After thanking Wang Ying, Ye Mo returned to the school. Other than the school, he had nowhere else to go; this place was unfamiliar to him. At least here he could learn something. Besides, the spiritual energy in this world was sparse, but the school seemed to have just a bit more, making it slightly better for cultivation.
After the last class, Ye Mo didn't bother going to see the English teacher. To him, getting credits or failing made no difference—there was no need to listen to a nagging woman. Though he hadn't started cultivating yet, his memory was extraordinarily strong; if he wanted to learn something, he could just go to the library.
In the days that followed, Ye Mo's routine was cultivation and library visits. Occasionally, he attended some classes he liked. As for skipping too many classes and losing the chance to get a degree, he simply ignored that.
His dorm was originally for four people, but one guy spent all day in the gaming room; another was renting a place with a girlfriend, living the life of a young couple; the last lived downtown. Ye Mo often spent entire nights cultivating alone in the campus woods. So most of the time, he was effectively living alone in the dorm. If anyone spent the most time there, it was Ye Mo himself, who came back to sleep properly every three days, devoting the rest of his time to cultivation.
Even though it was obvious that cultivation here wouldn't get him far—he might never reach the Foundation Establishment stage—the habit stuck. He had nothing else to do. His powerful memory let him absorb knowledge quickly, saving him plenty of time.
Ye Mo, low-key in his previous life, was even more so now in this strange environment. But because of the love letter incident, he had earned a nickname: "the lover under the bed." Ye Mo ignored it entirely—what was, was.
At first, many thought he was shameless for casually going to the cafeteria and library, but over time, no one cared anymore. He was like a drop in the vast ocean—insignificant and unnoticed.
Two months passed, and Ye Mo barely reached the first stage of Qi Gathering. Apart from spending all the twenty thousand yuan Wang Ying had brought him on some herbal concoctions, it was thanks to his day-and-night cultivation.
However, he knew without external aids, reaching Qi Gathering Stage One might be his lifelong limit.
Although his cultivation progress was slow, he gained a lot in the library. In two months, he finished all the textbooks from elementary through high school and skimmed through books on medicine and various esoteric arts.
While shallow compared to his former knowledge, it wasn't worthless, especially given his low current cultivation level.
During summer break, the school library was scheduled for renovation, so Ye Mo lost his haven. Worse, his funds ran low—only about two thousand yuan left. Without working during the vacation, it would be hard not just to cultivate, but even to afford food.
Just taking a normal job might be enough for others, but not for Ye Mo. He needed to cultivate; it was a habit and a direction for his life. Without money, cultivation was just talk. And the wages from regular jobs were too low to support it.
He could make pills, but he was far from the level to do so, and even if he reached it, where would he find the spirit herbs or alchemy furnace here?
Abandoning alchemy, luckily, he could still make talismans. At Qi Gathering Stage One, he couldn't produce high-level talismans, but low-level ones like spirit-clearing talismans, evil-warding talismans, protective talismans, or simple fireball talismans were within reach.
He bought talisman paper, wolf hair brushes, cinnabar, and other materials. Though top-grade talismans required beast hides and blood, here there were no beasts, so he made do with cinnabar and chicken blood, processing them with herbs. This couldn't make high-grade talismans, but simple ones were feasible.
Good-quality yellow paper and herbs were used as talisman paper. After buying everything, his last few thousand yuan disappeared.
The cinnabar, chicken blood, and herbs were brewed into a lightly fragrant talisman medium. The materials only allowed about thirty talismans to be made, not counting failures.
Though at Qi Gathering Stage One, Ye Mo had previously been skilled enough to make level-five talismans. Now, even his simplest talismans barely counted as a full-grade talisman.
Out of thirty-plus attempts, he made eight talismans: two each of spirit-clearing, evil-warding, protective, and fireball talismans.
Among these, one spirit-clearing talisman unexpectedly approached the quality of a level-one talisman—a delightful surprise.
Making these eight talismans took half a month—on average, less than one talisman per day.
Next came the selling.
Though making and selling talismans was considered superstition here, the government did not outright ban it. Ninghai had a large mixed market called Haibao Antique Trading Market, or Haibao Garden. Here, alongside dealers of antiques and curiosities, some people sold talismans like Ye Mo.
Ye Mo examined the talismans sold by others—simple yellow paper with no spiritual energy, completely ineffective, priced cheaply from ten to a few dozen yuan, rarely over a hundred.
His talismans couldn't sell for such low prices. If he sold that cheap, he might as well get a job.
To avoid recognition and protect his quiet cultivation life (and to avoid being experimented on as a "test subject"), Ye Mo wore large sunglasses and a low-brim hat, setting up a small stall in a corner like a fortune teller. He laid several talismans on a black cloth and opened for business.
Though Ninghai had many city enforcers, Haibao Garden was a lawless zone—no one came to bother him, saving Ye Mo much trouble.
While others relied on quantity to earn money selling talismans, Ye Mo knew only those who understood their value would buy his. The ignorant wouldn't.
"Hey, there's an evil-warding talisman here. What's this? Hey, boss, how much for your evil-warding talisman?" a man and a woman approached.
Ye Mo hadn't expected customers so soon. Excited, he stood up: "All talismans are ten thousand yuan each."
"Crazy!" The couple spat the word and left, their backs turning without another word.