《洞真金房度命绿字回年三华宝曤内真上经》

The Supreme Lord of Proscribed Registers, who oversees the immortal registers and records of life in the Southern Pole, respectfully bowed before the Jade Emperor, the Heavenly Worthy of the Void Sovereign, the supreme deity of the celestial realm, and asked: On the seventh day of the seventh month at noon, in the Renwu year of the First Emperor’s reign, beneath the jeweled groves of the Purple Terrace in Fengjing, the realm of the Seven Treasures within the Jade Kingdom of the Heaven of Supreme Meditation, Goodness, and Immeasurable Life, I was fortunate to inherit the bloodline of the imperial house and to be born with an immortal root. After nine transformations, I formed an embryo in the Jade Ford, the numinous fluid of the immortal realm. The Three Elixir Fields displayed a scene of purity and clarity. On an auspicious day and at a propitious hour, I, from childhood, inherited the imperial lineage, looked up to the Nine Mysterious Heavens revered in Daoism, studied wondrous sacred scriptures, and longed for perfected beings and spirits. For many years I maintained ritual purity in the Jade Palace without interruption. After enduring years of cycles of tribulation and instruction, my name was entered in the Heavenly Emperor’s registers, and I was appointed to a high office, charged with overseeing and inspecting the myriad immortals. Yet I have still not received the chance to have the secrets for opening the way and transmitting the life-giving teaching revealed to me. Now my allotted time is nearly spent, and life cannot endure forever. I humbly ask you to bestow these precious secrets, so they may save and guide the worthy sages of generations to come.

At that time, the Lord of the Dao, the Empty August One, said to the Supreme Lord of Prohibitions, Chief of the Southern Pole: “The method of the Golden Chamber for extending life and turning back the years is secretly kept in the Great Being Palace above the Nine Heavens. It lies in a chamber of nine winding passages within the Golden Terrace and Jade Hall, where it is served by three thousand Jade Maidens who oversee the scriptures. This principle is wondrous and profound; even perfected beings of the middle rank, those whose cultivation is already advanced, cannot investigate it. Under the old precepts, it was transmitted only once in ten thousand kalpas.

“Cultivating this method makes you share a common root with the Nine Qi, shine with the Three Luminaries—the sun, moon, and stars—and endure as long as Heaven and Earth. Practicing it once brings the fluids in the stomach and bowels into free flow. Practicing it ten times makes the inner self lucid and clear, enabling you to converse with spirits. Practicing it a hundred times prolongs life and transforms you inwardly into a fetal immortal, a spirit being nurtured within the body. Practicing it a thousand times lets you soar through the air and ascend to the Shangqing realm. Practicing it ten thousand times completes your Dao practice: you take your place among the immortal ministers, ride the mists and traverse the void, and ascend to where the emperors dwell. Now I am revealing this method to you. Be sure to cultivate it with care.”

Thereupon, the Lord of the Dao, the Empty August One, commanded the Supreme Perfected Sima Dingxian, Registrar of the Five Elders’ Immortal Capital in the Upper Palace of Nanchang, to transmit the Upper Scripture of the Inner Perfected Ones: The Three Florescences and Treasured Radiance of the Green Characters for Turning Back the Years and Extending Life in the Golden Chamber to the Supreme Lord of Prohibitions, Chief of the Southern Pole, in a covenant rite. They swore their covenant and made their vows in the Heaven of Immeasurable Longevity.

In the first year of the Middle August era, this scripture was transmitted in turn to the Lord of the Supreme Origin of the Southern Pole, Master of Ten Thousand Beginnings, Perfected One of the Yellow Child, Immortal of Golden Radiance, Jade Maiden of Great Harmony, Lord of the Three Primordial Forces of Great Simplicity, Lord of the Golden Gate, and Lord of the Blue Child, Chief Minister. Today, one copy of the scripture is sealed away in Mount Emei. Anyone who receives such signs as the Mysterious Chart, the Emperor’s Bamboo Tablets, the Green Characters of Shangqing, or the Golden Bones and Jade Treasury should be able to obtain it. Yet only those born under the proper destiny—when the three cycles of fortune turn and the Nine Yangs arrive at their appointed time—who have received the primal imperial Qi, are destined to cultivate the true Dao, and already held an immortal register in a former life, can truly obtain the text. Whoever receives this scripture must treasure it and keep it secret, never spreading it carelessly.

