Yang Tao glanced at Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian, who were sticking close to each other again, and shook his head. The plot inertia was too strong.
Then he looked at Yan Chixia, who was standing with Xiao Qing, deep in conversation.
He called out, "Yan Chixia, come here for a second. I need to talk to you!"
Hearing someone call him, Yan Chixia walked over.
"Sir, please don't call me 'hero.' Just my name is fine!" Seeing their strength, Yan Chixia didn't dare call himself a hero anymore.
"So, what can I do for you?"
Yang Tao smiled and said slowly, "Didn't the Black Mountain Demon just tell us to come find him in the underworld? I like efficiency. I never let grudges last overnight. I need you to open a path to the underworld so we can pay him a visit."
Hearing this, Yan Chixia's face turned serious. "Sir, the Black Mountain Demon is a powerful demon king in the underworld. He controls the City of the Unjust Dead and commands an army of ghost soldiers and generals. Entering his territory would put us at a huge disadvantage!"
"Don't worry about that. Just open the gate. We'll handle the rest."
Seeing that he couldn't talk them out of it, Yan Chixia let out a deep sigh. "Alright… I'll risk my life and go with you to the underworld."
He drew his treasured sword, channeled his energy, and chanted, "Prajnaparamita!" Then, he slashed the space in front of him.
A small crack opened. Yan Chixia turned to the group and said, "This is the entrance to the underworld, let's hurry and—"
He suddenly fell silent.
Because he saw Whitebeard.
He turned back and looked at the two-meter-wide crack he had just opened. Then, without a word, he channeled more energy and widened the crack until Whitebeard could fit through.
With his energy drained, Yan Chixia quickly said, "Hurry up! I can't hold this open for long!"
Opening a path to the underworld was already exhausting. Expanding the crack from two meters to six meters didn't just triple the energy cost—it multiplied it several times over.
"You've worked hard! Here, eat this." Yang Tao handed him an enchanted golden apple.
"Ning Caichen, Xu Xian, you two stay here and keep an eye on the Tree Demon. If anything happens, contact us immediately."
After everyone entered, Yan Chixia gritted his teeth and jumped in as well.
He took out the enchanted golden apple that Yang Tao had given him.
"What is this? Never heard of it before. Golden?" Yan Chixia took a bite, and the effects kicked in immediately.
He felt all his exhaustion disappear completely, and a steady flow of energy was healing his injuries.
Although it didn't instantly restore his magic power, since his body was recovering, his magic was also regenerating faster.
Carefully, he put away the remaining enchanted golden apple—it would be a waste to eat it all at once.
Yang Tao couldn't help but laugh when he saw Yan Chixia saving the half-eaten apple. "Yan Chixia, don't bother keeping it. The energy in the golden apple was fully absorbed the moment you took the first bite. What's left is just an ordinary golden apple! Here, catch!"
With that, Yang Tao pulled out another golden apple and tossed it over.
Yan Chixia quickly caught it. "Thank you, senior!" He took out the previous golden apple from his pocket and ate it right away.
Sure enough, it had no effect anymore.
Before long, the group arrived at their destination. A grand city loomed ahead, with a plaque above the gate bearing three large characters: *Wangsi City*!
This was originally the domain of King Biancheng, the Sixth Yama of the underworld, a place that collected the souls of those who died unjustly.
But for some reason, the *Liao Zhai* world had fallen into chaos, and all the gods and spirits had vanished.
Now, the massive Wangsi City was under the control of the Black Mountain Demon.
Looking at the countless evil spirits swarming within the city, Yang Tao turned to Yan Chixia. "Are there still any good ghosts left in there?"
Yan Chixia was stunned. "Senior, all the ghosts in Wangsi City now serve Black Mountain. The souls of good people naturally enter the cycle of reincarnation upon death. The ones left here are either mindless spirits or wicked ghosts who serve the demon. Why do you ask?"
Yang Tao sighed. "I just don't want to kill the wrong ghosts, that's all."
He then turned to the towering Black Mountain in the distance and addressed the group. "Let me give this a shot!"
"Come forth, Charizard! Gigantamax!"
For the first time, everyone saw Yang Tao's Charizard—and in its Gigantamax form, no less.
Yan Chixia was shocked. "Senior, what is that? Your pet?"
Staring at the massive Charizard, flames roaring around it, Yan Chixia suddenly felt like the towering walls of Wangsi City weren't so imposing after all. This creature could probably step over them with ease!
"Black Mountain! I brought you a gift! Charizard, use *Sunny Day*!"
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