《太上说玄天大圣真武本传神咒妙经》

This scripture (Jing) was proclaimed by Taishang (the Supreme One, Taishang Laojun). It recounts the original biography and the divine incantation of the Great Sage of the Mysterious Heaven, Zhenwu (the deity of the north, also called Xuanwu, the Dark Warrior). It belongs to the Dongshen (Three Caverns) division of the Zhengtong Daozang (Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era), in the category of genealogies and records. It comprises one fascicle, and its author is unknown.

Hymn of Praise

I respectfully invoke the Great Sage of the Mysterious Heaven, the most numinous spirit of the northern position of Ren and Gui, the Water positions (the north belongs to Water, and Ren and Gui are its stems). He is an incarnation of the True Venerable of the Golden Gate (a revered deity of the celestial realm), and his title is "Supreme General Zhenwu." Majestic and resplendent in bearing, he is the Lord of the Great Yin, who receives the pure and refined qi (Qi) from the lunar lodges Xu and Wei (two of the seven lodges of the Dark Warrior of the north). His eyes flash like lightning and can subdue the demons of drought. Ten thousand cavalry follow him like clouds, and their might shakes the nine lands. He wears a purple robe and a golden belt, with his hand on his divine sword, while a dark tortoise and a great serpent bear up his feet. The Six Ding and Six Jia (guardian spirit generals) attend him on either side, and the Eight Generals of Calamity guard him before and behind. He dispels disaster and bestows blessings, and his wondrous power is beyond conception. With undivided heart I take refuge in him and pay him reverent homage.

Narrative

At that time, in the first year of Longhan (an era of remote antiquity in Daoist reckoning), on the day of Zhongyuan (the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month), the Great Emperor of Ziwei (the great emperor of the heavens) assembled the spirits before the Ziwei Hall, within the Palace of the Northern Pole in the realm of Taiqing (one of the realms of the Three Pure Ones, Sanqing). Present were the supreme sages of all the heavens, the Two Dippers of south and north (the star lords of the Southern Dipper and the Northern Dipper), the Eastern and Western Bureaus (the offices in charge of registers and records), the spirits of the five directions and five planets, the six palaces and six luminaries, the twenty-eight lunar lodges, the spirits of the twelve zodiacal palaces, the flying heavenly spirit kings, and the host of Wuji (Limitless) immortals. All the spirits came before the imperial throne, standing in reverent stillness and encircling the emperor's majesty in protection.

Then a Jade Youth conveyed the Great Emperor's decree: Zhenwu, the General of the North, must carry out the sacred command of the Jade Emperor, and three times each month lead the divine soldiers in person to inspect the many heavens. Whenever he encounters malign qi, or a baleful star moving in retrograde or wandering and entangling, he must cut it down at once. Moreover, on the Three Yuan festivals (the Upper, Middle, and Lower Yuan), the Eight Festivals (the four "beginnings" of the seasons, the two equinoxes, and the two solstices), and the days of Jiazi and Gengshen, he is to descend to the lower world during one double-hour of each month. There he is to record good deeds and punish evil ones, uphold the righteous Way and root out malevolent forces, rescue the beings of heaven and earth, subdue monsters, and restrain poisonous harm, so as to accord with the will of Heaven. He must carry out this duty with earnest diligence.

The Perfected One was named Miaoxing. He deliberately left the court ranks, bowed low before the Imperial Lord, and said, “Your servant long ago had the karmic affinity to hear the mysterious principles. The great general of the north, General Xuanwu, patrols the celestial realm and the human world, recording good deeds and punishing evil ones. I do not know for what reason this general came to be manifested, nor what divine powers he possesses that can subdue ghosts and spirits. I earnestly beg Your Majesty to grant a little instruction, so that I may gain some understanding of the principle within.”