In the Great Emperor’s Palace of the Numinous Capital dwell two hundred and forty thousand Supreme Perfected Immortals. They all have the scripture engraved on golden tablets, bound into volumes with silver, and written in purple ink. The immortals recite this passage together, their voices clear and resonant like jade striking jade, carrying across the Nine Heavens to communicate with spirits and bring forth numinous responses, restoring youthful radiance and turning back the years of one’s life. As they travel, pay homage, sing, and recite this scripture, its mystery surpasses that of the scriptures of the Dongzhen Cavern. This method can therefore prolong life and give the practitioner a common root with Heaven and Earth. Whoever obtains this Dao will in time become a supreme immortal.

This scripture is a jade text bestowed from Heaven, a wondrous and numinous work of the Great Emperor. Its principles are present throughout the human body, permeating and regulating all its hundred gates. Recite it once, and its subtle principles gradually become clear. Recite it ten times, and your appearance may grow young again. Recite it a hundred times, and an embryo immortal—a numinous being cultivated within the body—may come to life within you. Recite it a thousand times, and you may leave the body and ascend to immortality while sitting or standing. Recite it ten thousand times, and your Dao practice will be perfected, enabling you to ascend to Heaven in broad daylight.

Observe the fasting precepts for a long time, cultivate in seclusion, and distance yourself from worldly turmoil; then the Dao will descend, and you can ascend to immortality without counting the days. If someone sincerely reveres this Dao but cannot yet withdraw from the world and practice in seclusion, they may remain among ordinary people and regularly cleanse the mind and observe ritual abstinence in a quiet room, burn incense, and bow and recite this numinous text morning and evening. This can dispel calamities and avert all manner of hardship, dissolve misfortune in the Upper Palace—the celestial realm—and erase karmic offenses from the Ninefold Yin, the underworld. After accumulating ten thousand responses through practice, one can ascend to the Cloud Chamber, the realm of immortals.

Anyone who practices the Dao of “delivering life” should choose their own birth-year day, the day of the Grand Tai Sui, a Jiazi day, or one of the Eight Seasonal Nodes: the Beginning of Spring, Spring Equinox, Beginning of Summer, Summer Solstice, Beginning of Autumn, Autumn Equinox, Beginning of Winter, or Winter Solstice. Enter a room facing east. Regulate and draw in the breath nine times while visualizing the Great Emperor Lord, the celestial deity to whom you offer devotion, then bow. Next, turn south, draw in the breath nine times, visualize the True Lord of the Southern Pole, and bow. Turn west, draw in the breath nine times, visualize the Lord of Long Life of the Three Heavens, and bow. Turn north, draw in the breath nine times, visualize the High and Supreme Emperor of the Void, and bow. Alternatively, remain facing east, bow inwardly to the four directions, and draw in the breath.

When this is done, face the direction of your birth-year branch, click your teeth thirty-six times, and swallow the breath thirty-six times. Then face the direction of the Grand Tai Sui, draw in the breath and swallow it twenty-four times. Afterward, turn north and recite the scripture. Each set of ten recitations counts as one round; after each round, take one Golden Chamber Talisman for Preserving Life. Take ten talismans for ten recitations, in proportion to the number of recitations.

This practice can connect you with the spirits and bring a response from the Perfected Ones, so that it is as if you can see the eight directions while seated. It regulates all the body’s hundred gates, allowing numinous Qi to enter every joint. When the myriad breaths have gathered, you can attain long life: your lifespan will endure as long as Heaven and Earth, and you will share the longevity of the sun, moon, and stars. Finally, face north and hold the scripture. Click your teeth thirty-six times, and visualize five-colored purple clouds filling the room, making everything within and beyond it dim and deep. Then softly recite the spell:

The boundless, wondrous Ninefold Primordial Qi, the source from which all things are generated layer by layer in Daoist teaching, arises from the Supreme Dao and gives birth to the Upper Origin, the highest heaven in the Daoist cosmos. The three celestial tiers revolve in luminous emptiness, clear as jade. After five cycles, clouds that grant deliverance and prolong life rise up; within the imperial realm of the nine heavens, the years of one’s life turn back. Only after the text has been recited ten thousand times does the Daoist method become manifest. How vast and desolate is the realm of the Great Wilderness! One should steady the mind and visualize the Lord Emperor One, a revered Daoist deity, merging and resonating with him within the Golden Chamber, the dwelling of perfected immortals. Through embryonic breathing, a cultivation method of still, regulated breath, one quiets all the body’s gates and passages. When this is complete, one recites the scripture.

