《云笈七签》Vol. 33

After Middle Peng departed, a person’s plans would go awry, and they would be prone to mismanage affairs. Their work, ambitions, writing, and skills would all be hard to bring to fruition. After Lower Peng departed, their desires and interests would fade, action would become difficult, and they would lack the strength even to sit or stand. Then their descendants would decline and die out, while their hun and po souls drifted away and sank into oblivion. At that point, a person would become a walking corpse, no longer truly human.

People rely on us brothers—meaning the Three Peng, or the Three Corpse Spirits—to maintain their spirit, discern things, and think. You neither cultivate the upright and balanced Dao nor nourish your original Qi, yet you blame us for your faults. Is that not contrary to reason? After speaking, the Three Peng bowed to Yanhua and prepared to leave. In his dream, Yanhua caught hold of Peng’s sleeve and pleaded with him to stay. “Since ancient times, no one has escaped death,” he said, “but ordinary people cannot live without money. I can no longer preserve my true nature. Stay, then, and help me find a way to make money. I will no longer keep changing my mind.” The Three Peng suddenly leapt into his nostrils. Yanhua awoke in a daze. From then on, he devoted himself solely to accumulating wealth and stopped speaking of Daoist arts.

Master Minghong said: “I have heard that the Great Dao is empty and formless, with no concrete thing by which it can be recognized. All things pass from nonbeing into being, and it is perhaps from this that they acquire form. People are endowed by nature with an upright and balanced disposition; they should not let themselves turn toward what is crooked. If the heart is upright, one can accord with Heaven and Earth. How could such small creatures as the Three Corpse Spirits harm a person like that? If the Three Peng truly possessed spiritual power, how could they rule Heaven and Earth? I believe that people bring calamity upon themselves by failing to act rightly and allowing their hearts to be driven by dark, malign forces. Even something smaller than the Three Peng could then cause disaster. Is this account really worthy of belief? The Song family was wealthy and skilled in trading goods, and they always had money to spare. Song once aspired to Daoist arts, but now he has cast aside all such pursuits. He told me his dream, so I have recorded it for those who come after us—and I laugh at how thoroughly he was deceived.”

Volume Eighty-Three, Gengshen Section, Third Text

The Instructions on Taking in Qi to Dispel the Three Worms from the Scripture of the Jade Cabinet of Zhongshan (Zhongshan Yuguijing): Instructions for taking in Qi to eliminate the Three Worms.

Long ago, the Yellow Emperor assembled his ministers on Mount Kongtong and asked Master Guangcheng about the Dao. The Yellow Emperor said, “If a person wishes to nurture life and preserve their original nature, to roam freely among the heavenly courts and rest peacefully in the inner chamber, and ultimately to stand alongside the sages, keeping a youthful appearance without decline, what is the most important method?”

Master Guangcheng said, “A person takes original Qi as their root. Original Qi transforms into Jing, and Jing then changes to form the body. As for the most important method for standing alongside the sages and remaining youthful without decline…”

Master Guangchengzi said: Human life is rooted in original Qi, the vital energy at its foundation. Original Qi transforms into Jing, and Jing in turn develops into the human body. Although the body seeks to preserve life, desire can exhaust life at its source. Desire must therefore not be indulged: indulgence depletes life, while restraint allows it to flourish. A flourishing life means that Jing and Qi are abundant, the spirit is vigorous, and all the body’s spirits are whole.

Where there is death, there is life; where there is life, bodily decline cannot be avoided. Flourishing and decline, fullness and depletion, are the natural order of things. Once the sun reaches its zenith, it begins to move westward; after the moon becomes full, it gradually wanes. At the height of joy, sorrow may follow. All things decline after flourishing, and life and death are ordinary features of heaven, earth, and the human world. The sage’s wisdom reaches through all things. Knowing how to follow the proper measures to strengthen the body and observe the Way of nourishing life, the sage does not damage the body’s foundation and thus accords with the Dao at the root of all change.

Within the human body are the hundred passes and the nine joints. The hundred passes are spirits distributed throughout the body that assist the workings of the nine joints. In order, the nine joints are the palms, wrists, arms, upper arms and shoulders, neck, waist, legs, shins and ankles, and brain. Together, they make up the human form. The Grotto Chamber, Jade Gate, Purple Palace, Mudball, and Dantian are places where spirit and Qi dwell and rest; these names refer to the inner bodily abodes of spirit and Qi in Daoist Neidan practice.

