Nyx's consciousness sunk into a meditative-like state, forgetting the aches and pains of her body as time lost all meaning, not that she had a method to tell the time anyway.

Minutes quickly turned to hours and, before long, an entire day had passed by since the fat man had left.

If Nyx were awake, she would have started to worry, knowing that death by starvation was anything but pleasant, yet her current state had a slight advantage. With her reduced heartbeat and life functions, the energy Nyx's body burnt through was significantly reduced, entering something similar to a comatose state.

This wasn't the only benefit to her current environment.

Due to the cell shrouded in darkness, dark essence not only recovered at an increased rate, but it also held a more concentrated amount of pure energy further aiding Nyx. However, even though the amount of essence increased, it was still a drop in the ocean for what Nyx needed, and she often had to stop and refine the energy she had while waiting for the surroundings to recover.

Also, while not enough to offset the cost of living, the essence she absorbed even aided her the recovery of her body without consuming precious resources.

Time continued to flow as temptation continuously whispered in Nyx's ears, trying to lure her towards the traditional, tried and tested paths of cultivation. However, Nyx's mind wasn't so easily changed, and without a moment's hesitation, she continued only to absorb the purest dark essence.

If other cultivators were to see Nyx's self-made technique, they would be shocked silly. Wondering whether Nyx was a heaven-defying genius or an insane woman with a death wish.

It wasn't easy to create a new cultivation technique, even for peerless masters, yet Nyx had been forced to practice the many different methods of her multiple hosts, and so, had far more experience than those who only practice one or two during their entire lifetimes.

While she had only developed the first stage of a cultivation technique, what Nyx was doing would create the foundation of her future. She ensured that not only would it just absorb dark essence, but it would also expel all others. Something previously unheard of.

By only focusing on one elemental essence, any dark technique or art that Nyx used would be unimaginably more powerful, the method she was creating had severe, far-reaching, handicaps which were why no one would have even contemplated doing it, let alone practice.

The largest by far was that to break into a realm; a cultivator would need to have a significant comprehension of the elements that existed within them.

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With multiple essences co-existing, the understanding required for each element would be drastically reduced, making the breakthrough countless times easier. Oppositely, if there were only one element, the cultivation would need to understand it in depth to have any chance of progress.

The other reason was that for each minor rank, the stages between realms, not only was it harder to gather the essence required to progress, but the amount needed would be at least quadruple of one's peers.

The amount that was needed could become so extreme that at a certain point, at least in theory, when Nyx reached a certain level, no matter if she were a gifted prodigy or not, she would enter a bottleneck that she could never surpass without a heaven-defying encounter.

Still, it wasn't all bad. Nyx would be unbeatable in her rank, and if the opponent didn't have excessively powerful tools or techniques, defeating those a few levels higher wasn't a far-fetched dream.

However, in a world where the powerful ruled, where most died before they had reached their limit and so, it wasn't recommended to take a path they would probably never reach the end of, with Nyx's increasingly difficult cultivation, it was easy to see why people would consider her insane.

What Nyx was attempting could be considered similar to purposefully crippling her future cultivation, wasting time, the most critical thing for a cultivator, for the tiniest immediate benefit.

Even with all these facts, at least in regards to what people believed, Nyx wasn't discouraged. She had understood that the cultivation technique or environment wasn't hugely important, but the natural disposition of the soul. And in regards to the soul, like the majority of the others trapped in the abyss, there wasn't a mortal expert alive who understood it better than Nyx.

She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that her soul had a complete affinity for the darkness element. It was so potent, that during Nyx's previous lives, whenever she attempted to use any martial art or ability that relied on a different element as a base, it's effects would be reduced by at least half, if not more.

In comparison, in the field of dark cultivation and abilities, primarily when the environment was in her favour, Nyx had never met anyone who was her equal.

This was one of the reasons why, unlike the other fodder called from the abyss, Nyx wasn't used on the front lines but as a tool of assassination.

This affinity, as well as the strong sense of comfort Nyx had when in the abyss or surrounded by darkness, was actually the reason she had chosen her current name.

However, even with this, her soul affinity wasn't the deciding factor.

Unlike all the previous powerful bodies Nyx had inhabited, already ingrained in their particular path and methods, this one had never cultivated and so, was like a blank slate.

This fact alone gave Nyx an unprecedented opportunity to try out the idea that had been bubbling at the back of her mind for many years, even if it was a considerable disadvantage in her current situation.

However, even if she absorbed and cultivated like everyone else, there was no way that she would be able to gain enough strength and power to affect the situation in a positive manner.

The best it would do would be to raise their guard, destroying a golden opportunity and making everything else much more difficult.

With this in mind what Nyx knew what she needed to do was prepare for the future.