I have prepared some medicinal pills for you.

Feng Xi took the initiative to seek out Xiao Baidao.

"Master, although the borderlands are dangerous, I'm not going to charge into the front lines, so it won't be overly dangerous. Besides, aren't we going to be accompanied by an elder? It'll definitely be fine! Please, let me go with your full blessing!"

Xiao Baidao shook his head. "No way, it's too risky!"

"Master, ever since I met you, my luck has been consistently amazing. If I'm not a symbol of auspiciousness, I'm pretty close. As the saying goes, fortune favors the righteous, and this time not only will I be safe, but I might even make a great contribution! I know you're reluctant to let me go, but I am your direct disciple. If I act cowardly and back down now, what will others think of you? What will they think of our Sky Mystery Sect? Therefore, whether for your sake or for the sect's, I must go this time! Besides, I also want to go out and experience the world. A flower that never weathers the storm is destined to never bloom in the sunlight. Please, just let me go!"

Xiao Baidao felt that everything Feng Xi said was just to keep him from feeling troubled, making him feel all the more that his little disciple was heartbreakingly sensible. In the end, he had no choice but to agree.

In truth, what Feng Xi said was only part of the reason. Another reason was that the little black ball needed to absorb demonic Qi, and this trip presented the best opportunity.

To ensure Feng Xi's safety, Xiao Baidao pulled out all the stops. He fished a set of armor out of the empty Sky Mystery Sect treasury and handed it over.

"Xiao Xi, wear this set of Dragon Scale Armor. It's fully capable of withstanding a full-strength strike from a mid-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator."

Jun Wen's eyes nearly popped out of his head! The sect still had such a fine treasure?! His master hid things deeply indeed!

Little did he know that whether it was the previous Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Pill or this set of Dragon Scale Armor, these were Xiao Baidao's life-saving foundations, meant to provide extra leverage to preserve the sect in times of crisis. But for his little disciple, he took all of them out.

Although Feng Xi didn't know the full extent of this, she knew that Xiao Baidao was treating her with absolute sincerity and kindness. She tried her best to refuse, but unable to overrule Xiao Baidao, she had no choice but to wear it under her clothes. Secretly in her heart, she swore that she would protect her master's peace for a lifetime, no matter the cost.

After conferring with the upper echelon of the sect, Xiao Baidao decided to dispatch Elder Duanmu to lead Jun Wen and Feng Xi to the borderlands. First, Elder Duanmu was at the second layer of the Spirit Transformation realm, with a cultivation level second only to Xiao Baidao's. Second, Elder Duanmu was cautious and exceptionally reliable. And another important point: Elder Duanmu could keep Jun Wen in line and prevent him from stirring up trouble.

Jun Wen: "..." Do you all harbor such profound misunderstandings about me?

Forget about the past; the most recent incidents were clearly the little junior sister's fault!

At that moment, the selections from the other three sects were also finalized.

The Myriad Origin Sect dispatched Baili Muchen's prime disciple Mu Zihuai and Shen Zhilan, led by Elder Liu.
The Myriad Sword Sect dispatched Lu Zhenkuan's prime disciple Ling Qianting and Liu Shaobai, led by Elder Han.
The Beast Taming Sect dispatched Hu Mankui's prime disciple Qin Shifeng and Xing Wu, led by Elder Feng.

The intention behind the lineup of these three sects was obvious: to let their senior disciples lead their junior brothers and sisters out to gain some experience.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Baidao cursed his own senior disciple Jiang Ji until he was blue in the face! But having no other recourse, he could only offer a thousand instructions and ten thousand reminders to his little disciple to mind her safety. Whenever she encountered the Demonic race, she was to stay as far away as possible; all talk of eliminating demons and upholding righteousness should be put aside for now.

Jun Wen, standing off to the side: "..." That is definitely not how you taught me back then?! You said that eliminating demons and defending righteousness was the bounden duty of us cultivators, that our heads could roll and our blood could flow, but our convictions must never be lost!