At this the Great Emperor, leaning on his armrest, said, “Perfected Miaoxing asks well; he asks on behalf of all the people of the world. Yet the causes of Xuanwu’s manifestation are profound and hard to fathom, beyond what words can probe. It is said that the Holy Ancestor of the Mysterious Prime (the Lord Lao revered in Daoism), in order to protect and save celestial beings and people of the world, manifested the divine body of Xuanwu. The wondrous principle of such divine transformation is difficult to explain by means of things that have form: the Dao (the Way) is originally formless, yet its transformations are inexhaustible—empty, mysterious, and hard to measure.

The Holy Ancestor of the Mysterious Prime once manifested eighty-one times as Lord Lao, and the eighty-second transformation was into Xuanwu. Xuanwu is therefore regarded as a divine body formed by the transformation of Lord Lao, and also as the confirming sign of the manifestation of the Wuqu star (one of the stellar officials of the Northern Dipper). His root is connected with the two lunar mansions Xu and Wei, and he further unites the two Jing (essence) of water and fire. Sometimes he wears armor and a robe, sometimes boots, and sometimes he goes barefoot; he often lets his blue-black hair hang loose, divine weapons in hand, his renown shaking the Nine Heavens and his majesty reaching the four directions. Wherever he goes, dark mists stand dense, and beneath his feet the gray tortoise and the great serpent accompany him.

The divine soldiers and divine generals in his retinue number in the tens of millions, and jade lads and jade maidens each stand in twenty-four ranks to attend him. He has received the numinous talisman of the Northern Emperor and wears the Precious Seal of Qianyuan. When he gives commands, the Duke of Thunder and the Mother of Lightning are at his disposal; when he travels, the Earl of Wind and the Master of Rain escort him. The Eight Sha generals guard him before and behind, and the Six Jia divine generals accompany him to left and right. Tiangang and Taiyi obey his orders, and the altar gods and city gods alike stand under his command.

Xuanwu cuts down demonic evil and aids the good. He attends court at the Golden Portal and proceeds to Kunlun; he can open the Gate of Heaven and close the Door of Earth. His traces are hidden and subtle, hard to fathom, yet he can clearly discern the favorable and the adverse, fortune and misfortune, in the world. He dwells in the northern quarter represented by the stems ren and gui, and he also receives the aid of the generals of jia, geng, and the rest. Sometimes he rides a black steed; sometimes he drives a blue-green rainbow light. His eyes are like lightning, his brows like ranks of cloud; he stands a thousand zhang tall, with the Three Platform stars above his head. In motion he is like the interweaving of mountain and water symbolized by the Meng hexagram of the Zhouyi; at rest he is like the harmonious communion of heaven and earth symbolized by the Tai hexagram. It is precisely through these manifestations that Xuanwu displays his divine powers.

At this time the True Person again bowed in salute and said, “Your servant is fortunate to have received your instruction. Yet General Xuanwu (the Dark Warrior) is a divine general manifested from Xuanyuan, the origin of the Dao (the Way). What, in truth, were his earliest origins and experiences? Please recount them in detail, so that your servant, of shallow insight, may be enlightened.”

The Purple Tenuity Emperor then explained, in mysterious words, the origin of Xuanwu and the profound meaning within it.

Long ago, in the Palace of Desirelessness above the Daluo realm, Empress Shansheng, consort of King Jingle, dreamed that she swallowed the sun and, on waking, found that she had conceived. She was untroubled by malign Qi (vital energy), and in daily life she constantly cultivated the Dao. She carried the child for fourteen months, more than four hundred days in all. In the first year of Kaihuang, a jiachen year, on the third day of the third month, at the noon hour, she gave birth in the royal palace to a child of extraordinary appearance. When the child grew up, he abandoned the family estate, took leave of his parents, and went to Mount Wudang to cultivate the Dao. After forty-two years of practice his merit was at last complete, and he ascended to Heaven in broad daylight. The Jade Emperor issued an edict enfeoffing him as Taixuan, to stand guard over the North. From this began the circumstances of Xuanwu’s numinous manifestations.

