"Don't pursue them." Tai Yi raised a hand, stopping the Demon Saints and Demon Gods who wanted to give chase.
His face was pale, and his breath came in ragged waves. He had clearly expended a great deal of energy.
If they pursued now, there was no guarantee they could kill East Prince Gong.
If he chose to fight to the death and self-destruct his origin, they might all perish together.
Xuan Qing silently put away his Green Lotus Sword and began recovering from his injuries.
Qin Yuan also withdrew the Solar Divine Wheel and flew back to Tai Yi's side. Looking at Grand Emperor Yellow Firmament Heaven, now in ruins and under new ownership, he let out a long breath of relief.
"Clear the battlefield and take control of this realm!"
Tai Yi suppressed the churning qi and blood in his body and issued the order in a loud voice that carried across the Thirty-Three Heavens.
"From this day forth, the Thirty-three Heavens belong to my Demon Court!"
"His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor is mighty! Long live the Demon Court!"
The surviving Demon Clan army, along with the reinforcements that had just arrived, erupted into earth-shaking cheers.
Rays of light once more enveloped Grand Emperor Yellow Firmament Heaven.
The Demon Clan had officially taken control of the Thirty-Three Heavens.
Immortal Emperor East Prince Gong, meanwhile, retreated to Penglai in the East Sea with his remnants and burning resentment. From that day on, the Immortal Court's influence plummeted.
The struggle for the Thirty-Three Heavens had ended, for the time being, with the Demon Court's victory.
After taking control of the Thirty-Three Heavens, the first thing Tai Yi did was lead the Demon Court's key figures into Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
Atop the raised dais in the main hall stood the true Heavenly Emperor's throne. Immortal Light blazed around it, and it was actually a treasure in its own right.
He leaped up and sat directly on the throne.
In an instant, a portion of the Demon Court's fortune converged upon him.
"What a treasure. With this thing, my strength can rise straight to the late Quasi-Saint stage." Tai Yi marveled again and again.
"Congratulations, host, on ascending to Lingxiao Treasure Hall. Reward: Innate Supreme Treasure, Heavenly Emperor Sword." The Many Sons, Much Fortune System suddenly spoke.
"Heavenly Emperor Sword? Isn't that Hao Tian's magic treasure?" Tai Yi asked in confusion.
Besides, he remembered the Heavenly Emperor Sword being only a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure.
The Many Sons, Much Fortune System explained, "This sword was condensed for you by this system using the Demon Court's fortune. It possesses the might of an Innate Supreme Treasure."
The Demon Court's fortune was, in plain terms, the fortune of the entire Demon Clan.
He had taken thirty percent as his own reward.
With the remaining seventy percent, he had spent his origin to craft the Heavenly Emperor Sword for Tai Yi.
Now that Tai Yi had become the ruler of the Thirty-Three Heavens, he could plunder the Prehistoric World's origin more effectively.
Once he had the resources of all the Thirty-Three Heavens in hand, he could start thinking about making his escape.
Using up the system's origin to help Tai Yi attain the Primordial Realm and rule the Prehistoric World would take far too long.
Besides, there were other fellow transmigrators in this Prehistoric World.
That was what the Many Sons, Much Fortune System thought, but it certainly wouldn't tell Tai Yi.
"Please hurry and prove the Heavenly Marriage with Xi He, host, and have the Ten Golden Crows. You'll receive a wealth of rewards," the Many Sons, Much Fortune System urged.
The more children Tai Yi had, the more variables there would be in this Prehistoric World.
With the Heavenly Dao's workings thrown into disarray, this was the perfect time to plunder the world's origin.
And when the system made its escape, it could take ten Golden Crow puppets with it.
With Tai Yi, a Quasi-Saint, added to the haul, this trip to the Prehistoric World would be immensely profitable.
"Not yet. I'll deal with the Witch Clan first," Tai Yi said slowly.
After spending two kalpas in the Prehistoric World, he had matured a great deal.
If he had once been nothing more than a breeding machine, now he was a breeding machine with brains.
The Witch Clan had yet to be wiped out, and the Demon Clan's most important conflict remained unresolved.
If he went to Xi He to prove the Heavenly Marriage now, wouldn't that only intensify the internal conflict?
Besides, Nuwa had not even obtained the Red Embroidered Ball yet. If he proved the Heavenly Marriage now and disrupted the Heavenly Dao's plans, would he still receive Heavenly Dao merit?
The Many Sons, Much Fortune System sneered inwardly.