Within the Golden Chamber dwell the Perfected Ones, Daoist immortals who have attained the Way. They manifest in the Jade Realm and give rise to precious immortal lands. Soft purple clouds unfurl and spread across the ninefold Mysterious Heavens, coalescing into a naturally formed terrace of fine jade. Jade towers and golden gates stand on either side, while flowing rosy light and cinnabar-colored clouds guard the numinous perfected beings. Vast, bright green spiritual radiance shines upon the Middle Dantian, the body’s central energy center. Above rise the nine heavens; below lie ten thousand-zhang-deep valleys and hidden springs. The immortals gather at the cavern gate and together bring forth the source of cloud Qi. There are three thousand Jade Maidens and three thousand immortal youths, each holding cloths and serving the incense, sending up purple smoke; hundreds and thousands of immortals assemble in groups. Clad in orderly ritual robes, they recite wondrous sacred scriptures and circulate through the Golden Chamber, thereby turning back the years of life. The Three Treasures of Radiant Blossoms, symbols of sacred light, shine through all things. With every ten recitations, one can ascend to the Upper Origin; only after swallowing the numinous talisman is the rite complete.

Quiet the mind and visualize the workings of the five organs and the hundred gates throughout the body. Each gate and aperture has its own spirit:

Taiwei Little Lad faces the True Emperor and settles at the root of the tongue, keeping the source of saliva flowing freely. Taiyi Wuyou governs important speech and resides close beneath the Jade Pillow, beside the Mudball Palace. The Banner of Brahma-Life belonging to Lord Emperor Lingyang circles and rests between the eyebrows. Young Lord Yuanying guards the vital energy of the numinous immortals, arising beneath the left armpit, behind the liver. Dongyang Yuling is Baiyuan, who settles beneath the right armpit. The four upright spirits each guard their own place.

The Elder Lord of the Central Directorate of Life governs the registers of names and grants life to the cultivator. Mingchu also governs the registers of names and protects and guides the cultivator’s body. Guarding and refining the Crimson Palace—the palace of the heart—allows life to endure. Lord Tao Junkang harmonizes essence and Qi, lengthening the years of life. The spirits settle in turn in the palaces below, filling the body’s numinous roots.

The Red Child of the Celestial Emperor is foremost among the spirits of the Three Origins. He dwells within the Mudball Palace, before the nine apertures. The Cinnabar Emperor Yunzhu is the spirit of the Crimson Palace, residing beside the Great Vertebra at the nape of the neck. Yuanwang Shiming is innate to Nature itself; he settles around the body and is connected with the mouth. The Eight Perfected gather the divine light and join in the Way of the Nine Mysteries, settling in the field at the center of the spine. The Seven Perfected Xuanyang protect life and reside between the Jade Pass and the right kidney.

Communing with the spirits allows the Qi of life to flow through the body and saliva to become abundant. The Six Perfected Shangyuan are linked with purple mist and dwell inside and outside the head. The Five Perfected Yangguang employ the method of the Three Origins; they reside within the throat and govern the wondrous texts. The Four Perfected Qingming restore youthful looks and dwell in the stomach, bringing joy to the myriad spirits. The Three Perfected Huangning have a complexion red as cinnabar and reside between the nostrils, opening communication with the hidden apertures. The Two Perfected Jianyu breathe fragrance like orchids and dwell in the Great Granary—the stomach—keeping the body safe and unharmed. The One Perfected, Celestial Essence, has a settled and peaceful spirit and Qi; dwelling in the chest, he presides over the forces of life.

All these spirits wear brocade robes and flowing blue-green skirts. They prolong the cultivator’s life and seal the Gate of Death. Visualize them carefully and recite the numinous text: after reciting it ten times, one will grasp its meaning. This practice not only lengthens life but also enables ascent to the realm of the Nine Mysteries.

