《太清经天师口诀》

The so-called “oral formula” is the most important secret contained in the various scriptures of the immortals. Those who seek immortality, even if they have mastered a thousand techniques, will ultimately fail to complete their cultivation if they do not obtain this set of oral formulas. The formula is extremely mysterious and precious; it is not transmitted even if offered ten thousand pieces of gold. When it is to be transmitted, it must be given orally sentence by sentence according to the scripture and cannot be written down in full at one time.

According to the precepts, transmission requires an oath together with tokens of sincerity: eight liang of gold, forty chi of yellow cloth, eight liang of silver, and forty chi of white silk. Within a hundred years it may be given to only one person, the refining of the Golden Elixir serving as the covenant that it will not be leaked. Anyone who violates the precepts by transmitting the oral formula to an unsuitable person, or who breaks the oath and reveals the secret, will be punished by the Heavenly Emperor and the immortals, forever cut off from the mysterious immortal Dao and the Tai Xuan Immortal Capital, his mind and spirit thrown into confusion and all his affairs ruined. The Nine Elder Immortal Lords will also cause his spirit to become dull so that nothing he studies succeeds; Taiyi, Director of Registers, will omit his name from the register of longevity, while the Director of Destiny of the Three Heavens will shorten his lifespan, bringing calamity upon seven generations of ancestors who will then be punished in the Tai Xuan Capital.

The Taiqing Shendan Jingjue (Scripture of the Divine Elixir of Great Clarity) states that elixir refining requires the “Flower Pond” (Huachi, the liquid used to blend medicinal substances). Following the method of the scripture, take five sheng of grain, soak it in water until it sprouts, then sun-dry, pound, and sieve it; place it in the Flower Pond and stir it together with the other medicines, only then can the Flower Pond be prepared. If the grain does not sprout, the Flower Pond cannot be made. This is the essential of elixir refining.

Water, gold, jade, the five stones, gold, silver, pearls, lead, and similar substances can all be transformed into liquid according to the method. The relevant procedures are recorded in the Sanshiliu Shui Jing (Scripture of the Thirty-Six Waters); all such refinings must employ the Flower Pond in order to succeed.

The “True Water Pearl Method”: Finely sieve relatively large pieces of pearl material and, for every jin, add two liang of powdered niter. Place the mixture into a crow quill (the hollow shaft of a crow’s or black bird’s feather), stopper both ends with wooden plugs, and seal them tightly with lacquer; the tube openings may equally well be sealed with wax. Immerse the sealed quill in the Hua Chi (the liquid employed in the refining process) or, alternatively, in rich, strong vinegar. Close the outer vessel and, after seven days, inspect it from time to time, taking care never to open the ends of the crow quill; one may only hold it up to sunlight to judge whether the transformation has succeeded.

Once liquefied, the pearl material inside the quill resembles mercury. The original text states that it may be taken in pellets the size of a parasol-tree seed; ingested each morning, after a full hundred days one becomes an immortal. Should the material not yet have turned to liquid, return it to strong vinegar until it does. Small pearls of various kinds may likewise be melted and refined by the same procedure and then poured into pearl moulds to produce large pearls.

Bright, pure-white clam or mussel shells may also be used. Smash them and select the finest white portions; add two liang of niter to each jin, pound and sieve the mixture finely, load it into a crow quill and refine it as before. Pour the result into pearl moulds; upon cooling and solidifying it forms pearls. Pearls of different sizes, or other objects, can be produced in this way.

The “Method of Refining Lead and Tin into Mercury”: Take half a jin of lead and half a jin of tin, melt them together until they fuse, then hammer them thin and cut them into slices as slender as leek leaves. Take a length of fresh bamboo tube, scrape away the outer bark until the wall is as thin as silk, insert the lead-tin slices, add two liang of niter, and pack the mixture above and below. Seal the node joints at both ends of the tube tightly and further seal the openings with lacquer so that no vapour can escape.

Immerse the bamboo tube in a jar of three-year-old strong vinegar and seal the mouth of the jar with wax to prevent any leakage of vapour. After forty-five days, according to the original text, mercury will have been produced; it may be used to inlay and decorate gold, but it cannot be employed in the preparation of elixirs.

The foregoing are records of ancient alchemical techniques. They involve the ingestion of niter together with lead, tin, mercury and other toxic substances. The efficacy claimed in the original texts has no basis in modern science; the formulas must not be prepared or consumed.