The hundred spirits guard the body, while the six numinous powers protect it unseen. The hundred spirits are the spirits of the body’s various joints; they guard the hun and po souls and protect the spirits of the five viscera. When the spirits of the five viscera are clear, the hundred joints are full of vitality; when those spirits are damaged, the hundred joints also decline. When spirit and Qi are clear, a person remains relatively youthful; when they are damaged, a person is more likely to grow old. The Jing says that greed and indulgence in food and flavor damage the spirit and shorten life. A hall filled with gold and jade—how can it be kept?

Guard the inner original nature. The “six spirits” are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—that is, the six kinds of sensory and mental activity. They often move with the thoughts: when a thought arises, perception and awareness follow it into activity. Restrain them, and the mind can become calm; put them to use, and tasks can be accomplished; observe them, and insight can arise; let them run freely, and one enters a deep and subtle realm.

Within the human body are also the Three Hun and Seven Po souls. According to Daoist teaching, the liver stores the Hun, the lungs store the Po, the spleen stores the will, the heart stores Shen (spirit), and the kidneys store Jing (essence). These are regarded as the foundation that governs the body’s many spirits and six faculties. One should prevent turbid Qi (vital energy) from disturbing the mind and spirit, and avoid rash agitation. To violate these principles and fail to guard oneself will only bring harm.

One should protect the “Mysterious Pass,” the crucial place of original nature in body and mind, and grasp the “essential path,” the key method of cultivation. Here, the text says that the Dao (the Way) takes “True Unity”—a pure and undivided nature—as its Mysterious Pass, and wholehearted diligence as its essential path.

After people eat grains and other foods, evil influences are said to arise and the Three Worms to gather. The Three Worms, also called the Three Corpses, are impure, harmful entities in Daoist teaching that damage the body and consume life. They are divided into three kinds.

The first is named Qinggu, or the Upper Corpse. It harms the eyes and damages the Niwan, the divine residence in the head in Daoist teaching. Dim eyesight, wrinkled features, bad breath, falling teeth, a blocked nose, deafness, hair loss, and thinning eyebrows are all said to be caused by Qinggu. Another version calls it “Qingshi.”

The second is named Baigu, or the Middle Corpse. It harms the abdomen and damages the internal organs. Uneasy thoughts, confused thinking, a swollen and oppressed feeling in the lungs, weak stomach Qi, skin ringworm, and wasted muscles are all said to be caused by Baigu. Another version calls it “Baishi.”

The third is named Blood Corpse, or the Lower Corpse. It harms the kidneys and depletes the essence and marrow. Lower back pain, stiffness in the spine, numbness in the legs and feet, stiffness in the buttocks, wrist pain, wasted calves, weakened Yang energy, depleted essence, and deficient blood and withered bones are all said to be caused by the Blood Corpse. Another version calls it “Xuegu.”

The scripture holds that the poison of the Three Corpses spreads throughout the body, devours a person’s fetal Hun—the soul associated with the source of life—bewilders the will, damages the kidneys, and exhausts the essence and marrow, driving a person swiftly toward decline and death. This is called the arising of evil influences.

After a person dies, the corpse turns into a ghost, wandering through the netherworld, unable to enjoy the pleasures of the heavenly court. Ghosts often work mischief within people’s consciousness, leading them repeatedly to do evil, crave sexual pleasure, and become more prone to anger and delight. They make people favor the rank and filthy, look down on kindness and integrity, and disturb the spirit, plunging a person into confusion and danger. A person’s thoughts may be influenced at almost any moment.

The scripture says that on the days of Jia-yin and Geng-shen, ghosts often report to the heavenly court above and bring complaints before the underworld below, recounting people’s sins and misdeeds. Officials in charge of different regions receive these accusations, and the rulers of the Nine Springs hear the ghosts’ arguments as well. The Lord on High sometimes accepts their charges, and people may consequently be punished. In milder cases, everything goes badly for them in life and their wishes remain unfulfilled. In more severe cases, they die suddenly, change form in the netherworld, and become a kind of ghost that brings calamity. Folk expressions such as “the death-blowing straight talisman,” “male and female calamities inscribed,” and “broken by a murderous heart” refer to such events. The scripture holds that people suffer injury and premature death because they cannot give up grains and the Five Flavors, indulge their desires, and fail to restrain greed and delusive thoughts.