The True Taboo Names of the Nine Nines are used to bind and command the spirits and Qi. Inscribe one in the left ear, and the ear spirit becomes keen and intelligent, as though able to hear in secret from ten thousand li away and enter boundless realms. The august station of the Immortal Emperor in the palace mansion appears in radiant profusion, causing the recipient’s destiny to accord with the talismanic covenant. The taboo name of the soul of Huangyi is “Shang Guixi.” Inscribe it in the right ear, and it can govern the myriad affairs, discerning every kind of sound, even faint noises difficult to detect. When the three unite as one, their radiance shines forth together.

The taboo name of the Lady of Purple Plain, the goddess who presides over the Qi of Purple Plain, is “Yi Yu.” Inscribe it on the head and face, and the face will shine with brilliance. Breathe in the Qi of the Five Dawn Hours and swallow the essence of the sun and moon; when numinous mushrooms abound, hunger and thirst will cease.

The taboo name of the Lady of Yellow Plain is “Yuan Hua.” Inscribe it on the chest and abdomen, and a protective Qi like a net of clouds will form. She can command the Northern Emperor, inspect the celestial demons, keep the practitioner upright and true, and protect the immortal realm of the Void Emperor.

The taboo name of the Lady of White Plain is “Qi Ming.” Inscribe it at the lower gate, and it will secure the Great Numinous One. The nine orifices will be opened upward and made clear and bright. She can also bind and gather the hun and po souls, enabling one to live long.

The taboo name of the Director of Destiny in the Sun, the deity who governs lifespan, is “Jie Sheng.” Inscribe it on the left hand, and the Four Greats will become luminous. The Five Blossoms will protect one’s true nature and settle it in an immortal palace among the clouds. Draw in the essence of the sun and moon, and swallow primordial essence; this can extend one’s lifespan and turn back the years, until the allotted span of Heaven is exhausted.

The taboo name of the Peach Lord in the Moon is “Fang Ying.” Inscribe it on the right hand, and one can set the Dipper stars in motion, take hold of the Mysterious Ropes, and command the Five Numinous Ones. After passing through the sequence of four times seven, the taboo name reaches the Heavenly Court. Circle around three times, and one enters the realm of pure clarity.

The taboo name of the Youth of the Left Eye is “Fei Ling.” Inscribe it in the left eye, and the Yang light will become bright, clear, and penetrating, extending into the boundless realm where one may behold Jade Clarity. Its radiance blazes like the might of Heaven, as though a shooting star were streaking across the sky.

The taboo name of the Youth of the Right Eye is “Chen Ying.” Inscribe it in the right eye, and the Yin essence will shine inwardly, illuminating the Heavenly Gate and overseeing the Imperial Court. It will become spacious and clear, as though one were traveling on an expedition, riding the Qi of the Three Dawn Hours.

The taboo name of the Youth in the Lungs is “Su Ming.” Inscribe it at the Lung Gate, and both the interior and exterior will become clear. The wandering hun and po souls will be guided back to Huang Ning, while the imperial and immortal palaces are inspected and governed, so that their Qi is neither depleted nor excessive.

The One Primordial One in the womb is called “Wuxuanzi,” and the essential soul of the Great One is called “Xuanguizi.” Inscribe their taboo names in the Five Viscera and the throat, and they will preserve the spirit and secure the Qi, making one immortal. The Lord of Qi in the knot of the body is called “Yanchang,” and the essential soul of the Lord Wu is called “Baogu Tong.” Inscribe their names in the Great Stomach Palace of the Five Viscera, enabling it to receive and hold the body’s fluids and nourish the Qi of nascent life. The essences of Vermilion Flowers, Jade Mushrooms, and other such substances will then be naturally abundant.

The Black Qi within the joints is called “Sheng Binlai,” and the taboo name of the essential soul of the True Emperor is “Youtai.” Inscribe these names in the nine intestines, and they will govern the body in all four directions. Understand and maintain this true method, and you may live without limit.

The Yellow Qi within the womb is called “Zumingche.” It governs together with the Emperor and dwells with him in one chamber; its essential soul regulates the guiding principles and safeguards hidden immortal books. Why not focus your mind on contemplating the Mysterious Void? Practice this ten thousand times, and you will naturally be ready to ascend to Heaven in a cloud chariot.

