《九转灵砂大丹》

The Great Elixir of Nine-Cycle Numinous Cinnabar

The Method of Roasting Numinous Cinnabar

The ingredients are one jin of mercury and four liang of sulfur. Take a new iron pot and wash it clean with water. Prepare a brazier, set three small bricks upon it, and rest the iron pot on top of them. Warm the bottom of the pot with a modest charcoal fire, then rub the pot with yellow wax so that its surface becomes slick. The iron spatula must likewise be heated and rubbed with wax to lubricate it.

First place the sulfur in the pot and melt it into a liquid, then add the mercury. Two people sit facing each other, bracing the rim of the pot, and stir continuously with the iron spatula. Should yellow fumes arise, sprinkle a little rice vinegar over the mixture and wait until the smoke ceases before resuming the stirring. The original text goes on to say that once the mixture has coalesced into a solid mass, it is removed and pounded with a willow-wood mallet, or else ground fine in a mill; it is then returned to the pot and roasted until it takes on the color of a blue-green brick. The roasting lasts approximately three double-hours. When the process is judged complete, the sublimated cinnabar will have become firm. Finally it is scraped out, ground fine, and passed through a sieve; the product is called “green-gold head powder.”

The Method of Building the Furnace

First choose a yang day and construct a furnace from a dozen or more earthen bricks. The furnace stands two chi high, round above and square below, with a wooden board laid at its base. The interior is calculated to hold about five jin of charcoal; the furnace chamber itself is one chi five cun high. Beneath the chamber, seven iron rods form a grate, and below this grate a space five cun high is left as an air vent. The air vent is to be sealed with mud and used only after the mud has dried.

The Method of Casting the Ding

A pair of “water-fire ding” is cast from pig iron, with a combined height of one chi two cun. The fire ding stands eight cun high; the diameter of its inner interlocking rim exceeds five cun, and the overall width including the rim and interlocking edge is one chi; the bottom of the ding is five fen thick. The water ding stands four cun high, with a bottom two fen thick. The original text states that the molten iron for casting the water-fire ding should be melted in a large iron-smelting furnace, and that the interlocking rims where the two vessels meet must fit together with a tight seal.

Here the “ding” refers to the metal vessel employed in the refining process; the “interlocking rim” (zikou) is the fitted edge used when two vessels are joined together.

The Method of Sublimating the Cinnabar

At this point the original text lists only the heading “Method of Sublimating the Cinnabar” and supplies no further content.

First place the water-fire ding (the inner and outer layered vessels used for alchemy) into a large pot, surround it with yellow clay mixed with water, boil for a time, then remove, wash clean and dry thoroughly. Next mix ink with rice vinegar and coat the inner walls of the fire ding together with the bottom of the water ding; fumigate with dendrobium and mugwort leaves, wait until the vessels cool, and set them stably in place.

Gently introduce the previously prepared qingjin toumo (the alchemical raw material) into the fire ding, packing it loosely without filling it completely and leaving a space from the bottom of the water ding. Then mix vinegar with red mugwort leaves and fumigate again; after cooling, add further qingjin toumo according to the original instructions. Seal the mouth of the ding with red stone fat mixed with vinegar, cover with the water ding and press firmly, then bind the inner and outer dings with iron wire. Apply a layer of liuyi yan ni (the sealing mud used in alchemy) around the outside of the ding mouth and suspend the assembly over the furnace with iron hooks and hemp rope.

Lay hard charcoal and kindling in the furnace and start the fire as directed in the original text, beginning with a gentler flame and gradually increasing its intensity. Add warm water to the water ding; when it boils, keep replenishing with cold water so that it does not overflow. Gradually bring the ding closer to the fire until the fuel is exhausted. After the furnace has cooled overnight, remove the vessel, strip away the sealing mud and chisel it open, collect the lingsha (the alchemical product) that has formed on the bottom of the water ding, wrap it and store it.

The text further describes the operations of heating, sealing and cooling the vessels. Such ancient alchemical processes involve high temperatures and possibly toxic substances and should not be attempted.

Take one or two jin of lingsha (a raw material for elixir refining) and chisel it into pieces the size of large soybeans. Sew a long bag from clean fine hemp cloth, place the lingsha inside, and tie the mouth of the bag tightly.

