But whether it was dangerous or not, he had to try.
Cultivators pursued the Dao through constant trial and exploration. They needed a heart set on seeking the laws of heaven and earth and the Dao Laws of all things.
Left Path Thaumaturgy was another expression of the Great Dao's laws, so the same principle applied.
Mo Hua pondered for a moment, calmed himself, and took out paper and brush. He began sorting through and building a set of rules for Thaumaturgy that belonged to him alone.
First, he was not a true Alchemist.
Mo Hua knew that perfectly well, so there was no need to follow every rule Alchemists observed in cultivation and casting.
He could dispense with the unnecessary, cumbersome forms of Thaumaturgy altogether.
Mo Hua did not understand many of its mysteries, but judging by what he currently knew of Thaumaturgy...
Casting it required a tangible "Material Medium" and a specific "ritual." The purpose was to extract intangible Thought Power from the tangible material world, form it into unseen Cursed Power, and use that to attack, maim, or curse others to death.
The essence of the ritual was to bring about a "qualitative change" in Thought Power.
The Thought Power of ordinary cultivators, demonic beasts, and other living beings could grow in quantity, but it never changed in nature. It could not be refined into Cursed Power for use in Thaumaturgy.
That was why a ritual had to subject humans, demonic beasts, or other living beings to cruel torment and slaughter.
Immense pain, the fear of death, and endless despair forced a living being's Thought Power to undergo a warped "mutation," producing the qualitatively transformed "Cursed Power."
Intangible Cursed Power often possessed a killing force beyond common sense.
Thus, for Alchemists, the Material Medium and ritual were