The Red Qi in the blood is called “Hun Lizi,” and the essential soul of the Director of Destiny is called “Fa Niuzi.” These two deities together fill and protect the body’s hundred passes, harmonizing its Qi and fluids and guarding its physical form. Understand this method, and you will never die; the lifespan you gain will begin at ten thousand years.

The Father of the Upper Origin is called “Gao Tongsheng,” and the Mysterious Mother of the Lower Mystery is called “Shu Huowang.” Inscribe their names below the womb’s pouch, in the Hall of Light. The Great One dwells in profound mystery and commands the Mysterious Ropes; the Emperor, august and upright, responds to them.

The taboo name of the Great Emperor’s essential soul is “Yangtai.” The Qi of the void in the eight directions revolves and forms the Way, supporting the luminous radiance. The Emperor’s soul meets with no obstruction; they dwell together in one chamber and jointly fill and protect the Great Abyssal Palace where one’s destiny resides. When the Seven Spirits unite and respond to one another, setting the luminous Qi of the beams in motion, they can turn back one’s allotted years and prolong life without end.

The taboo name of the Three Plain Old Lords is “Lao Zhang.” They can refine the eight paths and guide one into the land of immortals. Zuo Xian Zhongcheng dwells at the center, while You Xian Quwen stands beside him, facing him. The three spirits unite in numinous power and abide within the human body.

The Mysterious One Laozi is called “Lin Xuling.” Within the Mysterious Gate, a pure breeze whispers, bringing coolness and peace. The Black Emperor Baocheng fills and guards the bladder; the White Emperor Anlai dwells in the scrotum; the Red Emperor Laijue occupies the mouth; and the Green Emperor Diaoliang guards the palace of the Five Viscera. The Five Emperors, the Two Elders, and the two Immortal Kings together protect the practitioner’s body and cause it to rise into the cloud-filled heavens.

The Imperial Lord of the Upper Origin diligently cultivates essence and Qi. The deity of the Crimson Palace makes the middle region bright and firm, while the deity of the Lower Court returns to the luminous place above. The True Lords of the Three Ones guard the practitioner’s body, each filling and protecting one palace so that the Qi and essence within are abundant. If you diligently contemplate these spirits, you may gain long life: not only will you avoid death, but you will also ascend to Jade Clarity.

The father of the True Lord, the One Emperor, is called “Ning Zai.” The essence of the mother, together with these two deities, keeps watch over the practitioner’s lifespan, filling and protecting the inside of the body at the places connected to the passes of death. The various spirits are arranged above and below and serve one another. So long as they do not leave their respective palaces, they will remain there forever. If the practitioner regularly recites this formula, they will be able to see the Red Child, the symbol of the body’s original spirit.

Countless breaths merge and condense into a perfected immortal. The celestial troops in every division also fill your manifested body—the body of the recipient of the teaching. Contemplate this scene carefully and keep it in mind; in time, you will understand the distinctions within it. Through prolonged fasting and the accumulation of spiritual responses, you will be able to see the perfected immortal. The perfected immortal will then transmit to you the Scroll of the Golden Chamber for Returning to Youth. Your name will be entered in the Heavenly Emperor’s register because you have long been destined to follow the immortal Dao. Yet all depends on diligent devotion and aspiration; it does not come of itself.

Recite the scripture ten times, and all the myriad spirits will rejoice. Within three years, the Dao will appear before you: you will see the perfected immortal take form in the Purple Chamber, a purple palace within the body or in the abode of the immortals, and speak to you. A green immortal carriage and a flying-cloud pavilion will also descend. You will feast and wander among the Five Sacred Peaks, travel to the Palace of the Imperial Dawn, pay your respects to the Jade Emperor of the Great Void, a revered Daoist deity, bow in homage, and then attain immortality.

After finishing the recitation, visualize purple Qi arising spontaneously within the room, dense and layered, and entering your body through your nose, mouth, and ears. At the same time, feel your body grow slightly warm. Then draw in the Qi through your mouth, swallow it in thirty-nine portions, and softly recite this incantation:

“Countless breaths merge to form the palace where the spirits dwell. May each fill its own palace, making the breath pure and clear. May the deathly breath of the thirty-nine orifices be dispelled, and may names and words be inscribed in books of gold slips and green characters. Joy and celebration arrive in abundance, and blessings are plentiful. The spirits ascend the Golden Tower, ride cloud chariots, and rise to heaven.”