The True Person bowed again and said to the Purple Tenuity Emperor, “The Jade Emperor’s edict of enfeoffment must carry a deep meaning. Please speak of it in broad outline, so that your servant may gain a little in understanding.”

The Purple Tenuity Emperor then told the True Person of Wondrous Practice, “The contents of the celestial scripture are secret; how could they be proclaimed at will? To leak the hidden workings of Heaven, I fear, would be most improper. The concealed language of the Great Brahma—the secret speech used in the celestial realms—how could it be suffered that all should hear it?”

The True Person of Wondrous Practice bowed and further addressed him: “Although your servant’s blessings are slight, Your Majesty is surely generous and compassionate. I beg you to take pity on the assembled True Persons and specially grant this accommodation. If the matter is rashly divulged or treated with neglect, your servant will fall into the evil paths, pass through ten thousand kalpas and a thousand lives, and be reborn among base and lowly ghosts.”

Seeing that the True Person’s feelings were earnest and that he pleaded time and again, the Purple Tenuity Emperor was moved to pity, and in the end he expounded the Imperial Kalpa—the celestial kalpic destiny and the hidden contents of which the scripture speaks.

Note: In the original, the account of the descent and birth, the cultivation of the Dao, and related matters is narrated a second time, and the close repeats the earlier words about the punishment for leaking Heaven’s secrets. Phrases such as “nai ji sibai yu chen” are none too clear in meaning; the rendering has been smoothed according to the context.

At that moment, reflecting on how single-minded and diligent this Perfected One (Zhenren) had been, the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity (Ziwei Dadi) questioned him again and again. He then read aloud the Celestial Emperor’s edict for all the perfected immortals to hear.

This secret text was written in golden seal script and measured a full zhang square; it was called a “Celestial Talisman” (Tianfu). Those who saw it could dwell long among the celestial immortals, and those who heard it need not pass through hell. The edict said:

“From the Gate of the Three Departments at the Golden Portal of Vast Heaven: By command, let this be made known to the Immortal Sage Youth, Prince of the Kingdom of Pure Joy, who cultivates and studies amid the kalpas. You carry out the transformations of the Mysterious Origin and are the Honored One of Celestial Unity; without words you transform living beings. Your spiritual powers are profound and hard to fathom, and the kalpas you have passed through stretch on without end. You empty the mind yet fill what is within, sheath your sharpness, and harmonize with the ordinary world; you open the work of creation, so that the undifferentiated simplicity of the origin divides and takes form. Over six million years you have manifested eighty-two bodily transformations. You bend and yet remain whole, suffer constraint and yet can straighten; dwelling in low places you can become full, and clearing away what is worn out you can renew. You give rise to Yin Qi (vital energy) and nurture Yang Qi, restore the dead to life, and bring human beings to maturity. You do not rely on your own achievements, and therefore your De (Virtue/Power) is genuine.

“Now you should manifest once more and forever guard the northern reaches of heaven: above, punishing the signs of rebellion and disorder; below, extinguishing the Qi of demons and perversity; taking charge of the talismanic charts and name-registers, and subduing demons and baleful influences. Gather the numinous power of the Celestial Emperors and the Perfected, command the spirits, and ride forth upon a dragon. The two generals Jia and Geng shall assist and protect your merit, patrol the four quarters of heaven and earth, and bestow blessings widely upon the people. Your Dao (the Way) accords with heaven and earth, and you are honored by the myriad spirits. You are specially appointed Grand Mysterious Marshal, to take charge of the talismanic charts and name-registers, to subdue demons and baleful influences, and to oversee all the affairs of the Yuanhe Bureau of Transfer and Review. When this patent of appointment arrives, receive the command and carry it out.”

Here, “talismanic charts and name-registers” refers to the charts and registers of the celestial realm that record spirits, ritual offices, and the like; “Grand Mysterious Marshal” is the divine office conferred by the edict.

The Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity then said to the Perfected One: “This document is a secret edict of the Jade Emperor, a sacred proclamation issued in person by the Celestial Emperor. It must not be transmitted at will, lest one incur punishment.”

The Perfected One bowed with his head to the ground and further addressed the Emperor: “I have heard that the General of the Dark Warrior possesses vast spiritual power, yet he is not ranked among the positions of the many gods, but instead stands guard over the north. The reason for his wondrous efficacy, and the mystery of his accord with the divine, must surely hold a deeper meaning. I beg you to resolve my doubts.”

In a solemn voice the Emperor told the Perfected One: “The north lies above the center of heaven, and the host of stars encircles it in homage. If not a supreme divinity beyond all others, who could guard that place and bring peace to the four quarters?”

The Perfected One then asked the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity: “If celestials and human beings sincerely revere the General of the Dark Warrior, what blessings may they obtain thereby?”

This divine general, each year, on the sixth, sixteenth, and twenty-sixth of every month, and also on the seventh day of the first month, the eighth of the second, the ninth of the third, the fourth of the fourth, the fifth of the fifth, the seventh of the sixth, the seventh of the seventh, the thirteenth of the eighth, the ninth of the ninth, the twenty-first of the tenth, the seventh of the eleventh, and the twenty-seventh of the twelfth, undergoes the scrutiny of all the heavens and tours the grotto-heavens of the ten directions. He descends into the human world to inquire and investigate, to cut down demonic evils, to disperse pestilence and malaria, to protect people in health and long life, and to accord with the Mandate of Heaven. If anyone is full of upright Qi (vital energy), pure in heart, loyal and filial, that person will be recorded on the jade slips (the jade registers on which the celestial realm enters names) and recommended for ascent to immortality. As for the other subtle regulations of the Keyi (liturgy), they are difficult to recount one by one.

The Perfected One performed a salute and bowed again, and said to the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity (a revered deity of the celestial realm): “You have already explained the causes of his manifestation. I have heard that all the celestial beings revere General Xuanwu (the Zhenwu Emperor). How should one take refuge in him, and what expedient methods should one adopt, in order to obtain blessings? I earnestly beg you for a little guidance.”

At this the Great Emperor told the Perfected One: “Between Heaven and Earth, if anyone sincerely worships Xuanwu, and throughout life does not eat fishy or rank foods, does not kill living beings that are poisonous, harmful, and loathsome, does not eat flowering greens, garlic, or foreign ginger (pungent and meaty foods), does not indulge in lust, and does not take part in handling corpses, assisting at childbirth, and the like—if one can abstain from these, only then does it count as sincerely serving the Dao (the Way). Whenever a day comes on which General Xuanwu descends, there will be auspicious celebration. On that night one should first bathe and purify the body and settle one’s thoughts, not allowing the mind to fall into confusion. At the fifth watch (when dawn is about to break), one should personally burn incense and light candles, offer clean fruits, dates, and broth, and set out three places according to the prescribed order. With mind and will made single, one kowtows and prays, and of the wishes sought there is none that will not be granted. Then, stilling the mind in sincere devotion, one recites his divine incantation:

The Divine Lord of the Mysterious Heaven in the North (Xuantian Shenjun), also called Zhenwu, is profound and enigmatic, endlessly transforming, a numinous and true Xuanwu. He can soar into the heavens and overturn the earth, command thunder and lightning, and stir the clouds and vapors. With tens of thousands of attendants and ceremonial guards, he sweeps away demonic and malevolent qi (气). The Thunder Duke serves at his side, and the Jade Maidens act as his generals; ghosts and spirits are subdued, while dragons and tigers withdraw into hiding. His might guards the Five Sacred Peaks, and the many deities obey his commands. He sounds the bell and beats the drum as he patrols heaven and earth, seizing rebellious ghosts, crushing and cutting down the hordes of demons, uprooting evil and upholding the true Way, so that the qi of the Dao (道) may always descend. Act swiftly, in accordance with the decrees and commands of the Primordial Celestial Sovereign (Yuanshi Shangdi).