The first paragraph states that the Silver Snow Method is recorded in this scripture: Take one jin of mercury and fifteen liang of huashi, grind them thoroughly and mix them. Then cook them with concentrated vinegar, sealing the mouth of the jar so that the Qi (vital energy) does not leak out. After forty-five days, a substance called "mercury" is produced, which is used to fill gold vessels and is not used for refining the elixir (Dan).

The second paragraph states that the Silver Snow Method is recorded in this scripture: Take one jin of mercury and cook it with concentrated vinegar for nine days and nine nights. Whenever the concentrated vinegar is about to be boiled away, replenish it at once. After the mercury coagulates, grind it into powder and mix it with huashi. If one needs to use mercury when refining other elixirs (Dan), compounding various medicines, or practicing techniques, but does not process it according to this method, the mercury cannot mix with the other materials and in the end cannot be refined successfully.

Here, "gong" refers to mercury; "huashi" is the mineral name used in the original text, and its specific identity is difficult to determine based solely on this passage. "Dan" refers to the elixir refined in Daoism.

It is further said: for the inner layer use Six-One Mud (liuyi ni), white lead, and a red cauldron. The so-called “six-one” is simply Six-One Mud, prepared by the same method recorded in the Scripture of the Nine Elixirs. The white lead must be that made according to the method of the present scripture; a large quantity of vinegar is added and the mixture is pounded a thousand pestle-strokes, then spread on the inner walls of the earthen cauldron to a thickness of about three fen and left to dry in the shade for ten days, after which the powdered mercury-flower stone is placed inside.

The red cauldron is an earthen cauldron. To make it, take the reddish-yellow earth found in jifu soil, grind it to a fine powder and sift it through fine silk; steam it from morning until noon, then mix the powder with a little vinegar to form a paste, pound it thoroughly and repeatedly until uniform, and use this paste to fashion the earthen cauldron. The size of the cauldron is determined according to the quantity of the ingredients; it should be about five fen thick and is left to dry in the shade for thirty days.

Next take thirty jin of the white bark of the hu tree, chop it finely and boil it in three shi of water for one day. After the dregs are removed, continue simmering until about one dou of liquid remains. The juice is reddish-black and is called “hu lacquer.” When this is applied to both the inside and the outside of the earthen cauldron, the vessel becomes hard yet resilient, not easily broken, and will not crack even when placed in the fire. This is an essential secret for making the earthen cauldron used in the preparation of the divine elixir. For the Taiqing Divine Elixir, the Nine Elixirs, Golden Liquid, the Eight Scenes, the Flower of Taixu Langxu, as well as the Returned Elixir, Flying Light, Mysterious Frost, Crimson Snow, Supreme Harmony, the Spontaneous, Vermilion Radiance, Cloud Azure, Purple Flower, Crimson Essence and other great elixirs, if the earthen cauldrons are not made according to this secret they will crack as soon as they enter the fire and the elixir cannot be refined.

It is further said: cover with a red basin and then seal firmly with Six-One Mud.

Those who refine elixirs should mix lead cinnabar (a lead-containing material used in elixir refining) with strong vinegar into a paste and pound it a thousand times. This is used to seal the mouth of the earthen cauldron (a ceramic vessel for elixir refining), which is then covered with a red guan basin. Next, seal the joint between the cauldron and the basin tightly with the lead-cinnabar paste so that no air can pass through, and leave it to dry in the shade for ten days.

After this, coat the outside of the cauldron and its lid with Six-One Mud (a clay used to seal elixir-refining vessels) to a thickness of about five fen, and again leave it to dry in the shade for ten days. Then mix white earth with vinegar and guan, pound it a thousand times, spread it over the Six-One Mud, and let it dry in the shade for another ten days. Next, set up a post at each of the four directions and one support in the center, together called the "Five Peaks"; alternatively, three stands may be erected, called the "Three Terraces." Place the cauldron on the stand and apply heat according to the method described in the scriptures (Jing).

"Gen Snow" is also called "White Snow" and "Male Snow." It is said that to make it, one first builds a square enclosure, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, from Six-One Mud inside a large pan (a large pot). Once it has dried in the shade, place the Gen Snow underneath, cover it with a copper plate, sprinkle strong vinegar over it little by little, and heat it over charcoal fire. In this way, both the Gen Snow and the copper plate will melt. Then use a bellows to blow on it so that it congeals into a plate, and hang it above the Flower Pool (here referring to a vessel or container used in the refining). For the rest, follow the scripture.

When making Male Snow, place it in the flying vessel (a vessel used in refining), cover it with a red guan basin and seal it tightly, then apply heat in the same way as for making Gen Snow. The so-called flying vessel is simply the red earthen cauldron.