Obtain a large porcelain bottle that can hold about five sheng of water. Burn mulberry wood into ash, allow it to cool, and measure out one dou. First spread a layer of summer cloth across the bottom of a basket, place the ash on top, and moisten it with boiling water. Then, for every dou of ash, slowly pour two dou of cold water into the basket to leach and filter it. It is better to use somewhat less water so that the resulting ash juice is thicker. Pour the ash juice into the bottle, set it in a brazier, and simmer it over charcoal until it boils. Next hang the cloth bag containing the lingsha in the middle of the bottle; this is called “xuantai” (suspended fetus). Simmer over a small fire until bubbles the size of crab eyes appear. After cooking for seven fu shi (an original term whose precise duration is not specified), bring it to a rolling boil two or three times, remove the lingsha from the cloth bag, and dry it in the sun. This procedure is called “kunfa” (the confining method).

Making silver pearls

Take about twenty liang of hua silver and first place it in a pool of black lead ash to fry and refine until the silver is extremely pure. Then put it into a crucible and melt it into silver juice. Take a handful of fresh bamboo tips, tie them together with their leaves into a bundle, and lay the bundle horizontally inside a large porcelain vat. Slowly pour the silver juice onto the bamboo bundle while rapidly shaking the vat; the silver juice will condense into fine pearls the size of millet grains. If the pearls are too large, remelt them and pour again. It is preferable to select the smaller silver pearls for use.

Method of the First-Turn Initial True Elixir

Prepare a box cast from raw iron; it may also be forged from wrought iron.

The original text at this point repeats the section on making silver pearls and does not fully provide the subsequent refining steps.

First cast a box from pig iron, or forge one from wrought iron. The box should hold about twenty taels of silver pearls. Mix white clay with rice vinegar and coat the inner walls of the box to a thickness of about one fen, then let it dry in the sun. Place one jin of silver pearls and four taels of boiled numinous cinnabar inside, laying them down in successive layers at a four-to-one ratio, as one plants lotus seeds, until the box is full. Cover the mouth with Kunlun paper; if any space remains at the top, pack it tightly with sun-dried, pulverized yellow earth. Seal the mouth with red halloysite mixed with vinegar and bind it firmly with iron wire crossed over the lid.

Coat the outside of the box with paper fiber and numinous clay to a thickness of about half a finger, dry it in the sun, and set it in an ash vat to be heated. Take a separate narrow-mouthed vat that will hold about nine dou of ash. Spread three cun of yellow earth across the bottom, then set a small three-legged iron stand five cun high with its legs pointing upward, and rest the elixir box securely on the top of the stand so that it does not tilt. Bury the elixir box in the ash of burned spirit-money. Place a large iron frame over the whole arrangement and weave a grid of iron wire across the frame. The grid should stand about one finger’s breadth from the elixir box; build the fire on the grid and cover the fire with five cun of ash.

Add and reduce the fire at the Mao and You hours (dawn and dusk), continuing for two times seven fu-periods. The text then says, “two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight are all double numbers,” and the concrete method of reckoning time follows the original account in that form. When the time is complete, wait until the vessels have cooled, then take out the elixir box and open it. The refined sand should have the color of new iron. Split a piece with a knife; if there is no red color inside, the elixir is fully matured. If red still remains, the fire was uneven and the product cannot be used. In that case reseal the box and nourish it again by the same method for three fu-periods, using a fire slightly stronger than before; it will then come to completion.

Pick out the refined silver pearls and store them separately. If this sand is to be refined into a treasure, take one tael of the sand and one tael of black lead and decoct them together in an ash bath. Each tael of sand will yield eight qian of true silver. Preserve it with care and keep it for the further refinement of the Great Medicine.

Method of the Second Transmutation of the Orthodox Yang Elixir

The previous method takes sixteen liang of Initial True Elixir to serve as the kui (a vessel or matrix for containing and refining the elixir). Take one jin of lingsha that has been boiled in mulberry juice and proceed according to the earlier method: first take four liang and refine it together with the elixir kui, placing both in the ash pool to decoct jointly. Each liang of lingsha yields eight qian of true silver. The obtained true silver should be carefully preserved for continued refinement of the Great Medicine.

Method of the Second Transmutation of the Orthodox Yang Elixir

Take sixteen liang of Initial True Elixir to make the kui. Take one jin of lingsha boiled in mulberry juice; first take four liang and place it in the elixir kui according to the previous method, arranging it in layers according to the “planting lotus seeds” method. Fill the box layer by layer in a four-part proportion, one portion per layer, then seal it according to the previous method. After sun-drying, place it in the ash vat, set it on a tripod, cover it as before, apply fire, and increase or decrease the fire according to the mao and you hours. After seven days and seven nights of fire-subduing refinement, subsequent transmutations increase the quantity of liang successively, proceeding in order through the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth transmutations.

