Where did the baby go?

"That's enough. Quickly return this child." Jieyin finally softened. In the end, it was their incompetence that prevented them from bringing any hope to the barren West. Perhaps the time was not right, or perhaps the West was destined not to prosper. Why make things difficult for this child?

"Don't you even have a clue why I've wasted all this effort? I'll do my thing, you just watch! It's none of your business!" Zhunti was furious. It turned out that all his efforts had been in vain. He was speechless. This blockhead just wouldn't get it. It was such a waste of his good intentions!

Since he can't bring himself to do it, let him do it. Anyway, as long as one of the brothers is still alive, why should the West not be able to make a comeback?

Zhunti glanced once more at Tongtian, who was curled up asleep on the lotus throne, and a hint of ruthlessness gradually appeared in his eyes. "Sleep, sleep. When you wake up, you won't remember anything. I already secretly cast a spell on you when you were in the golden bowl. Even your brother was helpless and had no way to deal with it, let alone them who don't know that you have disappeared..."

"You!" Jieyin gasped, never expecting that Zhunti would actually be so ruthless. And what made him so confident that this would succeed? Why? What was it? Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. He glanced incredulously at the sleeping child and discovered the traces of magic left on his body. He was instantly enraged.

"What did you do to him? You're really, really crazy... crazy!" Jieyin was completely distraught, his face turning extremely pale. Oh no, he'd succeeded.

"It's just a matter of making him lose his memory, it's not like it's going to kill him. Brother, don't worry about it. After we convert him, he'll be one of us from Mount Ling. What's wrong with that?" Zhunti was very satisfied. What a flawless plan! He had figured it out. As long as he didn't use underhanded tactics, the Heavenly Dao couldn't do anything to him.

"Damn it! Your brother's words no longer carry any weight, do you?" Jieyin was furious, his face full of heartache, clutching his chest and unable to utter another word for a long time. Was he just supposed to watch helplessly as his brother embarked on such a path of no return?

Zhunti's long-suppressed anger finally erupted. He snorted coldly and said, "The matter is settled, there's no point in saying more. It's better to think about how to convert that brat."

Jieyin watched as Zhunti left in a huff after an unpleasant argument, and hesitated to speak. "Fine, fine," he thought, "since that's how it is, let him personally escort this kid back. But whose child is he anyway?"

He paused for a moment and then waved to Bai Lian.

The Pure White Lotus landed steadily in Jieyin's palm. The petals swayed casually, revealing the little cub Tongtian inside. The cub was not sleeping soundly, his brows were furrowed, and his breathing became rapid, as if he had a nightmare. He struggled to sit up, tears streaming down his face, and muttered something.

A hint of hesitation flashed across Jieyin's face. Feeling a little reluctant, he still took him out. Surprisingly, when the cub came into contact with the warm embrace, the struggles lessened considerably. Jieyin held his breath for a while before he could make out what the little cub Tongtian was muttering to himself.

Second brother, flowers...flowers...flowers...

What does it mean? Jieyin didn't understand and didn't want to understand. He had never come into contact with such a soft and lovely cub before. It was a tiny ball of fluff that seemed to break at the slightest touch.

"Huh, he's stopped crying? So well-behaved!" He'd only hugged him briefly. Taking a quick look at the little cub's face, he couldn't help but admire him! Handsome features, a high nose, and delicate lips—a remarkably beautiful child. Only the spiritually rich East could nurture such a spirited and exceptionally gifted child! So fair and clean-cut, he clearly knew he was a good boy. What to do? He was actually a little reluctant to send the cub back.

He was caught in a dilemma. On one hand, his own selfish desires were at play, and on the other hand, his morality was binding him, urging him to send the cub away immediately! Since he took human form, apart from his perpetually grumpy and brooding younger brother, he had never come into contact with any other living beings, or more precisely, sentient beings, let alone cubs. Cubs were hard to come by; few cultivators would be willing to expend their own vital essence to raise a child. Losing one's vital essence was tantamount to cutting off the possibility of advancing further in cultivation, making such cases extremely rare. The path of cultivation was arduous and long, offering no other pleasures besides cultivation. How could he bear to easily abandon a living, breathing cub, brimming with spiritual energy and possessing excellent potential, now that the West had finally brought one? He might as well satisfy his selfish desires.

As for the opinions of the child's elders, oh, that's not important, anyway, the person is in their hands now... A smile gradually appeared in Jieyin's eyes, and he gently poked the little dimple on the child's face. He poked it accurately every time. Hey, this is too fun!

What's more, he was just too cute! His rosy cheeks, long eyelashes fluttering like the silhouette of a butterfly, and the little one whimpering every now and then... Jieyin tentatively stuck out a finger and poked the little one's rosy cheek. Hmm, the touch was quite nice, soft and full of life. Such a wonderful feeling was truly captivating, and Jieyin was quite moved for a moment.

"Big brother, second brother..." Tongtian the little brat struggled, using his hands and feet to resist in vain. He didn't know what was happening to him, only that an invisible force in his subconscious was changing his memories, turning everything in its path into fragments, one fragment after another falling into the depths of his memory. His consciousness transformed into a small person standing on a high mountain peak, watching in fear as an incomparably domineering and invisible force transformed into rolling waves sweeping towards him from above. Tongtian the little brat had no time to resist and was swept away by the waves, falling below the mountain peak. No matter how much he cried out, it was all in vain!