The day before departure, Feng Xi belatedly remembered something crucial. She didn't know how to fly a sword!

The journey to the borderlands would take around ten days. While having Elder Duanmu and Jun Wen take turns carrying her wasn't entirely impossible, it would be far too tiring. Was it even still in time to learn sword flight now? Without a spiritual sword, even a regular precious sword would do! As long as it could fly!

Thus, she sought out Jun Wen. "Fifth Senior Brother, can you help me get a precious sword? I want to learn sword flight."

Jun Wen was just about to say that the time was too short for her to learn, but recalling Feng Xi's past extraordinary feats—especially her talent in alchemy—he swallowed his words. "The Artifact Forging Hall has swords made of ordinary materials, which can be exchanged using sect contribution points. I'll accompany you to pick one out."

Feng Xi had made several major contributions to the Sky Mystery Sect, and the contribution points on her identity jade token were dazzlingly high.

Just as Feng Xi was about to nod, an unfamiliar strand of spiritual sense suddenly appeared in her sea of consciousness. It was then that she noticed a sword, covered in rust, sitting inside her sea of consciousness out of nowhere.

Before Feng Xi could react, the little black ball started clamoring: "It must be that wooden sword! I knew it was acting sneaky and suspicious! Look, its true form is clearly like this, yet what we saw was just a wooden sword! As the saying goes, righteous deeds aren't hidden from people, and hidden deeds are never good; it's simply no good thing!"

Feng Xi: "...... Why are you so worked up?"

The little black ball: "Well, um, I was just thinking out of concern for your safety, Master. If you feel I talk too much, then I won't say another word."

"Alright, then shut your trap."

The little black ball: "......" Why did the strategic retreat tactic fail so miserably with this stinky girl?

Feng Xi carefully sensed the spiritual awareness emanating from the wooden sword and found that the other party offered only a very faint response. Combined with the rusted blade, it had clearly suffered severe damage in the past.

Regardless of anything else, this gadget still counted among spiritual swords. It should be able to fly... right?

So, she said to Jun Wen, "Fifth Senior Brother, let's not rush to the Artifact Forging Hall yet. Let me try out this wooden sword first." With that, she produced the wooden sword.

Jun Wen: "...... As long as you're happy."

"Little Junior Sister, if you want to fly a sword, you must first attempt to control the flying sword with your spiritual sense. Once you can control it smoothly, you can try standing on it. Now, let me teach you the incantation to control a flying sword..."

Jun Wen only recited it once before Feng Xi declared that she had learned it, and she immediately began trying to control the wooden sword.

The wooden sword remained as lifeless as a corpse, not moving an inch.

The little black ball took some schadenfreude pleasure in this: "What did I tell you? This thing harbors malicious intentions and is no good thing!"

Hardly had its voice trailed off when the wooden sword wobbled into the air, though it flew rather crookedly.

A completely bewildered Jun Wen then taught Feng Xi some specific maneuvering techniques, such as making the flying sword grow slightly larger so she could sit on top of it. After all, the journey was long, and she couldn't stand the whole way. Naturally, the enlargement wouldn't be too drastic—at most, it would only be large enough for two people to sit on.

Feng Xi learned all the theory, but her practical execution remained somewhat clumsy. Every time she stepped onto the wooden sword, Jun Wen's heart leapt into his throat, terrified that she would tumble off.

"Little Junior Sister, why don't we call it off? We leave tomorrow, and there's simply not enough time!"

Feng Xi rolled her eyes. "It's fine, I have my own clever plan. You'll see tomorrow!"

Seeing her looking so confident, Jun Wen didn't press any further. At worst, if all else failed, he and Elder Duanmu could carry her along.

Before leaving, Feng Xi said to Jun Wen, "Fifth Senior Brother, I've prepared some pills for you. Keep them!"

With that, she produced a large washbasin filled entirely to the brim with medicinal pills.

Jun Wen: "...... You call this 'some'?"

He finally believed what Feng Xi had said earlier about winning by sheer volume! At this rate, she alone could single-handedly run an entire pill shop!