Once the prescribed time has elapsed and the vessel has cooled, remove the newly refined lingsha, pick out the new sand, and wrap it separately from the elixir kui. Then take another four liang of the boiled lingsha, place it in the kui according to the previous method, seal it, and put it into the vat to continue nurturing. Repeat this four times to obtain a total of one jin of new sand. To test whether the elixir has been successfully refined, decoct it with black lead according to the previous method; each liang of sand yields eight qian of silver. If not decocted, retain it as the elixir kui for continued elixir refinement and use it freely as the old kui.

Method of the Third Transmutation of the Absolute True Elixir

First take sixteen liang of Zhengyang Dan (here referring to the elixir used as lining or supporting material inside the elixir furnace) to serve as the “kui” (enclosing matrix). Then take twelve liang of uncooked lingsha (the mercury-sulfide mineral used in elixir refinement) together with four liang of transparent chensha (cinnabar), place them together in a hemp-cloth bag, and put this into a bottle filled with mulberry-ash lye. Boil them according to the previous method for seven fushi (heating periods). When the prescribed time has elapsed, take out the medicinal materials, wash them clean and dry them in the sun, then grind them together finely and pass them through a sieve; mix with “Jade Maiden liquor” (that is, paper-mulberry sap) to form a paste, press it firmly, dry it in the sun, and chisel it into pieces the size of large soybeans.

First take four qian of chalcanthite and one qian of sulfur, grind them fine, place them in a pan and stir-fry until they turn purple, then grind them again into a fine powder. Take four liang of the chiseled sand pieces, dip each piece in cooked rice vinegar, then roll them in the chalcanthite-and-sulfur powder to coat them. This medicine is called “body-clinging medicine.”

Layer the body-clinging medicine and the elixir kui in the box according to the “four-to-one” proportion mentioned earlier, filling it completely. After sealing it firmly, place it in an ash vat, set it upon a tripod, cover it with the furnace hood, apply fire according to the previous method, and increase or decrease the intensity of the fire at the mao hour and the you hour, calcining for fourteen fushi. The text states that the quantities used for the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth turns are all calculated in liang.

When the calcining time is complete, wait for the furnace to cool before removing it. After opening, cover the materials on the tripod inside the furnace once more according to the previous method, apply fire, and regulate the firepower at the mao and you hours, calcining for another fourteen fushi; the amounts for the second through eighth turns are still calculated in liang. When the time is complete, allow it to cool, take it out, and open the box; the sand inside likewise appears the color of new iron. Separately pick out the “mother sand” and the “child sand.” Proceed in this manner four times, and in total one jin of new sand can be obtained. If the finished product presents a “precious” appearance, then test it according to the previous method; the old “mother sand” may be used as one wishes.

Method of the Four-Turn Marvelous Numinous Elixir

First crush sixteen liang of “Juezhen Dan” and place it in a wiped-clean porcelain he (a porcelain vessel). The scripture then says to treat mercury with Sichuan pepper water, pour the mercury into the sand, and seal the porcelain vessel firmly with red halloysite, paper pulp, and clay. Next it is set on a bottle filled with water, placed in an ash vat, and nourished and refined according to the heating regimen; during this time the fire is adjusted at the Mao and You hours (roughly dawn and dusk). After the nourishing and refining, it is taken out and inspected, then mercury is added again, the vessel resealed, and the nourishing and refining repeated. After several such rounds, mercury is no longer added and nourishing and refining by the heating regimen continues. The scripture states that in the end the elixir sand will swell up in a form like “jade trees in a jade forest”; at that point one may gather the “white sprouts” from it and continue refining by the same method.

This passage records the sealed heating and repeated fire-refining procedures of ancient Waidan (external alchemy). “Choutian” refers to adjusting the fire according to the heating regimen; “xuyang” means continuing to nourish and refine without adding further mercury. The original text contains repetitions and suspected corrupt characters, and some descriptions of the heating regimen and apparatus are not sufficiently clear. The procedure involves heating mercury in a sealed vessel; actually carrying it out according to the wording would pose serious risks of poisoning and bursting. The foregoing is solely an interpretation of the ancient text.