The Jade Book of the Inner Landscape says: “The fruits of the hundred grains are the essence of the earth. The Five Flavors are pleasing on the outside, but within they carry a demonic, rank energy. They disturb the spirits, weaken the embryo’s Qi, leave the Three Hun souls in a daze, and make it difficult for the Seven Po souls to rest.” To understand why cultivation succeeds or fails, one must recognize that corpse worms arise from eating the five grains. They pass through the five organs, encircle and bore into the six bowels, and prevent the Dantian (the body’s center for refining and nourishing essence and Qi) from becoming full. They also keep fluids from circulating, obstruct the blood vessels, prevent essence and marrow from congealing, and stop the embryo soul from guarding its chamber and the Yin Po soul from keeping its gate closed. As a result, people become attached to the Five Flavors, their desires grow, their bodies age and their spirits weaken, their skin wrinkles, and their hair falls out.

The scripture holds that unless one gives up grains and flavors, restrains indulgences, and curbs sexual desire, the corpse worms will remain and multiply, and one will eventually die. To destroy the Three Worms (Daoist creatures said to dwell in the human body and hinder cultivation), drive away corpse ghosts, calm the souls, nourish essence and marrow, strengthen body and spirit, and preserve life, one must rely on cultivation methods such as Qi techniques. One must also restrain desire and give up indulgences and sexual lust.

Eliminating the Three Corpses—the spirits that Daoism holds dwell in the human body and bring harm—and the corpse demons associated with them; calming the hun and po souls; nourishing Jing; and strengthening and preserving both body and spirit all depend on methods of cultivating Qi. One must not place one’s hopes in other methods. Such methods of cultivating Qi mean restraining desires and emotions, eliminating the Three Corpses so that body and spirit do not decline, and refining and cultivating Shen and Qi so that life may return to its source. Nothing else is worth relying on.

In the cultivation practiced by our great immortals, methods of cultivating Qi come first, with primordial Qi as the foundation. Accordingly, the guiding principle is Great Harmony, and the foundation is the balanced, harmonious primordial Qi. From there, one returns to subtlety, stillness, and mystery, dissolves into emptiness, and follows the natural Dao. Reaching this natural state, one can lighten the body and ascend, enter the hidden and mysterious realm, and move freely in and out without hindrance. In this way, the wondrous workings of the Dao unfold. When one is in communion with the Dao and receives its numinous response, what troubles could remain?

The highest immortals take primordial Qi as their foundation; those of the middle rank take alchemical methods—the methods of refining elixirs and cultivating oneself—as their foundation; those of the lowest rank give priority to medicinal methods, which cultivate through taking medicines. Weighing these three approaches, which can endure? They all consume the mind and spirit, require taking mineral substances, and cost money, while leading one away from the state of returning to stillness. This is because they do not understand the principles of nature and go against the true Dao.

Long ago, Elder Da Kui said, “Life gives me a body; the body’s activities bring me toil and worry; thoughts of hunger and thirst keep me preoccupied. Once desires and emotions are stirred and given free rein, troubles arise from them, ultimately damaging the mysterious Way of transformation and generation.” These are the essentials of cultivating the Dao, passed down by the great immortals of antiquity and recounted by Guangchengzi.

The Great Yellow Emperor (a legendary ruler of high antiquity) devoted himself to gathering his spirit and contemplating primordial Qi, the fundamental energy from which all things under Heaven and Earth arise. In this way, he opened the door to subtle principles: first quieting the Cinnabar Origin, the primordial energy within the human body associated with the root of life, then contemplating nature until body and mind merged with stillness.

In response, the Perfected Lord of Great Oneness, a divine being symbolizing the primordial Qi of great harmony at the North Pole, appeared. Holding a text called the Wondrous Scripture of the Mysterious Origin and Inner Landscape of Qi, he transmitted it to the Emperor. Later, the Emperor descended to Central Peak (Mount Song), met with the assembled immortals once more, and expounded this wondrous scripture. It was therefore named the Scripture of Nourishing the Spirit through Qi in the Jade Repository of Central Mountain. A marginal note says that Biyan had received and practiced this scripture, and had also received its transmission from his master. Having understood that its meaning was true and exact, he passed it down as an instruction.