He was born of the transformation of Great Yin qi, the essence of the Water position. Corresponding to the lunar lodges of Xu and Wei, his form is the Xuanwu, a union of tortoise and serpent. He roams the Nine Earths and commands the many spirits; no darkness or hidden place escapes his notice, and no aspiration remains unrighteous that he cannot set right, so that the qi of the Dao may always descend. Act swiftly, in accordance with the decrees and commands of the Primordial Celestial Sovereign.

He was born of the transformation of Great Yin qi, the essence of the Water position. Corresponding to the lunar lodges of Xu and Wei, his form is the Xuanwu, a union of tortoise and serpent. He roams the Nine Earths and commands the many spirits; no darkness or hidden place escapes his notice, and no aspiration goes unfulfilled. When a kalpa comes to its end and begins anew, he cuts down monsters, spirits, and malevolent essences, rescues living beings, and brings peace to families and states. When the age reaches the final Jia cycle, demonic qi will spread. The Celestial Sovereign possesses awesome power, and so I send down the spirits to proclaim the true teaching, to cleanse away malevolent forces and put an end to the calamities of war, so that moral transformation reaches the common people and assists in the restoration of a flourishing age. Should any lesser demon dare to appear before me, one glance from me will be enough to make the Five Sacred Peaks crumble. Act swiftly, in accordance with the decrees and commands of the Great Mystery (Taixuan).

The Perfected Miaoxing said: "The wondrous workings of merit and virtue (De, 德) arise from the causes and conditions of numinous manifestation and response. I am fortunate to have heard these teachings, and at once my confused and clouded mind has been opened. As for barbarians and the ignorant, even if they hear them, they may not truly believe in their hearts. If there truly is karmic retribution of cause and effect, could you offer a single sentence to explain it?"

The Great Emperor of Ziwei said: "Even the ignorant surely know heat and cold; even those living in barbarian lands must understand suffering and joy. For those who believe, the spirit is clear and at ease; for those who go against it, calamities will follow one after another. Thus it happens that the wealthy and noble lack brothers and descendants while the poor have many children; some men meet death amid the chaos of war, and some women lose their lives through pregnancies born of licentiousness, and they often find themselves going in and out of the courts of litigation. Even those living in barbarian lands must understand suffering and joy; for those who believe, the spirit is clear and at ease, while for those who go against it, calamities will follow one after another. This too causes the wealthy and noble to lack brothers and descendants."

This family has many descendants, yet it may meet with calamities such as these: sons perish amid the chaos of war, and daughters, conceiving through improper relationships, suffer harm to their bodies. The household is often drawn into lawsuits and remains long sunk in suffering; the family estate gradually falls into decline, and its wealth is continually dissipated. These misfortunes arise because they themselves have committed faults and have thereby brought upon themselves the corresponding consequences.

Wherever this divine general goes, vicious demons withdraw their traces, and deviant ways likewise retreat. Thus, for those who venerate him, blessings come one after another like gathering clouds, while disasters scatter as swiftly as lightning. Only because you have inquired so earnestly do I disclose the mystery of this matter, setting forth the guiding principles of the Dao (the Way) from their subtlest details, so that the people of the world may all receive great blessings and felicity. Although my words are brief, I hope that you will be able to understand; if one is not a person of virtuous conduct who can comprehend the Great Dao, these teachings ought by rights to have been kept secret and not revealed.

The Perfected One said, “May I hear the principle of the wondrous efficacy within this?”

