CHAPTER 312: CHAPTER312-THE OPPORTUNITY

As Daniel’s figure drew ever closer to the colossal treasure chest, the influence it exerted upon him grew stronger and stronger.

Most notably, that obsessive fixation on flesh and blood became increasingly pronounced, leaving Daniel with an inexplicable sense of unease.

However, amidst this oppressive mental pressure, Daniel’s sharp instincts caught onto something else entirely.

Given his level of strength, even he was being affected simply by approaching the giant chest. Then, what about the ordinary chests surrounding it?

Wouldn’t they be subjected to an even deeper, more pervasive influence?

But there was an important detail here—those smaller chests encircling the giant one were not the creations of beings from the Flesh Continent at all. Rather, they belonged to lifeforms from the Myriad Races Continent.

In truth, the Flesh Continent no longer harbored any living beings whatsoever.

This led to a troubling thought—could it be that, even with distances of tens of millions of li between them, as long as two consciousnesses encountered one another within the Mental Plane, they could still exert mutual influence?

This realization gave Daniel an even deeper understanding of certain mysteries.

So this was why so many "the Favored" appeared among the human race.

They didn’t necessarily have to meet a god in person; in most cases, their consciousness had merely been influenced by some kind of thought projection.

That was why they became so extreme and fanatical.

Finally, Daniel understood why this world would always have such inexplicable zealots—it wasn’t coincidence.

Their thoughts... had been tampered with.

If some malicious existence could enter the Mental Plane, it could take advantage of this by manipulating those thoughts, thereby influencing events in the real world.

One wouldn’t even need to open the treasure chests; simply grouping together similar ones, letting them interact with each other, could lead to terrifying consequences.

For example, the giant chest before him now was essentially a crystallization of fleshheart’s will.

Because fleshheart’s mental intent was so overwhelmingly strong, it warped the smaller chests around it, infecting them all with a bloodthirsty nature.

And this influence was not limited to Daniel—it was spreading to countless beings on the Myriad Races Continent as well.

That being said, opening the chest wasn’t all that difficult for Daniel.

With the Universal Gauntlet in hand, he could pry it open effortlessly.

But he didn’t act immediately. After all, even without thinking too hard, one could guess that a chest of this magnitude would be stuffed with an ocean of ideas, plans, and mental imagery.

In the past, Daniel would have never dared to act rashly in such a situation. The torrent of thoughts flooding out could easily obliterate his very consciousness.

But now?

Now Daniel was utterly fearless.

With Psychic Perception, his God Rank Skill, his mind could process innumerable streams of information at once.

This ability completely erased his worries, allowing him to open the chest without hesitation.

Psychic Perception could even process the thoughts of true gods—so what was a mere fake god to him?

After all, fleshheart was not even at the Demigod Rank. Forcing one’s way into its mind in the real world would be impossible, but here in the Mental Plane, Daniel only needed to open the chest and feel the contents inside.

Overload of mind power? Not a concern—Psychic Perception could bear the weight of divine thoughts themselves.

So the next step was straightforward—activate the Universal Gauntlet and open the massive chest.

To the Gauntlet, this lock was hardly a challenge.

But before that...

Daniel unhesitatingly made his avatar on the Myriad Races Continent activate Flashback, another God Rank Skill, instantly relocating to the Flesh Continent.

There, he observed fleshheart directly—yet thanks to the protective mist around him, his presence went completely unnoticed.

With Psychic Perception in full swing, Daniel opened the colossal chest using the Universal Gauntlet.

In that instant, he gained access to fleshheart’s innermost thoughts with pinpoint precision.

Inside fleshheart’s mind, the messages rang loud and clear:

"I will turn everything into flesh!"

"I will devour that human—that one called Daniel!"

"That damned bastard ruined my plan to advance to the Demigod Rank. I’ll make him pay."

"No, killing him outright is too easy. I’ll turn him into a flesh puppet—my eternal slave!"

"And that Aurelia—that lowly wretch of the Angel of Gold and Silver race—I will never let you go!"

"When I become a god, I’ll make Aurelia kneel at my feet, my... slave!"

"I must hurry and restore my strength, or I might miss my chance to ascend to the Demigod Rank."

"The Origin Land is a wondrous place—I can’t waste this opportunity!"

"Faster! I must seize this chance!"

Hearing these raw, unfiltered desires, Daniel’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

"Really? You hate me—fine. But why drag Aurelia into this?"

"She’s a real god. Aren’t you afraid she’ll sense your filthy thoughts?"

Inwardly, Daniel sighed. The fleshheart before him was radiating nothing but spite.

Still, this malice was carefully restrained—it didn’t dare to speak Aurelia’s name openly, keeping its resentment subtle.

From this, Daniel quickly understood:

fleshheart not only hated him, but also harbored an even deeper loathing for Aurelia, the Goddess of Gold & Silver.

Of course, it wouldn’t dare curse her directly.

Thus, compared to Aurelia, Daniel was the soft target—the "easy fruit" to vent on.

Shaking his head, Daniel shoved these chaotic notions aside.

Then, from within fleshheart’s tangled web of thoughts, one thread in particular caught his attention—

The "opportunity" to become a Demigod.

What did that truly mean?

And what connection did it have to godhood itself?

He reminded himself—right now, they were still within the era of the Millennial Apocalypse.

If memory served, every thousand-year Apocalypse heralded the rise of at least one Demigod Rank being stepping into godhood.

Could it be that advancing from the peak to Demigod Rank also required the discovery of some kind of opportunity?

If so, what exactly was this opportunity? And why had Daniel never heard of it before?

For the moment, Daniel chose not to destroy the giant chest outright.

Instead, he allocated more of his mind power to sift through fleshheart’s remaining thoughts, searching for any other fragments of value.

Deep down, he felt a faint certainty—he was one step closer to the truth.

Was this truly the opportunity for ascension?

The only question was—could he uncover the clues in time?