He calmed his mind and focused on his dantian, but the conclusion he reached left him greatly disappointed. The spiritual energy within his dantian had indeed increased, and by a considerable amount. However, compared to the first time, it was much less—only about half as much as before.

After sighing for a while, Ethan Cooper knew in his heart that his wishful thinking was probably not going to work out. The dream of reaching the Core Formation stage within two months was absolutely impossible.

Still, he was somewhat unwilling to give up. Taking a deep breath, since the Foundation Establishment Pill could still increase his spiritual power, he intended to make full use of it.

Perhaps because of the increase in spiritual power, his senses had become several times sharper. When he looked around, even the tiny cracks on the wall were clearly visible, as if his eyes had been fitted with an adjustable telescope—truly amazing. Moreover, as long as he focused his mind, he could even hear sounds from far away.

Though his body was in this quiet room, as long as he concentrated, he could hear the chirping of insects and birds outside the house with perfect clarity.

Superhuman—that was the only way he could describe how he felt at this moment.

Although he still didn’t know how to use that large amount of spiritual power in his body, the more of it, the better, of course. With a chuckle, he stretched out his palm, and with a flash of his ability, that small jade bottle appeared out of thin air once again.

He opened the jade bottle triumphantly and poured out the green chocolate beans. Suddenly, his movements came to an abrupt halt.

Just now, he had accidentally discovered something. This time, when he made the Foundation Establishment Pill, he had used only his own ability. Although his ability was now almost completely depleted, the spiritual energy in his dantian had not been used at all.

When did his ability become so powerful? It had actually reached the level where it could independently support the creation of a Foundation Establishment Pill.

He remembered that before taking the first Foundation Establishment Pill, his ability didn’t even have enough energy for a simple scan.

So what was going on? Could it be that the Foundation Establishment Pill could also enhance his special ability?

His brow furrowed deeply as he held the Foundation Establishment Pill in his hand, lost in thought. After a while, a flash of inspiration struck him. He vaguely recalled that when he made the first Foundation Establishment Pill, due to insufficient ability energy, he had relied entirely on the spiritual energy in his dantian to barely succeed.

And this time, the amount of ability he used was probably about the same as the spiritual energy he had supplemented last time.

Could it be that spiritual energy could be permanently converted into ability?

Chapter 11: Leaving Seclusion

He acted as soon as he thought of it. With a twist of his wrist, a ripple appeared in the air, and a jade bottle faintly materialized in the void.

Almost instinctively, the spiritual energy in his dantian rapidly transformed into ability. When he had converted most of his spiritual energy, a second Foundation Establishment Pill appeared in his hand.

Ethan Cooper had no intention of stopping. The space around him once again showed a strange fluctuation.

However, this time, his strength was clearly insufficient. When more than half of the jade bottle had appeared, both his ability and spiritual energy were completely exhausted, leaving him unable to continue.

He didn’t dare to overdraw his spiritual energy, so he immediately gave up. The jade bottle, which had already appeared more than halfway, wavered like a ripple in water and suddenly vanished without a trace.

From nothingness it came, and to nothingness it returned.

If his ability could not complete the process in one go, then whatever he tried to create would cease to exist, leaving not the slightest trace in this world.

Not daring to delay, Ethan Cooper quickly swallowed a Foundation Establishment Pill.

The time spent making it had not been long, and even with his deep contemplation, it hadn’t taken more than half an hour. Yet it had given him a profound understanding of a famous saying.

Creation is difficult; destruction is easy.

Taking a Foundation Establishment Pill required no effort at all, and he could even gain great benefits from it.

But if he wanted to make a Foundation Establishment Pill, regardless of the special energy and spiritual power consumed, the effort required alone would be enough to exhaust an ordinary person to death.

Fortunately, he was not an ordinary person—he never had been, and now he was even less so.

Thanks to the spiritual power enhanced by the Foundation Establishment Pill, his constitution was worlds apart from before. If he were to scan a safe again now, he definitely wouldn’t end up collapsing from exhaustion.

After a long time, he emerged from his deep meditation. Using the technique of internal observation, he checked the changes within his body. As expected, his spiritual power had increased again, but the amount was so small that, compared to the previous two times, it was almost negligible.

“Sigh... I knew cultivating immortality wouldn’t be that easy,” Ethan Cooper sighed.

By now, he had long since thrown his initial ambitions to the back of his mind.

Pills could indeed have a remarkable effect on people, but if taken continuously, their efficacy would inevitably diminish.

That was the conclusion he had reached. If it weren’t so, no one would bother to painstakingly cultivate; they’d just go around looking for alchemy materials and methods, take a pill every day, and their spiritual power would keep increasing. Wouldn’t that mean everyone could easily reach the realm of immortals?