The Perfected Lord of Great Oneness is the spirit of the primordial Qi of great harmony at the North Pole, endowed with the power of divine transformation. He travels from the Purple Tenuity Palace at the North Pole through the space between Heaven and Earth, nourishing all things. In Heaven, he appears as the five celestial signs shining clearly; on Earth, as the growth of plants and trees; in the human body, as the clarity and illumination of consciousness; in a mirror, as the observable transformations of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water); and in the north, as the changing course of the four seasons.

He cannot be heard, seen, or touched. He has neither body nor shape, yet enables all things to take form. For this reason, he is called “Mysterious” and also “Image.” Whatever responds to him never fails to receive a response; whatever is true can always be verified; whatever is pursued with single-minded focus can always be brought to effect; and whatever is approached with wholehearted sincerity can always be moved. Thus, the Dao makes “genuineness” the gateway to the mysterious realm, and “concentrated dedication” an essential path of cultivation. Following this path, one can reach what is without obstruction. A marginal note says that Biyan explained these points in sequence so that later practitioners would not be confused.

The scripture says: To practice the ingestion of Qi, using breath regulation, visualization, and other methods to cultivate Qi, one should take the ingestion and refinement of primordial Qi as the foundation, and regard returning to stillness as the subtle key. If one does not understand this gateway or know the essential path into the mysterious realm, one will ultimately fail to accomplish the merits of cultivation.

The path to seeking immortality takes abstaining from food as its foundation. The method of fasting is based on taking in Qi through regulated breathing and inhalation. Before practicing this, one must first observe purification. Keep to the purification, choose an auspicious day, and set up a bed and bedding in a quiet room. Purification requires a clear mind and settled thoughts, free from agitation; it may last fourteen days. Without purifying first, one will not receive the help of the spirits and Qi within the body. Without visualization—concentrating on the deities within the body—the spirits and Qi cannot replenish and benefit oneself.

For practice, prepare a separate room and coat its walls with fine clay, making it bright, secure, and spacious. The bed and bedding should be thick and warm, and the quilt and pillow clean as new. Do not let visitors dirty the room, and do not enter it casually. Dig the floor about two feet deep, sift out debris and gravel, remove filth, then add good soil, tamp it down level, and cover it with fine earth, pressing it firmly underfoot. Once the floor is even, sweep and clean it often. Keep only a writing desk and a scripture cabinet in the room. Whenever you burn incense, recite “Heavenly Venerable of the Mysterious Origin, Supreme and Unbounded,” then “Perfect Lord Taiyi,” a deity revered in Daoism. You may also invoke “the Three Ones, the Three Origins, and the Five Viscera’s Six Spirits,” visualizing the deities within your own body. Gather your attention, click your teeth together, and focus silently on the visualization.

Perfect Lord Taiyi has five precepts. Observe them sincerely, and the divine powers will respond:

First, do not talk and laugh with women or keep their company, lest corpse spirits disturb your consciousness.

Second, do not eat rich, greasy foods, the Five Pungent Roots such as onions and garlic, foods that are hard to digest, or cold and slippery foods. These can pollute the deities of the Five Viscera through the Three Corpses, spirits said in Daoism to dwell in the body and hinder cultivation.

Third, do not enter filthy or ill-omened places. Mourning the dead, visiting the sick, or witnessing killing or execution may disturb the hun and po souls. Great anger or terror can also unsettle and scatter the spirit. Above all, avoid corpses. The scripture says that even the vast ocean does not retain a corpse; though human beings are wondrously endowed, a corpse is extremely impure. If you accidentally encounter one, bathe with water boiled with peach bark and bamboo leaves. After bathing, return to your room and lie flat. Visualize the fire in your heart spreading through your whole body until it is luminous, as though everything had burned away. Then hold your breath, swallow fresh Qi, and expel the foul Qi from your abdomen until it is all gone; your body will then return to its normal state.

Fourth, do not argue with others over right and wrong, give way to anger or fight, or hold a child. The scripture says such acts diminish lifespan and harm the heart, will, and spirit.

Fifth, do not deceive or mislead others, or the Yin spirits will not protect you. In daily life, speak and act with restraint. Do not urinate while facing north, lest you offend Taiyi Ziwei, a celestial deity and star palace revered in Daoism, and bring grave calamity upon yourself.