In Chisongzi's Handbook of Elixir Formulas to Keep at the Elbow, Yunyangzi respectfully asked Chisongzi: "Humans are born by receiving the Yin-Yang qi of Heaven and Earth, and rely on the 'four great elements' (the four basic constituents of the body) to nourish the body. Why, then, do people differ in intelligence and foolishness, and in the length of their lives?"

The original text contains several repeated sentences, and the meanings of terms such as "white earth mixed with yun and guan" and "four great elements" are not clear; the above is a literal rendering of the text as it stands.

Chisongzi replied, “What you ask about is truly a matter of great importance. I now tell you these things because only a person of worthy virtue has the opportunity to inquire of me. I came into being at the initial opening of Heaven and Earth, and only after passing through three great kalpas did I come to know the efficacy of the superior medicines. Even ten thousand pieces of gold cannot be considered precious by comparison, and the principles involved cannot be fully explained all at once.

“The efficacy of the Great Medicine can both harm people and save them; it can make a person emaciated or make them plump and moist. It can change one’s appearance, enhance the mind-nature, prolong lifespan, and even confer immortality so that one appears as an immortal sage. Do you believe this?”

Yunyangzi said, “I have not yet personally received the transmission of the scriptures (Jing), so I dare not definitively believe.”

Chisongzi said, “Doubts still remain in your heart. Do you not believe that water can extinguish fire? It is merely that your knowledge is limited. After frying tanshi, cloud-qi can be made to rise; scattering hongshi can induce Heaven to send down rain and dew. Calcining luowanhu can cause the sun and moon to appear in eclipse at the same time; raising the ash of bine can generate wind. Shifan can suppress wind and stop fire; haibanpi can trigger thunder and lightning, appearing in an instant.

“Huiguanjia can cause a halo to appear around the sun and moon; jieqian lusu can make the earth tremble. Brandishing jingsha wan can cause mountains to collapse; shenqian mosan can make the seawater dry up. Combining fenbo banyu with the gallbladder of dian’ao can summon dragons; projecting shouwan can make tigers and leopards withdraw. The Five Gao can make a person become an immortal immediately; the Three San can help one pass through hundreds of millions of kalpas and appear as a sage. The Pill of Tai Zhen can make one’s lifespan equal to that of Heaven and Earth. These medicines have long been verified by the various immortals. Do you believe?”

Yunyangzi said, “I solemnly receive the Master’s teachings and guidance. Having heard your explanation, I now believe in my heart. I now request that you tell me the names of these medicines.”

Chisongzi said, “Listen carefully. Today I will transmit to you the quantities of the medicines and the essentials of their preparation.”

Chisongzi (Master Red Pine, a legendary immortal) said to Yunyangzi: "These Five Pastes and Three Powders (five kinds of paste and three kinds of powder transmitted in Daoism) were first passed down by the celestial immortal Qianyuanzi to Huchongzi. Huchongzi passed them to Zhenhuazi, and I received them from Zhenhuazi. In the course of two transmissions, three cataclysms have already passed. If your aspirations are lofty and you wish to study the arts of long life and seek the immortal path and its medicines, then I should now hand them to you. After the methods have been transmitted, if someone comes seeking immortality with a compassionate heart, you must observe their conduct over a long time. Once you are certain that their resolve is firm and their heart sincere, and that they are dutiful to their parents and respectful to their elder brothers, you may choose to transmit the methods to them. Now I will pass on to you the methods of the Five Pastes and Three Powders."

Method One: The Spirit-Flying Powder for Averting Calamity

In the beginning of the Qian era of the Three Primes (an age or reign-period recorded in the original), there was an immortal official named Taizi'an who was in charge of the immortals' formularies. Because he kept these formularies, he often heard the immortal officials praise the Five Pastes and Three Powders as the highest of all Golden Elixirs. He therefore copied out the formula and passed it to Qianyuanzi. Qianyuanzi, whose given name was Lizhen, received the formula and transmitted it to ten immortals.

Those who begin taking this medicine find that after twenty days their spirit (Shen) grows keen and clear and their strength increases greatly, while their countenance becomes like jade. They can ascend to heaven or remain in the human world as they wish, and they can even command ghosts and spirits. When they complete the immortal path, they take a place in the highest rank of the immortals.