The Great Emperor said, “Formerly, on the Shangyuan Festival in the first year of Yongshou, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (a revered deity of Daoism) was in the Celestial Palace of the Eight Effulgences, facing the God-Emperors of the Thirty-Six Heavens upon their seats of five-colored auspicious clouds, the Perfected Ones of the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, countless great spirits who soar through the heavens, the Limitless Great Sages of Longevity, together with golden lads and jade maidens, the nine phoenixes and eight luan birds, and the host of immortals. These attendants surrounded him amid radiance and were arrayed on either side. Instruments of every kind sounded of themselves, and all the sages, joyful and reverent, listened in silence as the Celestial Worthy proclaimed the supremely true and wondrous teaching. The pure and solemn Qi (vital energy) of the Dao encircled the supreme and ineffable mysterious source, and the assembled sages were intent upon studying the profound principles within it.

“Suddenly, seven tremendous peals sounded from the northeast of the Gate of Heaven. Everyone looked together in that direction and saw the aggrieved souls and evil demons of the lower world gathered in a mass, their filthy Qi surging straight up to the heavens. The Perfected Ones fell silent and said nothing, and the Great Dao itself grew still for a time.

“Then the Perfected One of Wondrous Practice inquired into the cause of the matter: ‘The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning has only just proclaimed the wondrous teaching, and auspicious signs have gathered—why, then, should there be this strange omen, suddenly giving offense to the celestial court? Please explain its deeper meaning and dispel everyone’s doubts.’”

The Great Emperor said: All beings of the lower realm are endowed with the innate nature of the Great Dao (the Way), and they also receive the pure and harmonious Qi (vital energy) of Heaven and Earth, by which they protect themselves. Now the fated kalpa is drawing to its close, and demons are gradually flourishing. People follow only deviant paths and no longer examine their own origin; they delight in serving evil deities, flattering them in pursuit of extra blessings. They are muddled and confused, and their desires run strong; they observe neither moral righteousness nor benevolence, nor do they fulfill the duties of loyalty and filial piety.

Now the Demon Kings of the Six Heavens and the Plague Officers of the Five Bureaus (divine officers who preside over plague and calamity), heedless of the laws that ought to bind them, recklessly harm living beings. The victims are not distinguished as old or young, male or female. Some have not yet lived out their natural years when they leave the world; their allotted lifespan was not yet at an end. Thus their souls are left lonely and wretched, and their resentment surges straight up to Heaven, pent up and unable to disperse. Those who have met such untimely deaths are truly to be pitied.

The Perfected One of Wondrous Conduct (Miaoxing Zhenren) reported to the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun): The perfected ones take pity on these beings. By what means may they be saved and delivered?

The Celestial Worthy clicked his teeth once. At once a radiance shone toward the north, ten thousand li away, and he ordered that the General of Great Mystery (Taixuan Jiangjun) be summoned to cut down the demons and deliver living beings.

The Perfected One asked: What deity is this general? Why does he guard the north, and how is he able, by the force of his majesty, to subdue ghosts and goblins and sweep away demonic evil?

The Great Emperor said: This divinity manifested his numinous power even before the creative transformations of Heaven and Earth had begun. He bears various titles and names of transformation, his purpose being to save the many and aid the myriad things. He does not boast of his good deeds, nor does he presume upon his own abilities. By the investiture of the Jade Emperor, he is called Xuanwu (the Daoist guardian deity of the north).

The Perfected One asked: How may this general be invited to go down to the lower realm and save living beings everywhere, so that people may be spared untimely death, the dead may be liberated, and the living may enjoy peace and health?

The Celestial Worthy then summoned the general with a flying talisman. Xuanwu came in obedience to the edict, divine troops in his train. He arrived at the vermilion steps of Never-Night (the vermilion-red steps before the palace), came before the exalted Lord of the Great Dao, offered obeisance, and then knelt long and bowed his head, saying, “Why have I today been specially summoned by talismanic command? I am fortunate to behold your compassionate countenance, yet I do not know what your will would have me do. I wait respectfully before the hall for your command, and I am willing to bow and receive your edict.”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said: “I see the resentful Qi (vital energy) of the human world rising straight to heaven. Everyone is filled with fear, and the exalted perfected ones feel compassion for this as well. You are to go to the human world; you must be careful.” Xuanwu (Zhenwu, the True Martial Deity) thereupon received the command and took leave of the celestial court. Turning his form about and reflecting upon himself, with his hair unbound and his feet bare, he accepted the mandate and descended to the world below.

