I died young at the start, but I'm reincarnated with unlimited skill points!

Aokibo South Street is bustling with people and filled with a spiritual atmosphere.

Compared to the surrounding spiritual fields filled with the scent of earth, the inner part of the market town is the true gathering place for cultivators.

Lingcao Pavilion is located in a bustling area of ​​South Street and is a three-story wooden building.

This place is mainly responsible for purchasing low-grade spiritual herbs from independent cultivators, as well as for the preliminary processing and inventory of medicinal materials produced by the family's spiritual fields.

Su Yu moved with his family into the steward's residence behind the Spirit Herb Pavilion.

The mansion was spacious and bright, and there was even a small spirit-gathering array set up in the courtyard, with the spiritual energy density being several times that of the outer courtyard.

The head of Lingcao Pavilion is an elderly elder of the main lineage who is over seventy years old. He usually stays in seclusion on the top floor and rarely gets involved in worldly affairs.

Therefore, most of the affairs within the pavilion actually fell into the hands of Su Yu, the newly appointed deputy steward.

If someone in this position were to scavenge for scraps, they would be wasting their time as deputy manager.

Having served as the Prince of Zhennan in his previous life, Su Yu was well aware of the unspoken rules of officialdom and the workplace.

Water that is too clear has no fish. Since you've got a lucrative job, the way to survive is to bribe your superiors and subordinates and share the profits.

If you don't accept it and I don't accept it, how will the elders above get their share of the benefits? How will the workers below be motivated?

Less than half a month after taking office, Su Yu had become extremely adept at operating the rules of the Spirit Herb Pavilion.

When independent cultivators come to sell spiritual herbs, those of the highest quality are recorded as "medium grade" in the accounts, and the price difference quietly goes into their private coffers.

According to custom, 10% of the medicinal herbs delivered monthly from the family's spiritual fields are lost due to damage to their medicinal properties and transportation losses.

Su Yu handled the loss, which should have been used to balance the accounts, flawlessly, turning the intact spiritual herbs into pure low-grade spirit stones.

Of course, Su Yu did not keep it all for himself.

At the end of each month, he would put the largest offering of filial piety into an antique jade box and respectfully send it to the retreat of the senior elder in charge on the top floor.

His men also received more generous pay than before.

The elder in charge, seeing that the tribute was 30% more than usual, stroked his beard and smiled. He felt that this new collateral descendant was very well-mannered, so he completely delegated authority and didn't even bother to look at the account book again.

With such abundant and legitimate resources, Su Yu no longer needed to go out in the cold wind at night to absorb unclaimed spiritual energy.

Every day, he simply sits in a spacious, quiet room, aided by a spirit-gathering array, and consumes Qi-gathering pills that he obtained from the black market using spirit stones.

With such unimpeded access to resources, Su Yu's cultivation naturally broke through the bottleneck and steadily entered the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Having made steady progress, Su Yu did not become engrossed in seclusion. Instead, he turned around and walked out of the quiet room to start thinking about his next steps.

Even if he is very careful in his actions, he will inevitably arouse envy and suspicion over time, as he holds a lucrative position.

If he wants to remain safe in the eyes of the young patriarch and the family's higher-ups, it's not enough to just be good at his job; he also needs to give his superiors a completely reassuring feeling.

The next morning.

Su Yu changed into the steward's uniform and stood meekly in the courtyard.

Inside the room, the young clan leader Su Hao was sitting casually in the main seat, flipping through the jade slips, with the steward elder sitting beside him.

"Come in."

Su Hao didn't even look up, exuding a languid air typical of someone in a position of power.

Su Yu stepped into the room, immediately straightened his clothes, and bowed deeply to Su Hao.

Su Hao tapped his fingers lightly on the table, speaking casually.

"Su Tian, ​​the income of Lingcao Pavilion has been quite stable lately. You are a man of principle; it wasn't for nothing that I, the young master, helped you out back then."

"It's all thanks to the young clan leader's great blessings; I was merely following the rules."

Su Yu kept his posture extremely low, his tone carrying just the right amount of fear.

"Alright, stop flattering me."

A hint of undisguised contempt flashed in Su Hao's eyes.

"Speak, what brings you here today?"

Su Yu looked flustered, and his tone became deliberately hesitant.

"Your subordinate... does indeed have a private matter that I wish to report to the elders and the young clan leader to seek their favor."

"Oh?"

Su Hao put down the jade slip, leaned back in his chair, and looked at him with a mocking expression.