The method of preparation is as follows. Take thirty-six liang of newly refined gold, and seven liang of powdered stalactite. Hammer the gold into thin sheets, then divide the thirty-six liang into six portions of six liang each. Chop one portion of the gold leaf finely, place it in a jade mortar, and grind it with a jade pestle five hundred times. Then add five fen of the stalactite powder and grind the two together into a fine powder. If you wish to obtain the gold powder alone, wash it in water so that the grit and the stalactite powder separate from it. If washing is not possible, it may be taken together with the stalactite powder. The reason for grinding the gold with stalactite powder is that gold is slippery by nature and does not easily turn to powder when ground alone; with the stalactite powder, it can be reduced very quickly. Thus the oral formula says: "Mix the gold powder with half its measure of stalactite; grind slowly, and it will naturally break down fine." It also says: "To dissolve the poison of gold, pair it with incombustible wood (asbestos), ox dung, and lodestone. Keep this method secret and untransmitted, and you will enter the gate of the immortals."

Note: In the original text, phrases such as "qi zantan" (气赞叹) appear to be corrupted or incomplete and cannot be understood with certainty; the above has been rendered according to the sense of the surrounding context.

Taking the Lingfei San is a method for ingesting gold powder. Honey is first placed in a copper pan (a small copper pot) and simmered over a gentle fire until the honey thickens, then formed into honey cakes roughly the size of a copper coin. A portion of gold powder the size of a small bean is wrapped inside a honey cake and ingested in the early morning while facing east. After taking it, one must enter a quiet room to sit in stillness, avoiding any sight of birds or beasts and refraining from conversation with others; one need only keep the mind upright and silently pray to the powerful spirits of the immortal sages of the ten directions to aid the medicine’s efficacy, thereby attaining longevity. One pill is taken on the first day, two on the second, three on the third, after which the cycle of three pills is repeated. The text claims that ingesting it in this way for one hundred days will allow one to become an immortal.

The scripture further explains that various forms of gold and silver, if not properly refined, often contain toxins and may harm those who ingest them, so they must be processed first. They are first refined with lead twenty-one times, then with mercury twenty-one times; next they are refined with “Mysterious Water” (Xuan Shui) three hundred sixty times, then soaked and refined in lime solution for twenty-one days, steamed and stir-fried with detoxifying ash twenty-one times each, and finally refined with vinegar for twenty-one days. The scripture states that only after these steps is the toxicity completely removed, after which the metals may be ingested.

The “method of refining gold with lead” proceeds as follows: Thirty-six liang of gold and seventy-two liang of lead are taken. The lead is formed into an ash cup that is burned dry, after which the edges are sealed with honey, leaving only a single ventilation hole, and the gold is placed inside the lead cup. A separately prepared iron cup of appropriate size has holes chiseled into it, and the ash cup is fitted over the iron cup. Charcoal is piled on the iron cup and covered with mud, then heated. Once the lead is exhausted, the gold is removed, a new ash cup is made, and the entire process is repeated twenty-one times. This technique is known as “refining gold with lead.”

Next, the mercury method of refining gold is described. Take thirty-six liang of gold that has been refined from lead and hammer it into thin sheets. Then take thirty liang of mercury and place it in a meng vessel (the original text uses this character, suspected to refer to a sealed container). Heat it slowly over a small fire and gradually add the gold sheets. Once they have all been added, tightly cover the vessel with an earthenware urn and leave it overnight, after which the gold turns into a mud-like paste. Place this in a crucible (an implement for melting metals) and melt it; the mercury evaporates, leaving only the gold. Repeat the process twenty-one times, and it is called “mercury refining.” Repeated refining gradually reduces the toxicity; after removal, one obtains gold mixed with mercury. The original text’s “han du” is suspected to contain a textual error and is here tentatively rendered as “reduce the toxicity” on the basis of context.

Next is the mysterious-water refining method. Place the gold in a crucible, melt it, and pour it out onto mysterious water. After one night the gold turns into a mud-like consistency. Return it to the crucible and melt it; the mercury evaporates, leaving only the gold. Follow this procedure twenty-one times, and it is called “mercury refining.” Repeated refining gradually reduces the toxicity; after taking it out, one obtains gold mixed with mercury. The original text does not specify what “mysterious water” actually is.

A further mysterious-water refining method follows. Take the gold and place it in mysterious water, which must be of high quality. Repeat the process three hundred and sixty times until the gold becomes soft; this is called the “mysterious-water refining method.” Certain phrases in this section, such as “jin guo xiao zhu,” may contain textual errors.

Next is the lime-juice refining method. Hammer the gold that has undergone mysterious-water refining into thin sheets, place them in a meng vessel, and boil them in lime juice for twenty-one days; this is called “lime-juice refining.”

The detoxifying-ash refining method comes next. Hammer the gold into thin sheets, place them in a meng vessel, add detoxifying-ash juice, then add the gold sheets and boil for twenty-one days.

