After that day, Jacob immersed himself in the Immortal Chapter: Cursed Blood Progenitor! Jacob had only comprehended nine out of ninety-nine blood glyphs related to Blood Manipulation, and once he started again, he naturally started from this point.
Furthermore, Jacob noticed that with his spiritual nebula, his comprehension speed and the time it took to comprehend a blood glyph were greatly increased, and he no longer felt oppressed by blood glyphs like he used to.
Nonetheless, if he tried to comprehend an enormous glyph before the smaller ones, he would still suffer terrible pain, so he quickly gave up on this foolishness after suffering once and worked on the blood manipulation.
As Jacob continued, time started to pass without him realizing it, and the more glyphs he comprehended, the more he started to understand why Immortika continued to emphasize comprehending the immortal chapter Cursed Blood Progenitor!
It turned out he didn't need Immortika's explanation about infinity blood at all because as he dived deeper into the level of blood manipulation, he became closer to his blood and even felt its overpowered properties, which was extremely strange yet terrifying!
The blood manipulation was based on three levels: Cellular, Energetic, and Structural, and Jacob only had about 10% mastery over them. But with just that, he had created some terrifying blood-related abilities and even touched the boundaries of blood magic without even having a blood-related magic core!
However, now that he had started working on these concepts, Jacob realized he had been too lackluster with the immortal chapter. If he had comprehended the entire blood manipulation part of the immortal chapter, he could easily communicate with his own blood and see through its mysteries and abilities!
Furthermore, as Jacob spent more and more time manipulating blood, the runic lines of the longevity schema on his body seemed to glow as the infinity blood became active and started to undergo some kind of change.
Jacob slowly realized that this Immortal Chapter wasn't about 'blood' but only about 'Cursed Blood!'
Just like that, 43 years have passed!
However, one day, when Jacob was immersed in the 33rd blood glyph of the immortal chapter, also the final blood glyph about blood manipulation, Autarch's mental message suddenly jolted him awake.
Although it was not very pleasing to be disturbed, Jacob didn't blame Autarch since he had ordered Autarch to alert him if any changes were to occur to Elia.
Truth be told, he wasn't expecting the little girl to take almost five decades to show any reaction. Nonetheless, it wasn't like these years had been boring for Jacob. In fact, if not for the star watch's timer, he wouldn't even know so much time had passed.
Furthermore, Jacob also realized that he had finally outlived his old self before his reincarnation in the zodiac plains. He couldn't help but feel momentary, nostalgic, and melancholy.
He never expected to spend fifty years just like that, and the concept of time seemed to be becoming blurry for him. He didn't know if it was because he had so many years to live or if it was the case for all the people with such a long lifespan, but he knew one thing: He was no longer the same person.
Maybe now it was time for him to start accepting his new identity as the Faceless Ancient. With flickering eyes, Jacob stood up, but he didn't approach Elia's chamber right away. After thinking for a moment, his body suddenly began to morph, and his skeletal form started to change at an alarming rate as mass, muscles, organs, and pale white skin appeared on his body.
His flaming eyes changed back to amber color, and his skeletal face was replaced with a handsome pale face and long silver hair draped over his shoulder. This was Jacob's face, or more accurately, Rudolph's face, which he had saved in the gluttony mask!
Jacob never got the chance to introduce a new face to the mask, so he had no choice but to use Rudolph's face. But he didn't mind, actually, since he considered this his own face.
Still, Jacob also didn't dare to raise the gluttony mask's rank anymore, not without proper planning, since he knew the truth about it. He can't be reckless with this thing, or that scripture will definitely notice it.
As for why he changed his appearance, he didn't want to scare the little girl or who knows what she'll feel if she suspects that her 'teacher' was a dark being. Although he didn't mind this much, he still cared about Elia's mindset since he couldn't have her doubts or other thoughts regarding him.
When Jacob entered the chamber not far away from his, he saw the little girl, Elia, now sitting on the stone bed. What shocked Jacob was that she still appeared to be the same as a 10-year- old little girl.
However, Jacob's eyes narrowed because Elia's emerald hair had turned inky black. Even her eyes were now dark with extremely pale skin. Lastly, the devilish mark on Glabella now appeared like a ghastly black birthmark.
The most shocking thing was that Elia was no longer just a mortal; she had reached the peak of Unique Rank, and Jacob could even sense the signs of her breakthrough in the three steps of Legend rank.
At this moment, Elia seemed to sense his presence as she looked towards him. Her eyes were icy cold and emotionless, but because of the Soul Tether Hex, she instantly recognized Jacob, and her impassive eyes instantly brightened!
She quickly jumped on her feet and tottered towards Jacob before she bowed her head in front of him and solemnly said in her cute, childish voice, "Teacher, thank you for letting Elia live!" Jacob looked at her with scrutiny before he nodded, "It seemed you've understood what I meant that day, right? Now that you are 50+ years old, and you have yet to become a legendary rank, you are still alive and filled with vitality. This means the Liber Chaotica has solved your problem. The one you should be thanking is yourself in this case. You choose the path of survival, and there is nothing wrong with that."
Elia looked at Jacob seriously and nodded, her eyes filled with admiration and understanding. She promised, "I will not disappoint you, teacher! I have already gained all the knowledge in Liber Chaotica, and soon, I'll be able to help you greatly once I start organizing everything! My body has also undergone changes because of Liber Chaotica, so I request some more time before I can be of any help to you!"
Jacob's eyes narrowed slightly. He wasn't expecting this little girl to be so eager to help him. 'Is it because of the soul tether hex?' he wondered, but he didn't reveal his thoughts. Although he wanted the Liber Chaotica, he didn't have time to be distracted; he only came here to check on Elia to see if she was living or if his plans would drain.
Now that he confirmed it, he was relieved and could return and do his own thing without worry.
After a moment of thinking, Jacob took out three space rings, gave them to Elia, and sternly said, "I'm studying and researching something very important, and I don't know how much time it'll take me to get done with it. That's why I have given you many things that should be enough for you to study and live without worrying about over two hundred years.
"Just focus on your Liber Chaotica and achieve the Quasi Legend Rank by the time I come out. If you succeed and also study everything in those rings, I'll help you search for a powerful legendary vestige and become a legendary rank right away!"
Elia's eyes shone with surprise before determination flashed past them. With her first
clenched tightly, she promised, "I won't disappoint you, teacher!"
Jacob was pleased with Elia's behavior. At least she knew how to behave, unlike his other apprentice, Nyx, who was still showing no signs of awakening. He wondered just what kind of evolution she was going through after eating that entire soul farm!
Jacob then left with another stern warning, "Alright, I'm going back. If you have any questions, just write them down until I come out, and I'll answer them for you. But you absolutely can't leave this cave, or you'll die. This is not unique plains anymore!"