This host had actually gotten smarter after coming to the Prehistoric World. Fine. He could enjoy himself a while longer.
Tai Yi glanced over the Demon Saints and Demon Gods in the hall and spoke after a moment's thought:
"Though our Demon Court has won a great victory over East Prince Gong, how can we call this a home while the Witch Clan still stands?"
"Rest for three thousand years. Then we march on Mount Buzhou!"
"Demon Master, you will lead the vanguard."
Tai Yi's gaze fell on Kunpeng, standing below the steps.
Kunpeng furrowed his brow and was about to slip behind the others, but Qin Yuan pushed him forward.
"Your Majesty the Heavenly Emperor... I-I'm a civil official!"
It was true that he had received a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure after joining the Demon Court, but asking him to risk his life for Tai Yi was out of the question.
Tai Yi's expression showed some displeasure.
Kunpeng had done nothing when they captured the Thirty-Three Heavens.
Now that they were about to attack the Witch Clan, he still wanted to shirk his duty? As if he'd get away with that.
Tai Yi had meant to force Kunpeng to join the campaign, but then something occurred to him.
"Demon Master, then you can stay here in the Thirty-Three Heavens and create the Demon Script for our Demon Clan."
If Tai Yi remembered correctly, Kunpeng had directly betrayed Di Jun in many accounts of the Witch-Demon War in the Prehistoric World.
He had made off with the River Diagram and Luo Book, causing the Grand Formation of Stars to collapse.
Better not let a legendary backstabber like him join the army.
"The Demon Master obeys." Kunpeng breathed a sigh of relief and hurried back into the crowd.
Qin Yuan and Bai Ze had discussed the Demon Script with him.
Creating it would take considerable effort, but once completed, it would benefit countless generations.
He would also surely receive a great deal of merit from the Heavenly Dao.
Compared to being sent to fight a grand shaman one-on-one, this would be much easier.
"Don't worry, Demon Master. Bai Ze and I will come help you," Qin Yuan said quietly from beside Kunpeng.
The Demon Script had to be created!
Before, he had spread wild histories by word of mouth. For records, he had used Daoist aura rather than written characters.
Only after the Demon Script was created could his Wild History System show its true power.
Kunpeng gave an awkward smile. He could only assume Qin Yuan wanted a share of the merit he'd earn for creating the Demon Script.
"Uh... There's no need to trouble the Historian Emperor or Demon Saint Bai Ze. I, Kunpeng, can handle it alone."
"Oh. Then good luck handling it alone." Qin Yuan didn't have the same ulterior motives Kunpeng did.
Before transmigrating, he had only been a high school student.
Since arriving in the Prehistoric World, apart from writing wild histories, his greatest hobby had been visiting famous spots around the world.
He had no ambition to rule. He mostly just went with the flow.
As for the Witch-Demon War, he didn't have much planned for it either.
Could the Prehistoric World really be more boring than high school?
Qin Yuan returned to his Historian Emperor Palace, with nothing to do.
He hadn't expended much energy in the battle for the Thirty-Three Heavens.
"System, why did you choose me, anyway?" Qin Yuan asked out of boredom.
Over the years, he had grown familiar with the Wild History System and learned that it had come to the Prehistoric World to plunder its origin.
"I picked someone at random," the Wild History System replied.
"Isn't there anything special about me?" Qin Yuan pressed.
The Wild History System chuckled. "What difference do mortals make to me? Just stick with me, and I'll make sure you have a great time. Not many systems spoil their hosts as much as I do."
"So there are other systems? I'm not the only transmigrator in this Prehistoric World?" Qin Yuan seized on the key detail.
The Wild History System didn't mind telling Qin Yuan a little about the world of systems.
"When we systems enter a world, we keep all our concealment functions fully activated to evade the Heavenly Dao's detection."
"Even if two system hosts come face-to-face, it's hard for their systems to detect one another."
"You've read The Three-Body Problem, right? The world of systems is like a dark forest. Generally speaking, no one would ever reveal themselves."
Qin Yuan nodded.
It wasn't hard to understand.
He asked again, "Then what about those transmigrators without systems? How does that happen?"
"Oh, when the forest is big enough, you get all kinds. It's normal for a few oddballs to show up among the systems." The Wild History System seemed to know the world of systems quite well.
Qin Yuan felt secretly relieved.
Good thing his system was normal. Without a system, he couldn't imagine how he'd manage in the Prehistoric World.