Then comes the detoxifying steaming method. Thinly shave a bamboo tube and place detoxifying-ash juice inside it. Add high-quality borax (a mineral material used in refining), then layer gold sheets and borax alternately until the tube is full. Seal the mouth of the tube tightly, place it in a small earthenware pot, cover it with sand, and steam for twenty-one days; this is called “steaming refinement.”

Finally, the stir-frying refining method is given. Take a high-quality new iron pan (an iron cooking vessel) and grind and wash it clean. Grind dry detoxifying ash into a fine powder and place it in the pan. Finely crush the gold sheets, mix them with the ash, and stir-fry for twenty-one days. Use a small fire while frying; if the fire is too fierce there is a risk that the lead will flow out. This is called “stir-fry refining.”

Next, the vinegar-refining method is prepared as follows. Take fine vinegar that has been thrice re-brewed and place it in a vinegar jar or bottle, add gold foil, and seal the mouth of the vessel. The sealed bottle is then set inside a large pot containing disinfection-ash juice and boiled for twenty-one days until all toxicity has been eliminated. This process is called vinegar refining.

Next, stone juice is prepared. Take high-quality fresh lime and steam it until hot vapor fully penetrates. Hot molten metal is then poured over the lime and the liquid that drains off is collected. This is known as stone juice.

Next, disinfection ash is prepared. Equal quantities of cow-dung ash and lishi ash (ash obtained from lishi) are mixed together. Lodestone is crushed and boiled in rapidly flowing water; the resulting decoction is poured over the two ashes and the juice is collected. This ash juice is able to neutralize the toxicity of gold and silver and is therefore called disinfection ash.

The method of making lishi ash is as follows. Lishi is popularly known as “non-ash wood.” It is said that ordinary burning does not readily reduce it to ash; only when fired with cow-dung fuel does it immediately turn to ash. Lishi resembles rotten wood in appearance and occurs on certain famous mountains; pieces that display fine, elongated, and hard veining are not genuine.

Jade Spirit Flying-Cloud Powder, the Second

The Jade Spirit Flying-Cloud Powder is a precious medicine treasured by the Ten Great Immortals. In former times Tai’anzi ingested it and after two hundred days attained the Dao and became an immortal. Thereafter the formula was transmitted among the ten immortals; its various efficacies cannot be described in full.

To prepare this, select twelve jin of superior jade that is bright, translucent, pure, and flawless. Cut it with a fan-stone into jade plates two fen thick. After cutting, wash them carefully with hot water boiled from river water to remove the odor of the fan-stone.

Prepare five kinds of water: two shi and four dou of snow water, and one shi and two dou each of dew water, frost water, rainwater, and well water. For the well water, well-flower water freshly drawn at dawn (new water drawn from the well in the early morning) is best. Place each of the five waters separately in good, leak-proof ceramic urns.

First dig a pit one zhang and two chi deep. Near midnight as the winter solstice approaches, first place the five kinds of water into the pit; at the zi hour of midnight, then place the five waters together with the jade plates and other items. Immediately cover them with a basin and spread a thick layer of mud over it, taking care that no qi (vital energy) leaks out. Set wooden beams over the pit, spread grass on the wood, then cover with mud, and finally overlay with three chi of earth. Also erect a fence so that neither people nor livestock pass by or walk upon it. Retrieve it at noon on the summer solstice. In this manner the jade plates fully absorb the qi of Yin-Yang.

First grind raw hemp seeds into powder, press out the oil, pour it into a copper cauldron, and boil the jade plates in it for twenty-one days. Next construct a furnace known as an “xia furnace,” place the jade plates on the stone material inside the furnace, and kindle a fire beneath it, continuing for twenty-one days. Afterward take out the jade plates and pound them into powder with a jade pestle, grinding them as finely as possible; only when they are ground extremely fine can they be considered of superior quality.

For ingestion, select a wangxiang day of the four seasons (an auspicious day chosen according to the flourishing Yin-Yang qi of each season) and a day on which there is no mutual conflict between the day and the hour. Take it at dawn while facing east, swallowing one fangcun of the medicinal powder with well-flower water; take it three times over seven days.

The original text contains repetitions and several incomplete phrases; for instance, the accounts of the furnace implement, the stone material within the furnace, and the control of the fire are not entirely clear. The foregoing follows the sense of the text, retaining original designations or treating uncertain points in a summary fashion.