Xuanwu rode a turtle and trod a snake. The immortal escort rushed forward like thunder, and celestial troops accompanied him as his guard. In a moment he reached the vast expanse of heaven and earth. He cut down violent demons, quelled the pestilence that raged unchecked, enabled wandering souls to be reborn, and freed those who suffered and fell ill from calamity. He set humans and ghosts apart and brought release to those bound by grievance and enmity. The people were thereby at peace, and the state returned to tranquility.

Xuanwu again paid homage to the Celestial Worthy and reported in detail how he had put the methods of the Dao into effect. When the task was accomplished, turbid Qi sank downward and clear, harmonious Qi rose upward. He withdrew his auspicious radiance and returned to his original divine station. Then, arraying the lodges of the Dipper by the Qian trigram of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) and pointing from the position of Kun toward the Gang star, he assisted the Celestial Pass and recited the incantation as follows:

In the age of the Great Beginning and the Great Simplicity, Heaven and Earth as yet had neither image nor bodily form, and no one knew what was heavy and turbid or what was light and clear. Amid the chaos I distinguished darkness from brightness, so that Heaven could move with firm vigor, Earth could rest secure, the people could be nurtured, and the myriad beings could sprout and come forth; so that evil might be turned back to what is right, and gods and spirits might manifest their power. Among the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and humanity, living beings of every kind could all proceed freely and without hindrance.

After the Great Dao (the Way) scattered and dispersed, benevolence and righteousness arose; once the institutions of ritual and music had been established, treachery and wickedness appeared along with them. When the Six Principles (six kinds of ethical norms) were at times abandoned, strife broke out among the four classes of people—scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Those above would not grant forgiveness, and those below ceased to be loyal and trustworthy. Demons, ghosts, monsters, and spectral beings ran rampant at will, poisoning the people and throwing the human world into disorder. Some saw their entire families fall ill and for many years suffered punishment and lawsuits; their wealth was exhausted and their kin scattered; lives were lost, and calamities followed without end. The foul and mingled Qi (vital energy) rose to the celestial court, and the Heavenly Worthy thereupon issued a command, charging me to settle the human world and quell these disasters.

Wherever there are monsters, I shall root them out; wherever there are ghosts and specters, I shall destroy them. The officers of pestilence shall bow their heads and submit, ghostly spirits shall perish, and deviant demons shall be crushed. I have a billion valiant warriors and fifty million troops and mounts; whether in Heaven or in the human world, all heed my command and descend or ascend together with me. Those who defy me shall surely perish; those who carry out my will shall live. Those who hate me shall surely be disgraced; those who revere me shall have honor. Those who serve me with due ritual respect may enjoy long life; those who slander and oppose me shall lose their lives. I issue this command, and humans, gods, ghosts, and spirits must all obey. In accordance with the statutes of the Great Mystery, let it be carried out at once.

At this, the Perfected One of Wondrous Practice, the Divine King of the Boundless Flying Heavens, and all the perfected immortals, having heard this proclamation, joyfully paid their respects and praised the merit of the Jing (scripture/classic). The scrolls of Fulu (talismans and registers) secretly stored in a jade casket were later transmitted to the human world by a banished immortal; those who aspire to the Dao ought to receive them with reverence and put them into practice.

At the end of the Jing the same account is set down once more: after the Perfected One of Wondrous Practice, the Divine King of the Boundless Flying Heavens, and all the perfected immortals had heard it, they joyfully paid their respects and praised its merit. The secretly preserved Fulu scrolls were later transmitted to the human world, and those who aspire to cultivate the Dao ought to kowtow and practice them.