All who have their names entered on the Heavenly Emperor’s golden slips, recorded in purple characters in the registers of the immortals of Highest Clarity, and who receive this scripture are people of exceptional destiny from former lives, destined to become immortals. Their names are entered in the register of the Azure Palace, the administrative court of the immortal realm. They are granted thirty-six Jade Youths and thirty-six Jade Maidens, who serve and oversee the Jade Scriptures and also protect those who practice this scripture. Those who practice this Daoist method must not tread on unclean ground or eat the five pungent plants—strongly scented, spicy vegetables—or fish and meat with their rank odor. Otherwise, they will offend the spirits hidden within the body, damage their true Qi, and violate the precepts of cultivation, making it impossible to become immortal.

Jade Talisman of the Golden Chamber for Deliverance from Fate and Return to Youth: Upper Perfected Form

On each of your natal days—the day and month matching your birth date—write the talisman in blue pigment on white paper. Face toward the royal direction, associated with kings and imperial lords, and swallow one talisman. Then enter your room and recite the Inner Perfected Scripture of the Golden Chamber once. The talisman must be written according to the prescribed form; take one each time.

After swallowing one hundred talismans, the Upper Origin—the vital essence, Qi, and spirit in the upper part of the body—will flow freely, the hundred passes throughout the body will open and shine, deathly Qi will disperse, and the spirits will gather. After swallowing one thousand talismans, the True Lord of the Upper Origin will appear in the Muddy Pellet, the spirit palace in the head, and in visualization the practitioner will seem able to converse with the spirits. After swallowing ten thousand talismans, numinous Qi will fill the hundred passes, true Qi will enter every aperture of the body, and the Red Child, a spirit symbolizing the pure life force within, will rejoice. Your devotion will reach the Sovereign of the Void, a revered deity of the celestial realm; the perfected immortal will descend, the Northern Emperor, deity who governs the underworld, will remove your name from the register of the dead, and the Southern Palace, the celestial court that governs the prolonging of life, will extend your years. The virtues of the Three Luminaries—the sun, moon, and stars—will come into harmony, and you will share the same root as Heaven and Earth.

Jade Talisman of the Golden Chamber for Deliverance from Fate and Return to Youth: Middle Perfected Form

At each of the eight seasonal nodes—Beginning of Spring, Spring Equinox, Beginning of Summer, Summer Solstice, Beginning of Autumn, Autumn Equinox, Beginning of Winter, and Winter Solstice—write on white paper with red ink and swallow one talisman while facing the direction associated with that seasonal node. Enter a quiet chamber and recite the Jinfang Neizhen Jing (Scripture of the Inner Perfected Ones of the Golden Chamber) once. Then draw another talisman according to the prescribed method and swallow it. After swallowing one hundred talismans, you can open the Central Origin—the divine Qi in the middle of the body—so that the apertures and gateways throughout the body receive numinous Qi and become clear within and without. After swallowing one thousand, the True Lord of the Central Origin will appear in the Crimson Palace, the palace within which the heart resides. During visualization, his image will be faintly visible, seeming both present and absent. This enables one to preserve the body of an infant and return to youthful vigor. After swallowing ten thousand, the numinous root will be filled, and the apertures throughout the body will receive the Real. The stomach will become clear and connect upward to Taiwei in the heavens, summoning a purple cloud chariot to descend. Beifeng, the northern realm of the dead, will erase one’s name from the register of the deceased, while the Southern Palace, which governs life, will enter one’s name in the register of the living. The person will embody the same De as Heaven and Earth, and resonate together with the numinous Qi of the Three Luminaries—the sun, moon, and stars.

The True Jade Talisman for Extending Life and Renewing the Years in the Golden Chamber

On each day of the Grand Year or Jiazi day, write on white paper with yellow ink and swallow one talisman while facing the direction of the Grand Year. Enter a quiet chamber and recite the Jinfang Neizhen Jing once. Then draw another talisman according to the prescribed method and swallow it. After swallowing one hundred talismans, the Ninefold Numinous Qi will nourish the Hidden Gate of the Lower Origin—the divine Qi in the lower part of the body. The apertures and gateways throughout the body will become clear, the myriad forms of Qi will return to unity, and the body will become transparent within and without. After swallowing one thousand, the True Lord of the Lower Origin will appear faintly. After completing ten thousand, the Dao arts will be perfected, numinous Qi will gather everywhere, and deathly Qi will be dispelled. The body will rise up and become immortal. One will resonate with the Highest Perfected Ones, and Yuchen, the celestial realm of immortals, will descend. Life will be prolonged and youth restored; one will share a common root with the sun and moon, fly through space, and ascend to Dichen in the heavens.

