The breakthrough of the Hunyuan Immortal Venerable undoubtedly exceeded everyone's expectations. Fortunately, pioneers like Ding Yun were generally well-traveled and experienced, so after the initial panic, they quickly managed to calm down and devise a reliable response.
The next step was, of course, to act according to the plan.
Some immediately packed up all their accumulated wealth over the years, hollowed out all known Immortal Vein locations, and even extracted things related to the origin, such as Earth Veins and Water Veins. They extracted everything, regardless of the karma and consequences!
Others, with their mechanical legions, frantically excavated, taking away everything that could be taken, leaving nothing behind, digging three feet into the ground.
Still others directly targeted islands of various sizes, taking them whole, along with their underlying Earth Veins, Water Veins, and Immortal Veins, leaving no room for negotiation.
This was for those with insufficient power. Those with sufficient power went even further, directly extracting the origin of the Immortal Realm world itself. They would approach the dividing line that was about to face heavenly tribulation, quickly withdraw, pack everything, and flee to the Demon Realm with the origin.
As for Ding Yun, it was even more incredible. She was almost overwhelmed with work. Her main body and her clone in the Demon Realm were frantically refining the origin of the Demon Realm, hoping to break through as much as possible by leveraging it. She also aimed to become the true Lord of the Demon Realm, not just by uniting it, but by refining it.
How to describe it? Previously, when she united the Demon Realm, it was at most equivalent to a mortal uniting an empire, topping out as a mortal king. Refining the Demon Realm was no longer a mortal king, but a level akin to the Heavenly Emperor, not a puppet, but one with real power. Her cultivation would then reach a level comparable to a Dao Ancestor after Dao Integration, at least in the Demon Realm. Only at this level could she contend with the Hunyuan Immortal Venerable who had broken through in the Immortal Realm.
She hadn't planned this originally, thinking that even without doing so, completing the mission was a sure thing. Why bother with this? But now, with the emergence of the Hunyuan Immortal Venerable as an anomaly, she had to scramble and refine it.
Meanwhile, the clone Ding Yun sent to the Immortal Realm immediately took over the concept-level River God from Ding Yun's main body without delay. She rushed to the border between the Immortal and Demon realms and frantically used this golden finger to help her fellow pioneers who were rushing from the Immortal Realm to the Demon Realm to improve their cultivation, spiritual treasures, and accumulated wealth.
Apart from making it more convenient to greet her peers here, the convenience of escaping back to the Demon Realm was also one of Ding Yun's considerations. After all, her current actions were purely plundering the Immortal Realm's resources. The Immortal Realm's origin, coupled with its world consciousness, was far more powerful than the Demon Realm's. Even if the world consciousness was reluctant to act itself, it could still notify the Hunyuan Immortal Venerable. Therefore, caution was necessary.
Of course, this was the specific operation of pioneers like Ding Yun. While they were relatively calm and had a backup plan, the other three major forces were truly bewildered, so much so that they were panicking and at a loss.
For example, the Ascenders who were fighting the native Immortal race.
Then there were the Divine Beast tribes, who had just been exposed to breaking their alliance with the native Immortal race and were negotiating with the Ascenders.
And then there were the Demon Lords, who thought they had victory in their grasp. Even if they didn't fully understand the realm of an Immortal Venerable who had advanced further, they were acutely aware of the vast gap between two major realms, and they were even more aware of the terrifying disturbance caused by the Hunyuan Immortal Venerable's breakthrough. Anyone with a sound mind could infer the Hunyuan Immortal Venerable's current capabilities from the disturbance and, comparing it to their own self-assessment, could determine whether they could defeat him, or even if they might be crushed like ants. They generally had a sense of this.
But precisely because they had a sense of it, they were both bewildered and panicked. Everyone had been fighting well. While it wasn't an evenly matched fight, the top powers were basically on the same level, and no side truly held an absolute advantage for a crushing victory. But now, the native Immortal race had gone all out, unleashing a surge of power, a surge that crossed a major realm. How could they continue to fight?
The various factions, who were still engaged in constant warfare, immediately ceased their battles after the Hunyuan Immortal Venerable's breakthrough, and internal disputes arose. The debate was whether to negotiate or what to do. There was no choice; in such a situation, if they didn't find a way to negotiate, it would be too dangerous, and a single misstep could even lead to extinction. To be safe, for example, if negotiations failed, the Divine Beast tribes and the Ascenders had already taken some last measures to preserve their lineage. They quickly sent out the inheritances of their respective races, along with some of their talented descendants, out of the Immortal Realm. If something unexpected happened, at least a spark of their lineage would remain, preventing complete annihilation.
After making these preparations, they quickly gathered some treasures of their respective races, and then had to send out a Venerable-level expert each, along with those treasures, to pay homage to the Hunyuan Immortal Venerable. This was both to congratulate him on his successful breakthrough and to gauge whether there was any possibility of negotiation. If they could return, it would naturally mean that there was still room for discussion about peace talks. If they couldn't return and were killed, then the Ascenders and the Divine Beast tribes were not the type to passively await their fate. Even if their race was wiped out, they would drag some of the native Immortal race down with them, or even destroy the Immortal Realm along with them. Since their race was doomed anyway, why fear karma?
Compared to the Ascenders and the Divine Beast tribes, the nine great Demon Lords were more conflicted. This was because their relationship with the native Immortal race was undoubtedly worse, and there was no room for negotiation between them. Therefore, their internal discussions mainly revolved around whether to continue observing the situation in the Immortal Realm or to quickly retreat to the Demon Realm and lay low. If they retreated to the Demon Realm, would the Hunyuan Immortal Venerable invade the Demon Realm? And if he did invade, could they deal with him?
However, before the nine great Demon Lords could reach a conclusion, and before the Divine Beast tribes and the Ascenders could nominate the people who would go to the Hunyuan Imperial Palace to offer gifts and test the waters, the Hunyuan Immortal Venerable, who had just broken through and was receiving the congratulations of the Immortal Venerables of the native Immortal race, suddenly changed his expression. He instantly merged with the Dao and roared:
"Bold! The outer realm demons dare to be so arrogant! Disturbing my Immortal Realm, and still plundering my Immortal Realm's origin on the brink of death, I see you truly seek death!"
Before his voice even faded, countless rays of Hunyuan Supreme Annihilation Holy Light emanated from within the Hunyuan Immortal Venerable. Each ray was more powerful than the full-strength attack of some Immortal Venerables. These Hunyuan Supreme Annihilation Holy Lights were naturally directed at those who were desperately plundering the Immortal Realm's walls and stealing its origin, namely Ding Yun and her companions. Each ray far exceeded the speed of light, almost spanning time and space, instantly reaching Ding Yun and the others.