mission timeline.

It had disappeared.

Daniel had always hated the sensation of being marked by a Great Dao calamity. It resembled a death talisman attached to his existence, constantly warning that corruption could begin at any moment.

"The mark probably exists only while I remain inside that specific historical timeline," he concluded.

Daniel activated his law-based Sacred Art and began tearing open the universal barrier so that the Emperor-class vessel could enter.

A final thought passed through his mind.

"Will the Myriad-Race Universe gradually become another version of the dying Eternal Empire? If so, I may need to find a new universe for my own forces as well."

The universal barrier opened beneath Daniel’s power, revealing a turbulent passage filled with ancient starlight. His vessel entered slowly rather than forcing its way through at maximum speed. He could already sense that the laws on the other side were aging at an unnatural pace. Spiritual veins that should have required thousands of years to change were shifting from one breath to the next, and distant stars released the faint aura of approaching decay.

The sight confirmed Durt’s warning. This was not merely a political crisis or a temporary disturbance in cultivation conditions. The lifespan of the entire cosmos had become a visible countdown. Daniel placed one hand upon the control formation of the sacred vessel and hardened his resolve. Whatever Eternal expert had created the temporal restraint, Daniel would eventually find a way to make that being release it.