If you break any of these five precepts, within fourteen days you may be startled awake in a dream and warned, so that you recognize your mistake, correct your conduct, and strive to do good. These practices are secret and must not be revealed to others. The scripture called the Wondrous Scripture of the Inner Landscape and Qi Formulas teaches that such inner secrets can only be understood inwardly by practitioners themselves, and therefore must not be disclosed.

The perfected person says: The Upper Corpse is named Peng Ju and delights in treasures. The Middle Corpse is named Peng Zhi and craves all kinds of delicacies. The Lower Corpse is named Peng Jiao and craves sexual pleasure between men and women. The Three Corpses are said to dwell inside the human body, residing permanently in the spleen.

On the night of practicing the arts, one should lie on the right side so that the spleen remains still. When the spleen is still, the Three Corpses cannot cause trouble or disturbance. This, too, is a supplementary method. That night, silently recite in your heart: “Three Corpses and Nine Worms—the evil beings said in Daoism to dwell in the human body and hinder cultivation—I already know your tricks.”

If, in a dream, you hear someone calling and mistakenly take them to be a perfected person and answer, you should get up and sit upright, click your teeth twelve times, then silently recite in your heart: “I know that you are the Three Corpses and Nine Worms. As long as I know how to set my thoughts straight and command you, do not answer me in dreams.” Keep these admonitions in mind beforehand, and the Three Corpses and Nine Worms will be unable to change shape and cause trouble.

The Dwellings of the Three Corpses

The Upper Corpse, Peng Ju, lives in the head, in the Mudball Palace—the Daoist chamber of divine energy in the head—also called the Palace of the Upper Dantian. It lies about three inches behind the eyebrows, and contains palaces and towers of its own.

The Middle Corpse, Peng Zhi, lives about three inches and three tenths behind the heart, in what is called the Central Mudball, also known as the Middle Dantian. It contains palaces and towers of its own.

The Lower Corpse, Peng Jiao, lives in the Lower Dantian, also called the Lower Mudball, in the lower abdomen, three inches below the navel. It lies a further three inches and seven tenths inward, and contains palaces and towers of its own.

Ways to Discern the Three Corpses

If you suddenly dream of building houses, fences, or screens, this is said to mean that corpse worms in the abdomen are clinging to one another and gathering together. If you dream of having sex with a woman, this is said to mean that corpse worms are congregating; in severe cases, this can develop into illness. If taking cinnabar proves effective, you are said to dream of a great fire burning down houses.

There are palaces and towers inside the houses.

If you suddenly dream that you are building a house or repairing a fence, the book says this is caused by the Corpse Worms in your abdomen clinging to one another. If you dream of having intercourse with a woman, that too means the Corpse Worms are gathering. In severe cases, this may make you ill.

When cinnabar takes effect, people usually dream of a great fire destroying a house. When other medicines take effect, they usually dream that their parents have died, their wife and children have been killed, or female or male relatives have suffered calamity. They may also dream of a grave being destroyed, a coffin going missing, or someone dying after being subjected to the Five Punishments. The book considers such dreams a sign that the Corpse Worms are about to be eliminated.

Master Zhao’s Oral Instructions for Offering Prayers to the Corpse Worms (Three Methods)

Master Zhao said that to perform a rite to eliminate the Three Corpses and Nine Worms, on each day marked by the month’s earthly branch, quietly go to the center of the courtyard at midnight and stand facing east, relaxing the body and steadying the breath. Click the teeth together thirty times, first raising the head and tilting it slightly back, then lowering it and bending it slightly forward. Swallow the saliva twenty times. Then face forward and, with both hands, gently bend the body backward and forward fourteen times.

Next, pray silently:

“Lord of Nanchang (a Daoist deity), and your five attendants and one hundred and twenty officers, please remove the Three Worms and Hidden Corpses (the Corpse Worms within the body) from [name], and escort [name] on a journey throughout the world, so that he may pass beyond calamity.”

After the prayer, silently repeat the same words once. Then slowly turn to the left and return to bed. Practice this for three years, and the Corpse Worms will be eliminated. If that month has an additional day marked by the month’s earthly branch, perform the practice once more. While practicing, it is best to abstain from food and live alone, apart from other people, keeping the surroundings quiet. Do not let anyone know, and do not let domestic animals or birds and beasts hear your voice. The book says this method is easy to practice and will not cause a trance-like condition.