Whenever drawing a talisman, face the King Above, the Lord of the Northern Dipper, and knock the teeth together thirty-six times. Raise the head and pray:

“May the Heavenly Numinous flourish in glory; may the nine apertures be solemn, still, and clear. May the five sense organs and six viscera be bright with divine Qi. May the Three Origins be secure and the myriad forms of Qi abundant. May the Golden Chamber extend life and the green characters restore life. May the nine apertures be refined and nourished, and may one ascend to the Great Purity. May the Three Luminaries—the sun, moon, and stars—shine together in brilliance, and Heaven and Earth be united. May one fly through the Mysterious Void and roam in leisure in the Purple Court.”

When the prayer is finished, swallow the Qi forty-six times, then swallow the talisman.

To practice the Way of prolonging life and restoring youth, on each Gui day among the six Gui days, take one hu of water from the Northern Spring. On the day corresponding to your birth-year stem and branch, take one jin each of bai zhi, peach bark, and a certain kind of leaf, combine them, and boil them. Bathe when the water has cooled to a suitable temperature. Before entering the bath, face the direction corresponding to your birth-year stem and branch and knock your teeth together nine times. Visualize three Jade Youths standing on your left with bath towels, and two Jade Maidens on your right holding incense. A purple-cloud canopy covers and surrounds you from before and behind. Then pray softly:

Heaven and earth become clear and transparent. Filth is washed away and dust removed; the nine forms are refined and transformed, allowing body and spirit to return to Great Perfection—the state of pure, original nature. The hundred apertures throughout the body absorb numinous Qi, every joint is renewed, and the clear, empty Qi shines within and without. Practice on an auspicious day and at a propitious hour, and you can prolong life and regain lost years.

Jade youths and maidens hold towels for me; Dark Clouds and Purple Canopies place a crown on my head and fasten my sash, granting me long life and making me share a common root with heaven and earth.

When the invocation is complete and you have bathed, return indoors and lie with your head facing east. Take powder and apply it over your entire body, covering every part. Then rub your palms together until they are warm and wipe your face fourteen times with them, reciting softly:

“The Dark Qi of heaven is pure and clear; my body is now clean and refined. Dust and filth have all dispersed. I receive numinous Qi layer upon layer, so that my appearance may change and my childhood form be restored.”

When the invocation is complete, guide the Qi thirty-six times and swallow it, then stop.

Practice this method for three years, and all your old skin will shed. Your bones will be renewed, your body will shine with the luster of jade, and your face will glow like gold. This is a wondrous method among the many Daoist arts, and it must not be passed on to those who lack sincere intent. It is said that careless disclosure will bring punishment upon seven generations of one’s ancestors, while the practitioner will remain for a long time in the offices of the spirits. Those who study the Dao should practice it in secret; only then may they hope to become immortals.

Those who receive the Way of “Restoring Life and Regaining Years” must observe its ritual procedures. Both teacher and disciple should fast for nine days, though they may instead fast for three or five. The silk used for the covenant oath should measure one chi for each year of age. Each golden effigy—a metal figure made to represent and stand in for oneself—should weigh two liang and four zhu. One must also swear an oath to the Nine Heavens, using the effigy as a token representing the body. It is said that if one practices without swearing the oath, the Daoist art will not respond, and one’s thoughts will not awaken to efficacy. Those who violate the ritual procedures and prohibitions will be punished by the Right Office, whose officials in the Daoist divine administration oversee penalties. Those who practice this method should conduct themselves with care and discernment.

The Perfected of the Western City transmitted the method to Wei Huacun at Yangluo Palace. One copy of the scripture is now sealed away on Yangluo Mountain.

This concludes the Upper Scripture of the Inner Truth of the Three Flowered Radiances, the Green Characters for Restoring Life and Regaining Years, and the Golden Chamber of the Dongzhen Cavern.