Fifth Transformation: The Method of the Water Immortal Elixir

Take one jin of elixir sprouts extracted from the Wondrous Numinous Elixir (Miaoling Dan); they must be clean and must not be mixed with any foreign matter. Spread the elixir sprouts in a clean porcelain box, then pour in half a jin of fine pearl-mercury (the mercury used in elixir refinement). Seal the mouth of the box firmly and bind it tightly according to the method given previously. Place the box beneath a decoction flask, seal it securely once more as before, and then set it into an ash vat; there is no need to add a cover. Apply fire on all four sides and heat it, nourishing and refining it for five fu-periods (fushi). The text further mentions “the numbers four, five, six, seven, and eight liang,” though what these specifically designate is not entirely clear. After a full day has passed, wait until it has cooled, then take it out and open the porcelain box. If the elixir has risen up like mountain peaks, do not disturb it; pour in mercury again according to the previous method, seal it securely, and continue the nourishing refinement. If the elixir has filled the box, cut it open and divide it for taking.

If one wishes to refine it into a “treasure,” boil it in river water with a little frankincense for one fu-period, then place it in a crucible and melt it; the finished product can then be obtained and used as one wishes. At this stage there is no further need to decoct it with lead; the elixir itself is able to become a “treasure.”

Sixth Transformation: The Method of the Penetrating-Mystery Elixir

Take four liang of the Water Immortal Elixir. Refine it according to the previous method. The text writes “use river to become treasure,” which is suspected to contain a textual error or omission; thereafter it still says to boil it in river water with a little frankincense for one fu-period, then place it in a crucible and melt it; the finished product can then be obtained and used as one wishes. At this stage there is no further need to decoct it with lead; the elixir itself is able to become a “treasure.”

At the end of the original text, “Sixth Transformation: The Method of the Penetrating-Mystery Elixir” appears once more, and this seems to be a repeated section heading.

Take four liang of the Water Immortal Elixir and process it according to the previous method by boiling it with river water and frankincense until it melts into a precious substance, then fashion this into an elixir chamber (the container used to hold the medicinal substances), using three liang for the bottom and one liang for the lid. Seal the mouth of the container tightly so that its size is just right for holding the leaves. Select one liang each of refined citou, xiongwo, and huangzipao, grind them together into a fine powder, and place the powder into the elixir chamber. Mix vinegar with red halloysite (the mineral material used for sealing) to seal the mouth of the elixir chamber, then set it in the center of the porcelain box mentioned earlier.

Next, spread the sprouts of the Water Immortal Elixir over the top as a covering, seal the mouth of the porcelain box tightly and bind it securely, without any need for additional outer sealing. Place the porcelain box into an ash vat, support it on a tripod, bury it in ash and cover it completely, then heat it using an intervening fire, adjusting the fire according to the mao and you hours (ancient designations for time periods, roughly corresponding to morning and evening). Incubate and refine the contents for twenty-one days. When the text states that “two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight are all two numbers,” this means that two portions should be taken according to each of these figures.

After the full number of days has been reached, allow everything to cool before removing it. Open the porcelain box, discard the covering, and take out the elixir chamber. The resulting product should appear purple-red, just like the Three Yellows. Take a small fragment of the yellow elixir and use it to test-transmute a piece of white silver, continuing the process until the silver turns red throughout. If redness appears only on the upper part while the lower part remains pale, the elixir has not yet been fully matured; only when the red color extends all the way to the bottom is it suitable for transmutation, and it should be set aside for later use in further cycles of elixir refinement.

This passage of scripture concerns the fire phasing (huohou) and sealing methods for refining lingsha (numinous cinnabar), the precious elixir, and the “cycled elixir” (zhuandan). The procedure includes grinding the medicinal ingredients, loading them into a porcelain vessel, sealing it and then heating, and finally testing the elixir’s potency with mercury.

When refining the first elixir, take six liang of uncooked lingsha and two liang of raw realgar, then take four liang of previously refined and nourished “Three Yellows” (sanhuang), reserving one liang of this for the surface layer; grind the rest until even and load it into a porcelain vessel. Separately set aside one liang of elixir, grind it fine, and spread it over the surface of the ingredients. Seal the mouth of the vessel with red bole mixed with vinegar, bind it tightly with iron wire in a cross, then thoroughly seal the exterior with paper pulp and numinous clay (lingni). After it has dried, place the porcelain vessel on a tripod inside an ash vat, bury it in ash and cover it, then apply fire through the ash.

