Overthinking Is the Deadliest—The Junior Brothers Begin a Frenzied Rat Race!

Mount Sumeru was awash in golden light.

The Bodhi Tree that had only just revived greedily drew in and expelled the sparse spiritual energy around it.

Layer upon layer of charred bark peeled from its trunk, revealing wood beneath as smooth and lustrous as jade. Every leaf seemed to breathe, and with every sway, it scattered glimmering radiance imbued with Dao rhythm.

Zhunti sat cross-legged beneath the tree, his entire being immersed in a realm profound beyond words.

He felt as though he had returned to the time of Chaos Beginning, when Heaven and Earth were Undetermined. Deep within his origin, that fragment of Innate Imprint damaged by Rahula's self-destruction was being rapidly restored by a power of utmost warmth and nobility.

"Boom!"

A muffled peal of thunder exploded within Zhunti's body.

The bottleneck at the peak of Primordial Unity Golden Immortal, like a sheet of window paper, was effortlessly pierced through.

Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal!

An aura belonging to a Zenith Heaven powerhouse burst forth from Zhunti. Though it had yet to fully stabilize, it already possessed the initial hint of that transcendent, timeless, immortal intent.

"Did... did he make it?"

Jieyin stared in utter disbelief, nearly crushing the Prayer Beads in his hand.

The two brothers had cultivated bitterly for countless epochs in the wasteland of the Western Lands. Burdened by the scarcity of spiritual energy, they had been unable to so much as touch the threshold of Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.

They had thought they would need to head east to "live off the autumn wind," hunting for opportunities for tens of thousands more years before they might have even a sliver of hope for a breakthrough.

But now...

Elder Brother had merely poured out a single drop of "water."

And Zhunti had taken off right where he sat?

"Elder Brother..." Jieyin abruptly turned to the blue-robed man beside him, who still wore an expression as calm as drifting clouds. His eyes were filled with disbelief and deep reverence. "What kind of divine treasure is this water...?"

Taiyuan idly played with the utterly ordinary Pure Water Alms Bowl in his hand. At the question, he merely raised a brow.

"A divine treasure?"

He chuckled, his tone casual. "It's just a bit of bath—cough, a bit of Condensed Dew I casually collected when I had nothing better to do."

He had nearly blurted out the words "bathwater."

Taiyuan corrected himself in time, but that very nonchalance left Jieyin even more shaken.

Casually collected?

Condensed Dew?

Who was he trying to fool?

Jieyin might have been honest, but he was no fool. The Power of Merit contained in that water was so dense it was nearly tangible, while its vitality was so overwhelming that it could even reverse damage to one's innate origin.

Across the entire Primordial World, even Dao Ancestor Hongjun, who had yet to become a Saint, might not be able to produce a treasure of such pure quality.

Yet Elder Brother had used it to water a tree!

"Elder Brother, please don't deceive me." Jieyin swallowed, his voice trembling. "With such a supreme treasure, even one drop would make the Three Pure Ones fight until their heads bled if it were taken east. Yet... you simply used it like this?"

Taiyuan gave him a glance, calmly tucked the alms bowl into his sleeve, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed skyward at a forty-five-degree angle.

The afterglow of the setting sun fell across his face, gilding him with an inscrutable golden radiance.

"Treasures have a price. Brothers are priceless."

Taiyuan's voice was not loud, yet every word rang like iron, striking deep into Jieyin's heart. "If such trifling possessions can ensure that my junior brother's path is smooth and his foundation secure, then what is there to regret even if there were ten times or a hundred times more?"

"Though this Primordial World is vast and spiritual treasures are many, in this elder brother's eyes, none can compare to the three of us brothers living safely and enduring for a long, long time."

"Farm in peace. Ask not what lies ahead."

"As long as we brothers stand united, that is enough."

After saying all that, even Taiyuan was moved by his own words.

In truth, he was thinking: The system gave me 999 drops at the start anyway. It would be a waste not to use them. Besides, the greatest use of Eight Treasures Merit Pool Water is ripening spiritual roots and restoring origins. Using it to strengthen our own people—that's the essence of the path of lying low.

The stronger my junior brothers are, the better they can work for me, take bullets for me, and help me build a beautiful new Western Lands.

This is called investment!

Yet to Jieyin, those words were like rolling thunder and a tidal wave of warmth.

"Elder Brother..."

Jieyin's eyes instantly reddened, tears welling within them.

What breadth of heart was this?

What profound brotherly devotion!

So Elder Brother might appear lazy and slothful on the surface, but his heart held such boundless love! Not only did he possess foundations comparable to a Saint's, he also had the wisdom to see through the true nature of the Primordial World.

He did not contend because he disdained contention!

He did not seize because he already possessed everything!

And he had disguised himself as a useless slacker who only wished to scrape by, even going so far as to use such a heaven-defying supreme treasure to lay the foundation for Zhunti and himself—all because he did not want the two of them to risk their lives or be swept into the cruel tribulations!

"Elder Brother is playing a grand game of chess!"

Jieyin's heart surged with tempestuous waves, his imagination instantly running wild.

Elder Brother must have foreseen the future perils of the Primordial World long ago, which was why he had chosen to lie low in the Western Lands. Using this divine water to mend the Western Lands' earth veins and strengthen us brothers was, in truth, amassing strength while waiting for the right moment.

This so-called "farming" was merely a smokescreen—a smokescreen to make the Heavenly Dao, Hongjun, and all the mighty powers overlook us!

"I truly deserve to die!"

Jieyin viciously slapped himself in his heart. "Just now, I even wanted to drag Elder Brother east to beg for food, and I even suspected Elder Brother of lacking ambition. I was truly measuring a gentleman's heart with a petty man's yardstick!"

"Elder Brother bears the burden and presses onward, while all I want is peaceful, tranquil years!"

At that moment, Jieyin's mindset underwent an earth-shaking transformation.

What had once been a desire to run away became unwavering devotion.

What had once been pessimism and despair became soaring fighting spirit.

"Elder Brother, rest assured!"

Jieyin abruptly dropped to his knees and heavily knocked his head against the ground before Taiyuan. With his forehead pressed to the earth, his voice choked but firm as iron, he said, "Jieyin will never disappoint Elder Brother's great expectations! From this day onward, every big task and small chore in the Western Lands—every filthy job and exhausting labor—I'll take them all! Elder Brother need only sit securely in the rear and strategize from afar!"

"I will never allow anyone to disturb Elder Brother's grand 'farming' plan!"