Another Method

Master Zhao said that to eliminate the Corpse Worms, choose a night in spring that falls on a Jia or Yi day. Find the direction of the Year Star (Jupiter), face toward it, and bow twice. Compose your thoughts and pray silently:

May the Lord of the Eastern Morning Star aid my Hun and guide my Po, so that I may live as long as pine and cypress, my life enduring for ten thousand years without being cut short by an untimely death. Please remove the Three Corpses and Nine Worms from within my body—the unclean entities that Daoism says dwell in the human body and hinder cultivation and longevity—and make them all flee and perish. This should be practiced repeatedly at clean and quiet times. It is beneficial. The East belongs to Wood, which governs benevolence and growth. Wood overcomes Earth, so it can drive away the corpse worms associated with Earth. This is a subtle secret; keep it concealed.

Another method

The formula taught by the Master says that to drive away the Three Corpses and Nine Worms, one should sit quietly facing East at the first light of sunrise on the last day of each lunar month, and practice repeatedly. This benefits benevolence and nurturing life. The East belongs to Wood, and Wood overcomes Earth, so it can drive away the corpse worms associated with Earth. This is a secret method; keep it concealed.

Another method

The formula taught by the Master says that to drive away the Three Corpses and Nine Worms, one should face East, where the sun rises, at the first light of sunrise on the last day of each lunar month, perform the Yu Steps, and recite this invocation three times:

“Nuo gao.” (“Gao” is a cry or call.) In the moon are worms, rabbits, shrimp, and hemp; in the sun is a three-legged crow; in the water are snakes and fish; in the earth are moths and mole crickets; in the belly are roundworms and white worms.

Stop after reciting the invocation three times. Keep this method secret; do not pass it on to others.

The Eastern Clan’s Method for Making the Three Corpses

On each Gengshen day, regularly visualize the deities within the body. First, envision Taishang Laojun and the Perfected One of the Mudball Palace—the deities who govern the head—sitting upright together, wearing Far-Traveler crowns and black Daoist robes, within a dimly lit canopy. They look down over the mouth, eyes, ears, and nose, clearing and purifying the spirit and Qi. This is called “the Upper One”; it is used to restrain and gather the souls of the face.

Next, envision Taiyi the Great Emperor and the Perfected One of the Crimson Palace—the deities who dwell in the heart palace—sitting upright together, wearing Nine-Yang crowns and robes of Vermilion Southern Radiance, within a canopy in the Vermilion Mound. They look down over the whole body, making every part of it as clean as clear rippling water. The liver, lungs, gallbladder, and kidneys, too, become pure and spotless, like five-colored jade. This is called “the Middle One”; it is used to restrain the Jing throughout the limbs.

Then envision Taishang Laojun and the Perfected One of the Yellow Court—the deities who dwell in the Yellow Court—sitting upright together within the navel, wearing crowns of Tenfold Spirituality and yellow gauze robes, inside a canopy of yellow brocade. They look down over the orifices below the spleen and abdomen, making them clear and distinct, like white silk. This is called “the Lower One”; it is used to bind the body and its Po souls. In this way, the Three Corpses—the Daoist spirits said to lie dormant in the human body and hinder cultivation—can no longer move about.

From the Ziwei Palace descends the method for eliminating the Three Corpses, transmitted by Taishang Laojun.

Everyone’s body contains the Three Corpses and Nine Worms—malevolent entities that, in Daoist belief, lie hidden within the human body and bring harm. At birth, the body takes shape within the womb, sustained by the parents, and is then nourished by the essence of the Five Grains. For this reason, everyone has corpse worms in the abdomen, regarded as a grave source of harm.

On the night of each Gengshen day, the corpse worms often report a person’s sins to the Heavenly Emperor and have that person’s allotted years erased from the registers of life, seeking to bring about an early death. When a person dies, the Hun (soul) ascends to Heaven and the Po (corporeal soul) enters the Yellow Springs. Only the corpse worms remain on earth, wandering as ghosts. If the offerings of the Three Sacrificial Animals at the seasonal observances and the eight calendrical festivals are not sufficiently pure, the corpse worms may also report a person’s sins to the Heavenly Emperor at night, have their years erased from the registers of life, and urge an early death. They can also bring misfortune, causing heart pain and Zhuwu afflictions—sudden illness or intrusion by malevolent forces—and endangering a person’s life.