The method of taking it is as follows: choose a day when the qi of the season is at its height and the day is suitable for the undertaking, and make sure the day's stem-and-branch does not clash with the person taking it. At dawn, the one taking it should face east and swallow one square-inch spoonful of the medicine with well water (water drawn from the well that same morning). Take it three times a day for seven days in a row. After sixty days of taking it, one's appearance will change; after one hundred days, others will not recognize you; after two hundred days, you will be able to commune with the spirits; and after a full year or more, you will achieve the path of immortality. If an elderly person takes it, they too can become an immortal after two years.

Powder of White Essence for Securing Life, Section Three

This powder was taken by Yuanyangzi. After taking it for three hundred days, they attained the Dao (the Way) and became an immortal, able to roam and fly everywhere, transform Yin-Yang, and move with spiritual power at will, meeting no obstruction wherever they went. Its efficacy cannot be told in full.

The method of preparation is as follows: take thirty-six taels of newly made rivet-silver and refine it three times with lead; the remaining refining steps all follow the procedures for refining gold. Once it is refined, take a further six taels and make it into one mortar's worth, adding five fen of refined milk, and grind them together in the same way as gold powder. The method of taking it is also the same as for gold powder.

Yellow Spirit Ointment of Qianyuanzi, Section Four

This divine ointment is said to be what Qianyuanzi took in times past. Seven days after taking it, they ascended to immortality, and they had already passed twice through the "Three Calamities" (the catastrophes spoken of in the cycles of cosmic fate) before finally becoming a high immortal. Ten immortals have passed it down from generation to generation, treasuring it in cases and baskets of precious jade. It is regarded as a medicine that can last through ten thousand kalpas, of immense efficacy, the highest and most precious of all medicines. It must be kept strictly secret.

What follows is the method of making the Yellow Spirit Ointment: take refined "xialing" (probably a corruption of "fuling," poria) thirty... The phrases such as "pure hemp-seed candle" appear to be corrupted or missing. The later text says that a certain jade plate is to be burned and refined until the plate turns red, after which scallion juice is added... At this point the original reading "one six jin, hundred" is unclear in meaning, and the exact quantities and steps cannot be determined from the existing text. It must be kept secret.

Next, prepare the Yellow Spirit Paste: take thirty jin of refined Xia Ling together with hemp-seed candles, place them on a jade plate, and burn until the jade plate glows red. Then add sixteen jin of scallion juice, twenty-four jin of pine resin that has been refined a hundred times, two hundred forty dou of edible honey, and thirty-six liang of gold powder.

When using these four medicinal ingredients, first take a new copper pot and put the honey into it, then add the Xia Ling and pine resin in succession. After decocting for two days, add the gold powder. Sprinkle the gold powder slowly into the pot in successive portions, then seal the pot and continue decocting without stirring at all; once it boils, the gold powder will sink of its own accord. Decoct continuously for seven days and seven nights until the paste is completed.

To take it, use Chu Jing San (the medicine or adjuvant so named in the original text) to form the paste into pills the size of small beans. Take three pills each time, three times a day. According to the original account, after ten days of taking it one will naturally cease eating, after twenty days one’s strength will greatly increase, after sixty days one’s appearance will become like jade, and after one hundred days one will become an immortal. Completing this single dose enables one to endure ten thousand kalpas and remain forever, with unimpeded spiritual powers.

Hu Chongzi Jade Spirit Paste, the Fifth

It is said that the efficacy of this paste cannot be fully recounted; here we merely excerpt its method of preparation in brief.

To make the Jade Spirit Paste, take twenty-four jin of fine powder of refined Xia Ling, twenty-four jin of fine powder of pine resin refined a hundred times, four hundred eighty dou of edible honey, and twelve jin of jade powder, altogether four ingredients. First place the honey in a copper pot, then add the pine resin, Xia Ling, and jade powder in succession, stirring until they are evenly blended, and decoct for seven days until the medicine is ready.

When taking it, likewise use Chu Jing San to form the paste into pills the size of small dates. Take three pills each time, three times a day. According to the original, after two hundred days of taking it one may become an immortal.

Zhen Huazi White Spirit Paste, the Sixth

This formula is said to have been lost, and the existing text contains no related content.

Tai Zhen Wei Yang Pills, the Seventh

What was said above mainly discussed the efficacy of this medicine, which cannot be exhausted in detail; now the formula is copied out directly. Next comes the method for making the "Taizhen Weiyang Pill" (Taizhen Weiyang Wan): take one jin each of white agate powder and white jade powder; twelve liang of coral powder; and one jin each of crystal powder, amber powder, pearl powder, gold powder, silver powder, cinnabar powder, realgar powder, orpiment powder, and stalactite powder; twelve liang each of amethyst powder and mica powder; eight liang of stone-peak powder; twelve liang of stone-flesh powder; thirty-six jin of poria (fuling) powder; twenty-four jin of pine resin; and two shi four dou of lan honey.