During the heating, add and reduce the fire at the mao hour and the you hour, successively employing fire quantities of two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight liang. Once the prescribed fire phasing has been reached, add a further three jin of fire, inserting it from all four sides to forge the contents. After cooling, remove the elixir and test it: place five liang of mercury in a Jianzhan (a ceramic cup), sprinkle in one qian of elixir powder, and heat over a small fire. The scripture then repeats this testing procedure, adding that the cup should be covered and its mouth sealed with vinegar-soaked paper; wait until a sound is given off, then wait until the sound has ceased before taking it down. If the mercury has congealed into a single purple mass, place it in a gan-pot (a crucible used for smelting metals) and melt it; the product is then called “Golden Treasure” (jinbao). Remaining medicine may be kept for further cycling and refinement, and the old enclosure (kui) may likewise continue to be used.

The Method of the Eight-Cycle Divine Precious Elixir (Bazhuan Shenbaodan Fa)

Take seven liang of the Precious Divine Elixir, reserving two liang to coat the mouth of the vessel. Then take five liang of lingsha produced by subliming sulfur together with mercury, along with one liang each of female and male sulfur pearls, grind them all fine, and load them into a porcelain vessel. Separately set aside two liang of elixir, grind it fine, and cover the surface. After sealing and drying, place it on a tripod in an ash vat and heat it; add and reduce the fire at the mao and you hours, successively using fire quantities from two to eight liang, and refine for the prescribed duration. After cooling, open the vessel. If the medicine has congealed into a complete mass, purple in color and dazzling in luster, the scripture says it can “plant the golden sprout” (zhong jin ya)—serving as seed medicine for later refining—and may be further cycled or reserved for the making of the Great Medicine (dayao).

The Method of the Nine-Cycle Elixir for Ascending to Perfection (Jiuzhuan Dengzhen Dan Fa)

This section merely repeats the earlier account of the elixir, after cooling, having congealed into a complete purple mass of dazzling luster, and states that it may be used to plant the golden sprout, further cycled, or reserved for making the Great Medicine. The original text does not provide the complete procedure for refining the Nine-Cycle Elixir for Ascending to Perfection.

Take sixty liang of Divine Treasure Elixir and thirty liang of Two-Eight Numinous Cinnabar, grind them together until uniformly mixed, and blend them with the milk of a black donkey to form a medicinal paste. Then take two jin of Golden Sprouts, melt them, and fashion a golden vessel: a gold Divine Chamber Container sized exactly to hold all the medicine, and fill it completely. Mix red bole with vinegar and seal the mouth of the vessel.

Separately cast a copper container of appropriate size. Place the golden chamber vessel inside it, centered, leaving a gap one finger wide on each side. Place minium and alum in separate vessels, calcine them over a fire of five jin of charcoal, then grind them into a fine powder. Spread this powder evenly over the place where the golden chamber vessel is buried. Next seal the copper container firmly, but apply no further outer sealing, and place it in an ash pit.

Choose a suitable altar ground and, according to the directions, select the date and hour to begin the fire. At the Mao hour and the You hour, reduce or replenish the fuel, and calcine according to the fire phasing described above for seven times seven fu-periods (the specific duration and fire control following the original text). When the time is up, add three jin of fire and plant “hui” (the original graph here is probably corrupt) at the four directions. After it has cooled, take out the container, remove the copper vessel, and place the Great Elixir into a Yellow Sprout Elixir Container (as named in the original). Dig five chi deep into the ground at the altar, bury it for fifty days, then take it out.

The original text here contains repetitions and textual corruptions and omissions. Wrap the retrieved elixir in three to five layers of oil paper, then wrap it again in three to five layers of cloth, bind it securely with hemp cord, and lower it into a well for fifty days. After taking it out, grind it into a fine powder and mix it with the natural juice of Huangjing (Solomon’s seal), or with Jade Maiden Juice (a medicinal liquid so named in the original); it may also be made into pills the size of chicken-head seeds. Once the pills have dried, place them again in the golden chamber vessel, seal the mouth, and set it on a tripod inside an ash vat. At the Mao and You hours, draw or add fire, using in succession amounts of two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight liang of fire, and calcine for seven days and seven nights. When the period is complete, wait until it has cooled, then take out one grain of elixir as a test: drop it into cold water, and the water will roll and surge along with the elixir as if it were boiling soup.