The upper corpse is named Pengju. It lives in the head and harms the eyes, making a person fond of wrongdoing and of devouring living beings. It may also cause bad breath and tooth loss. The middle corpse is named Pengzhi. It lives in the abdomen and harms the five organs, leaving a person short of strength, prone to forgetfulness, fond of wrongdoing and of devouring living beings. It may also cause nightmares, terror, and unease. The lower corpse is named Pengjiao. It lives in the feet and disturbs the lower body, making the Five Passions—the desires and emotions of a person—rise and fall unpredictably and difficult to control. If the corpse worms become spirits, they will harm a person’s descendants, causing misfortune to recur and making it difficult to end.

It is also said: The Upper Corpse is named Peng Ju, also called Green Garment; the Middle Corpse is named Peng Zhi, also called White Garment; and the Lower Corpse is named Peng Jiao, also called Red Mouth. These Three Corpses look like little children, though at times they resemble horses. They all have beards and hair, with strands three or four inches long.

After a person dies, the Three Corpses leave the body and transform into ghosts, looking just as the deceased did in life, with similar clothing and stature. When relatives see them, they think the deceased has returned home, but they are not the deceased’s soul. There are many kinds of Three Corpses and Nine Worms within the human body.

Those who cultivate the Dao and seek long life cannot attain immortality, no matter how hard they take medicines or abstain from grain, unless they first eliminate the Three Corpses and Nine Worms. Later generations have regarded the prescriptions handed down by the ancient sages as absurd because they have not identified the source of the harm. These are the most important teachings of the sages of high antiquity and the secret words passed down by perfected beings; they are worthy of earnest practice.

According to the method described here, on every Gengshen day, one should stay awake at night and keep the spirit focused, so the Three Corpses cannot report one’s faults to the Heavenly Emperor. If one’s offenses accumulate to five hundred, death is certain. After keeping vigil on three Gengshen nights, the Three Corpses are subdued; after seven, they are completely severed and boiled to death in the Taixuan Cauldron of Boiling Water, a place of refinement in Daoist belief. In this way, the spirit becomes settled and the Five Viscera are at peace, no longer troubled by the Three Corpses.

The Perfected One of Great Emptiness’s Method for Eliminating the Three Corpses

The Perfected One said: Each year, choose a Jia-Yin day in spring, a Bing-Wu day in summer, a Geng-Shen day in autumn, and a Ren-Zi day in winter. Just before going to sleep, grind equal amounts of cinnabar, realgar, and orpiment into a fine powder. Wrap the powder in cotton cloth, make a pouch about the size of a jujube, and place one in each ear. This is a method for dispelling the Three Corpses and refining the Seven Po. At noon the next day, bathe in water that flows eastward. After bathing, make the bed, put on clean clothes, wash the clothes you wore before, and change into clean shoes and socks. When everything is done, sweep beneath the bed and make the room clean and orderly. Then lie on your back, hold your breath, and form a firm grasp with your hands to steady body and mind. Continue for a while, then recite softly:

“The Dao of Heaven moves in constant cycles, renewing what has grown old. The Supreme Lord grants an auspicious day; I bathe and seek to become perfected. The Three Qi dispel the filth of the corpses; cinnabar and realgar settle the hun and po. I treasure and refine the Seven Po, making them draw close to me.”

This is a superior method for dispelling and refining the filth of the corpses, and a key to changing the mortal body and transforming its form. It need be practiced only once in each of the four seasons.

A Method for Meditating on the Dao and Heeding Its Admonitions to Expel the Three Corpses

Laojun left instructions teaching people to guard themselves: outwardly, one should be like an empty city; inwardly, one should be filled like vermilion cinnabar. Let the outside often appear deficient, while keeping the inside full. Guard the Dao and the five organs; do not display yourself carelessly. Act with integrity, direct your thoughts toward the Dao, and protect yourself at all times. Meditate on the Dao and keep it in mind, and you can sit and receive the traveling kitchen—the Daoist term for food that arrives as soon as one thinks of it. Meditate on the Dao and keep it in mind, and the Dao will remain with you. Keep treasures in your heart, but do not reveal them outwardly. Guard your spirit and cherish your primordial Qi, and harmful influences will not invade you. The root of longevity lies within oneself; the Three Corpses will depart of their own accord, and the hundred illnesses and nine worms will likewise disappear. Though the body endure countless calamities, one may still dwell alongside the immortals.