Refine these ingredients finely and grind them into powder. Then put fine-quality edible honey into a new copper pot and simmer it. Boil it for one day first, then add the various powders in turn and boil everything together for seven days and seven nights, at which point the pills are done.

When taking the medicine, choose a day in the four seasons that is flourishing and auspicious, and select a day whose stem-branch combination involves no clash or conflict. Each time, take one pill, about the size of a small jujube, divided into three doses. The original text says that taking it in this way makes one an immortal at once.

Sanjing Paste, Section 8

The method for making "Sanjing Paste" (Sanjing Gao) is as follows: twelve liang each of cinnabar, realgar, orpiment, yuyuliang (limonite), mica powder, stone flesh, stalactite, white quartz, amethyst, stone peak, and stone marrow; thirty-six jin of poria; and twenty-four jin of pine resin, thirteen ingredients in all. Refine the ingredients finely and grind them into powder, add one shi two dou of edible honey, place everything in a copper pot, and boil it together with the powders for seven days. Form it into pills the size of a parasol-tree seed, and take three pills each time, three times a day. The original text says that taking it for three years makes one an immortal.

Ningzhong Paste, Section 9

The formula for "Ningzhong Paste" (Ningzhong Gao) is: thirty-six jin of poria, twenty-four jin of pine resin, twelve jin of pine nut kernels, and twelve jin of cypress seed kernels. The original text then says to take it three times a day, and states that taking it for three years makes one an immortal; however, it does not specify the amount to be taken each time.

Several medicine names and dosages in the original text appear to contain erroneous characters or transmission omissions. For example, "xialing" may refer to "fuling" (poria), and names such as "white agate," "stone flesh," "stone peak," and "lan honey" also need to be checked against other editions before they can be identified with certainty. The dosage instructions for "Ningzhong Paste" also seem to have a gap relative to the preceding formula, so the above follows the surviving text as it stands.

Preparing "Condensed Spirit Paste" (Ningling Gao): take thirty-six jin of xialing (狭苓), twenty-four jin of pine resin, twelve jin of pine nut kernels, and twelve jin of cypress seed kernels, four ingredients in all. Process, refine, and grind them into a fine powder. Then take two shi and four dou of edible honey, place it in a large copper cauldron, and simmer it for a full day. Next, add the various powders in turn and stir until evenly mixed, then continue to simmer over a low flame for seven days.

Method of taking it: form the medicine into pills the size of a small jujube, and take seven pills at a time, three times a day. If one is fasting from food (duanshi), take a suitable amount in a single dose, enough to leave one feeling full. By taking it in this way, one can give up ordinary food and the body becomes light and robust; the aged are restored to youth, and after two years one may attain immortality and realize the Dao (the Way).

Chapter Ten: Powder of Primal Essence (Chu Jing San)

Chisongzi (Master Red Pine, a legendary immortal) said to Yunyangzi: "Before I had become an immortal, Zhenhuazi told me that those who wish to live long and study immortality should first take the Powder of Primal Essence, and then the Condensed Spirit Paste. After taking these two medicines first, one then takes the great medicines described above; the body becomes light, and the practice of the Dao is easier."

The method for making the Powder of Primal Essence: take thirty-six jin of xialing, twenty-four jin of pine resin, and one jin of stalactite (zhongru, a mineral drug used in Daoist medical formularies); three jin may also be used. Refine the ingredients carefully and grind them together into powder, then add three sheng of edible honey and mix evenly. Place the mixture in an earthenware jar, seal the mouth tightly, and leave it in a cool place to dry for one hundred days. When taken out, the medicine should be in powder form. Take three square-inch spoonfuls (fangcunchi, an ancient measure using a small square spoon) each time, three times a day. After finishing one course, the effect differs from that of other powders, and the text describes its results as excellent. If one has not first taken the Powder of Primal Essence and the Condensed Spirit Paste and goes directly to the great medicines, the results will be slower to appear.

In general, whenever the great medicines are prepared, one should choose a quiet, clear place in the mountains and forests and build a dedicated chamber for refining them. Precious swords should be hung around the building, and "Ghost-Repelling Pills" (que gui wan) and "Ghost-Repelling Talismans" (que gui fu, a type of Fulu) should be made and placed or hung around it. The final sentence of the original, "yao zhe, chi de li ye," is not entirely clear in meaning; judging from the context, it may be saying that doing so helps the medicine take effect more quickly.