"What is it? Please speak freely." The elder in charge picked up his teacup and asked casually.

Su Yu said in a low voice, "I am deeply grateful for the kindness of the family and the young patriarch, which allowed me to take over the Spirit Herb Pavilion. A few days ago, my second son was found to have a seventh-grade spiritual root. I am grateful for the family's high regard for me, but I feel that with my own ninth-grade aptitude, my path to immortality in this life has probably come to an end."

"Only in the matter of procreation can I do my part for the family."

"Therefore... I would like to apply to the Imperial Household Department to take another concubine, in order to have more children and continue the family line."

There was a moment of silence in the room after he said that.

"Pfft—"

Su Hao couldn't help but burst out laughing.

In the world of cultivation, every cultivator with ambition and aspiration for the path to immortality regards primordial yang essence as a precious treasure.

Sexual relations between men and women are extremely depleting of one's vital essence. Once one becomes addicted to them, one's path to immortality may come to an end, and it will be difficult to make any progress in this lifetime.

Su Yu already had a wife, Song Qingwan, and later took in his maid, Qing'er.

He has only been the deputy steward for a short time now, and with some spirit stones and free time, instead of going into seclusion to cultivate diligently, his first thought is to take another concubine.

In their view, such behavior is a sign that one has been completely blinded by worldly desires and has utterly bowed to reality.

"It's a good thing that you have the filial piety to help your family prosper."

The elder deacon put down his teacup and nodded calmly.

"Yesterday, a merchant who was affiliated with a family sent over several outstandingly beautiful women. You can go and take one of them back later."

"Thank you for your kindness, Elder, and thank you for your guidance, Young Clan Chief."

Su Yu bowed deeply again, then respectfully withdrew from the main hall.

Once Su Yu had walked away, the atmosphere in the hall completely relaxed.

Su Hao chuckled and shook his head.

"This Su Tian is quite adaptable. He just got a lucrative job and made some money, and he couldn't wait to indulge in bedroom pleasures."

"Those with inferior roots of the ninth grade have no hope of achieving the Great Dao."

The elder in charge stroked his beard, his tone revealing a detached indifference that suggested he had seen through the ways of the world.

"It's a good thing that he can see his own limitations and completely give up that unrealistic idea of ​​cultivating immortality."

"Young clan leader, you should employ people like this. He is greedy for money and lustful, and only cares about worldly wealth and status. He has no ambition whatsoever. As long as you give him enough benefits and security, he will wholeheartedly help you make the Lingcao Pavilion's accounts look beautiful."

"The elder is absolutely right."

Su Hao wholeheartedly agreed.

A good-for-nothing who is obsessed with women and depleted of his vital energy can only reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining at most in this lifetime.

Such a person, who controls the money and grain in the market, would never harbor any rebellious intentions.

In practice, it is far more convenient to use than those self-important geniuses who harbor hidden ambitions.

……

That afternoon, a sedan chair was carried out of the Inner Affairs Hall and sent through a side door to the steward's residence behind the Lingcao Pavilion.

The newly acquired concubine was named Lin Xiu, who was sixteen years old and came from a wealthy merchant family.

Not only was she beautiful, but she also had a voluptuous figure, and her eyes and brows carried a shrewdness and ingratiation unique to worldly women.

Inside the main room of the mansion.

As the mistress of the house, Song Qingwan calmly drank the tea served by Lin Xiu, a tea intended for concubines.

She was gentle and knew her husband's duty to continue the family line. In addition, she already had two sons and her position was secure, so she did not show any jealousy.

As night fell, red candles flickered in the side room.

Lin Xiu bathed and changed early, sitting on the edge of the couch in a light gauze dress, feeling uneasy.

She had assumed that cultivators were mostly elderly people with a pure and simple heart, but she never expected that this deputy steward would be a handsome and composed young man.

The door opened, and Su Yu walked in slowly.

"This humble servant greets my husband."

Lin Xiu quickly stood up and bowed, her voice sweet and coquettish, revealing a deliberate attempt to flatter.

"Let's rest."

Su Yu didn't say anything more and casually extinguished the candle.

Outsiders all say that he is obsessed with women and has lost all his virility.

Little did he know that his bedroom secrets from his previous life could lock his essence during the union of yin and yang, not only without damaging his own essence in the slightest, but also taking this self-degrading act to the extreme.

Beneath this seemingly decadent indulgence, he steadily established himself deep within Aokibo City in a way that reassured the main faction.