"Ugh..." Tongtian's little cub's face grew increasingly helpless. He felt more and more powerless, and fatigue enveloped him like a tide. He slowly stopped struggling and gradually lost his strength, letting himself sink into the vast sea of ​​consciousness, drifting further and further away.

Big brother... second brother... Tongtian, Tongtian is so tired, I just want to sleep forever... The last tear in the corner of his eye silently slid down and landed on Jieyin's arm. Jieyin frowned, his face showing a bit of solemnity.

Very well, things have come to this. You may stay on Mount Ling, and I will teach you diligently from now on. This is how it should be done, in accordance with the will of Heaven.

Jieyin sighed, gently wiped away the cub's tears, and somewhat clumsily picked him up and returned to his cave.

Kunlun Mountains.

A faint, almost imperceptible, tinged with painful despair, gradually transformed into a beam of azure light that converged on Kunlun Mountain. This fleeting ray of light quietly entered the sea of ​​consciousness of Yuanshi, who was meditating.

Yuanshi, who was in seclusion, suddenly shivered and woke up from that mysterious and lingering state. He frowned and felt that something was wrong. He had not felt such a strong sense of crisis for a long time. He was surprised that something could have touched him.

Silently calling out to Tongtian in his heart, beckoning him to come, he received no response for a long time. Moreover, a chilling sense of unease crept into his mind, alerting Yuanshi to something amiss. He promptly communicated with his elder brother telepathically, only to be met with an annoyed reply: the boy had already gone to find him and hadn't returned in ages, ignoring his brother completely! This infuriated him!

Yuanshi was completely dumbfounded. What? Tongtian came looking for him? When did that happen? How come he had no idea? What happened? His son wasn't with his elder brother, nor had he come looking for him. Where did his son go?

In his haste, he had no time for meditation and rushed out of the seclusion. As soon as he stepped out of the house, he saw the white jade bottle placed in the corner. He paused slightly, noticing his third brother's precious Heart-Piercing Lock coiled around the bottle as if dozing. Sensing Yuanshi's presence, it immediately sprang to life, rolled up the bottle, and brought it to him. Slowly releasing it, Yuanshi caught the bottle and instinctively stroked its patterns, confirming it was the same one his eldest brother possessed. He had asked his brother for the bottle before, but his brother refused, infuriating him to the point that he had vowed to forge an even more powerful magic weapon to rival his brother's! How did his brother's treasure end up here? Had his conscience finally intervened, and he finally decided to give it to him? Yuanshi immediately beamed with joy, thinking to himself, "Luckily, my eldest brother wasn't so unreasonable. He even knew to send me a magic weapon. He couldn't bring himself to apologize, so he secretly had my third brother deliver it to me. Hehe."

With a casual gesture, he broke the protective magic array on the white jade bottle. The space rippled, and the figure of Tongtian appeared out of thin air. He looked at Yuanshi with some guilt, and raised the bottle to his second brother as if seeking credit, saying, "Second brother, it was Tongtian's fault before. I shouldn't have teamed up with eldest brother to trick you... Tongtian knows second brother is very angry, I'm sorry, second brother! I know second brother has wanted the white jade bottle for a long time, so I asked eldest brother for it several times. Eldest brother finally agreed to give it to me today, so I'm giving it to you today. I hope you'll accept it with a smile~" Tongtian bowed to him, his eyes pitiful, trying to win his second brother's forgiveness.

Tongtian's little cub's figure quickly disappeared. Even the hardest heart of Yuanshi softened when he saw his younger brother admit his mistake and come over to coax him. He had thought about how to punish his younger brother several times before, but in this situation, he finally gave up the idea.

"Hmph, since you're somewhat sincere, your second brother will be merciful and let it slide." Yuanshi snorted arrogantly, putting away the white jade bottle. Unexpectedly, the Heart-Piercing Lock automatically landed in his palm, radiating spiritual consciousness and communicating with him. It wanted to find its little master.

It was a trivial matter. Yuanshi put it into his own space and let it stay there for the time being. He then went to look for his younger brother, but he didn't know where his younger brother had run off to. He had disappeared in the blink of an eye, and the vast Kunlun Mountains were completely clueless for the time being.

Yuanshi, standing outside his elder brother's alchemy room, sullenly pursed his lips and walked straight into the room. He knocked symbolically on the door and went in without waiting for his elder brother's reply, sitting down in front of the futon in front of him.

Taiqing frowned but didn't say anything. After all, there was no need for etiquette in front of family, and he never cared about anything. So, could it be that his younger brother's bad habit of lying down and urinating anywhere was learned from his second brother? Tsk, whatever, let it be.

"Where's my third brother? Why didn't you bring him along?"

"That's exactly what I was going to ask you, elder brother." Yuan Shi looked completely bewildered. Good heavens, he had been in seclusion and knew absolutely nothing about what was happening outside. He had no idea what was going on.

"You're not kidding, are you? Third Brother said he had something to do and wanted to come find you, and then he never came back." Taiqing frowned, his expression one of utter astonishment. What was going on? Where was my son? Where was my big son?

“Tongtian did come to my place, but he didn’t stay there to wait for me to come out of the pass. Could he have run off and hidden somewhere?” Yuanshi suddenly realized, and then a flame seemed to burn in his heart. Well, so you give me a sweet date and then slap me, huh? Kid, have you grown too big for your britches and want to play tricks on your second brother?

Taiqing immediately sensed something was wrong and tried to calculate with hand seals, but to no avail. The two looked at each other in dismay, and then suddenly became terrified!

Their youngest brother has run away from home again!