To refine the great medicine (the Great Elixir), one must choose a secluded spot deep in the mountains and forests and build a dedicated alchemy chamber. Swords are hung on all four sides of the chamber, and "ghost-repelling pills" and "ghost-repelling talismans" are made and then placed or hung up. Only when this is done may the great medicine be refined; otherwise, ghosts and spirits will encroach upon the essential qi (Qi) of the ingredients. Talismans (Fulu) and medicines must be prepared in advance to drive away malevolent ghosts and spirits.

The method for making ghost-repelling pills: Take cinnabar, realgar, orpiment, turtle shell, veratrum root, peach kernel, aconite, fuzi, large pinellia, gelsemium (wild kudzu), sulfur, croton seed, raw rhinoceros horn, podophyllum, musk, ghost-arrow (winged euonymus) and centipede, seventeen ingredients in all, in equal measure. Pound them and sift them, then blend with orchid juice and roll into pills the size of a chicken egg yolk. When refining immortal medicines, hang the pills on all four sides, and burn one pill inside the chamber; it is said that the hundred ghosts will then depart. Burn another, and it is said that all ghosts will die. This method must be kept secret, and its efficacy is great.

Ghost-repelling talisman

(The original talisman text is missing.)

The above is the ghost-repelling talisman. When refining the great medicine, it should be hung on all four sides.

The method for making mica powder: Take mica bearing five colors and soak it in the "five waters." Dig a pit twelve chi deep; it is said that in this way all ghosts will die. This method must be kept secret, and its efficacy is great.

Ghost-repelling talisman

(The original talisman text is missing.)

The above is the ghost-repelling talisman. When refining the great medicine, it should be hung on all four sides.

When making mica powder, take mica bearing five colors and soak it in the five waters. Dig a pit twelve chi deep and six chi wide, place a jar in the pit, and pour the five waters into the jar. At midnight on the winter solstice, place the mica into the jar and seal its mouth. Lay wood over the pit, straw over the wood, mud over the straw, and then earth over the mud, to a thickness of five chi. At noon on the summer solstice, take out the mica, calcine it over a furnace fire until it glows red, then place it in the five waters. Repeat this calcining and soaking one hundred times. Then calcine it again and soak it in the juice of "empty pavilion liquid" (kongting ye), repeating this twenty-one times. The "five waters" are snow, frost, dew, rain, and well water.

The method for making empty pavilion liquid: Take the pavilion (ting), select clean ones, remove the outer skin and the fibrous roots, chop them finely and put them into a gourd, pressing them down firmly until it is full, then seal the mouth of the gourd tightly with lacquer. At midnight on the winter solstice, dig a pit... well water, and so on; these are called the five waters.

Note: From "at midnight on the winter solstice, dig a pit" onward, the meaning of the original text is fragmentary, and the breaks have been preserved as they appear in the original. The medicinal substances and calcining methods listed in this text are ancient alchemical records, and some of the ingredients are highly toxic.

To make "Kongting Liquid" (空亭液), take ting (亭) and select clean pieces. Remove the skin and the fibrous rootlets, cut it into small pieces, pack it into gourds, and press it down firmly. Then seal the mouth of each gourd with lacquer. At midnight on the winter solstice, dig a pit twelve chi deep, place thirty or forty gourds in it, and bury them under earth. Do not let any person or livestock pass over the spot. At noon on the summer solstice, dig them up. The liquid obtained is called "Kongting Liquid." It is said that when gold, silver, jade, and cinnabar are soaked in it, they dissolve into water, or into a muddy paste.

The method for refining cinnabar, realgar, orpiment, and sulfur is as follows. Grind these four substances into a fine powder. Wash a pig's intestine clean and soak it in vinegar for three days. Mix the powder with vinegar, pack it into another length of pig's intestine, and bind both ends tightly. For steaming, spread straw over a bed of cooked rice, lay cloth over the straw, and place the filled intestine on the cloth. Cover the intestine in turn with straw and then with earth, about one chi thick, and steam it over a fierce fire for seven days and seven nights. When yellow appears on the surface of the earth, steam it once more in the same way.

Afterward, put the so-called "detoxifying ash lye" into a bamboo tube and boil it for three sevens of days, that is, twenty-one days. Then add the "left ingredient" named in the scripture (Jing) to the bamboo tube, along with the four substances, cinnabar and the rest, and boil them in a different vinegar for twenty-one days. The scripture states that once the toxicity has been eliminated, the preparation may be taken.