Then take one jin of mercury, place it in a Jian ware bowl, drop in one grain of the elixir, cover the bowl, seal the joint with vinegar-soaked paper, and use a gentle fire to drive and refine the mercury. Follow the described fire phasing for the full duration until one no longer hears a sound like that of an autumn cicada. After the bowl is removed, the mercury is said to turn into a superior purple treasure; when it is melted, a purple radiance shines, and the elixir is then declared complete.

The refined elixir must first be offered in worship on multiple occasions and a report submitted to Shangdi. After confirmatory signs have been received, the elixir is taken out and three pellets are swallowed with well water. A vat of water is prepared in advance; the practitioner enters the vat while asking an elixir companion to stand guard outside. When the water becomes warm, one emerges. One then enters the second vat and the third vat in succession, whereupon the body feels light and the spirit undergoes a change. The same procedure is followed the next day. Repeating this three times results in immersion in nine vats of water altogether and the ingestion of nine elixir pellets. Thereafter the body will naturally emit radiance; it is said that a cloud chariot will also be seen descending to welcome one, as if accompanying and mounting a chariot of clouds and rosy mists.

After the heading “Jiaolin fa” (pouring-and-drenching method), the original text merely repeats the concluding sentences of the preceding passage about the body emitting light and the cloud chariot coming to receive one, without supplying any new concrete method. The subsequent wording consists only of the fragmentary phrase “use exactly one magnetic combination, take the nine pellets of initial truth,” whose meaning is incomplete, so that the procedure of the pouring-and-drenching method cannot be determined from it.

Take a porcelain box of just the right size. First place one jin of “Initial True Elixir” (Chuzhen Dan, the elixir material so named in the original text) into a porcelain vessel, add continuously flowing water, and bath-boil it over a gentle fire for one double-hour. When the water is gently bubbling, take it out and sun-dry it.

Spread the elixir material in the box. Separately take one liang of Sichuan pepper, selecting as far as possible those that have not split open. Place the Sichuan pepper in a porcelain bottle, add three bowls of pure water and decoct it down to two bowls, then strain out the dregs. Next pour in four liang of mercury and continue boiling for one double-hour. Immediately pour off the pepper decoction and wipe the mercury dry with paper. While the mercury is still hot, pour it into the elixir material in the box, cover it with Kunlun paper, then fill the remainder of the box with lumps of earth, seal it firmly according to the previous method, and sun-dry it.

Prepare a water-holding flask whose mouth matches the bottom of the box exactly in size and which can hold three sheng of water. First fill the flask about seven-tenths full with boiling water. Encircle the mouth of the flask with a strip of “guan mud” (as written in the original; presumably a clay used for sealing), set the box upon this mud strip, and coat the joints with mud to seal them tightly. Place the flask and box into an ash vat; do not use a three-legged rest, but simply cover them with the ash vat. Nurture them with fire from above for three fu-periods; at the mao and you hours adjust the fire according to amounts of four, five, and six liang. When the time is complete, wait until it has cooled before removing it. Open the box and inspect: if the mercury has entirely entered the cinnabar and the weight in jin and liang still corresponds, do not disturb it, but seal it again by pouring mud according to the previous method.

Repeat the above procedure four times. Each time take as the standard that the flask is filled seven-tenths with hot water, and it is best to set the box in place while everything is still hot. After four cycles, carry out one additional “empty nurturing” (heating without covering in the manner previously described). For empty nurturing, fill the flask to the brim with hot water, seal the box according to the previous method, and place it on the flask without a cover; insert fires around the sides and nurture with warmth for five fu-periods, adjusting the fire at the mao and you hours according to amounts of four, five, six, seven, and eight liang. When the time is complete, wait for it to cool, then open the box, take a small amount of the elixir material and test-melt it on a charcoal fire. If after cooling it congeals into a pearl-like form without cracking, it is considered successful; if it runs or cracks, empty-nurture it once more.

If one wishes to refine it into “treasure,” do not decoct it with lead, but place it in a gan pot (a fire-resistant crucible) to melt and refine. If one wishes to continue the transmutation, divide the elixir material from the box and fill boxes to capacity, then nourish by pouring according to the same number of cycles as above—“four warm-nurturings and one empty-nurturing.” Only after inspecting and confirming that it has indeed become treasure may one continue the pouring-refinement. If the elixir sprouts are still tender, one must not pour over them; instead empty-nurture again according to the previous method until they are sure to congeal into pearl form, and only then continue the transmutation.