Method of the Five Phases’ Purple Writings for Expelling Corpse Worms (Three Methods)

The Wuwenzi says: On the new moon or full moon, around midday, half-close your eyes and face west. Visualize blue Qi flowing from your eyes, red Qi from your heart, and yellow Qi from your navel. Then let these three currents of Qi circle around one another and merge into a single current, covering your whole body as though it were shining outward, transparent as light. After a while, click your teeth forty times, then swallow the saliva in your mouth. This is called the “Way of Refining the Body.” It is also a method for eliminating the “corpse worms,” and prolonged practice is beneficial.

Another method: On the sixteenth day of the seventh month, regularly trim your fingernails, burn them to ash, and swallow the ash. It is said that the corpse worms will then perish on their own. This can eliminate the nine worms and subdue the Three Corpses.

Another method: Trim your fingernails on Yin days and your toenails on Wu days. This is called “Slaying the Three Corpses.”

A visualization of red Qi in the heart to remove the Three Corpses: A scripture says to visualize red Qi flowing from the heart and rising through the throat, then use the mind to gather it in the Muddy Pellet, the inner cultivation site in the head. With sustained practice, the Three Corpses will depart on their own, and the practitioner will attain long life and far-reaching vision. The Director of Destinies will inscribe the practitioner’s name in the Purple Register of the Immortals, the Daoist register of those who do not die.

Scroll 84, “Section on Corpse Deliverance,” Part One

It also says to visualize red Qi flowing from the heart and rising through the throat, then use the mind to gather it in the Muddy Pellet. With sustained practice, the Three Corpses will depart on their own, and the practitioner will attain long life and far-reaching vision. The Director of Destinies will inscribe the practitioner’s name in the Purple Register of the Immortals.

Scroll 84, “Section on Corpse Deliverance,” Part One

The Scripture of the Stone Essence and Golden Light: Concealing the Luminous Form and Recording the Body of the Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate says: In the past, Lord Wang of Xicheng, the Chief of the Perfected Ones, received this scripture from the Lord of Ziyang. After attaining the Dao through practice, Lord Wang passed it on to his disciple Mao Ying, and then to the Lady of Southern Marchmount. He instructed her to transmit it to those seeking the Dao, so they could cultivate themselves into Perfected Ones.

An explanation of the “Method of the Stone Essence and Golden Light for Concealing the Luminous Form and Recording the Body.”

Stone is the essence of iron, and its finest substance is the fluid that flows from within it. Metal is the backbone of the sword, while its radiance is the sword’s spirit. The sword conceals a subtle, mysterious energy. As this energy surges and shifts, it manifests in the forms of four treasures. Wielded to cut down the myriad demons, the sword’s light reflects the five stars and illuminates the Seven Origins—a Daoist term for the Northern Dipper and associated celestial bodies. It can also unleash the fierce might of fiery troops.

Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor, was buried at Mount Qiao, and his tomb therefore held a treasured sword and red shoes. When Yuzi was buried by the Bohai Sea, the tomb chamber was empty, yet the sword rang out. When Wang Qiao was buried at Jingling, the sword in his tomb flew high into the sky. These accounts truly attest to the Nine Mysteries, a profound and wondrous realm: the sword’s vital essence responds to the Great Void, the vast, formless cosmos, demonstrating the efficacy of the arts of immortality and revealing the marvelous transformations of the numinous sword.

Practitioners who cultivate corpse liberation through the sword use it in place of their own bodies. After five hundred years, these swords naturally return to their original places. Their faint, mysterious sounds continue without end, their transformations elusive and impossible to trace. They cannot be explained in words or recorded in writing. Those who have practiced this themselves or witnessed it can only grasp it inwardly.

Xuanyuan went in person to Mount Shou to mine copper and cast a tripod. Tigers, leopards, and all kinds of birds gathered around to watch the furnace fire. After the tripod was cast, Xuanyuan fell gravely ill and died. He was buried at Mount Qiao. Five hundred years later, the mountain collapsed. The tomb chamber held no body, only a treasured sword and red shoes; before long, they too vanished.

One account holds that after the Yellow Emperor succeeded in refining the elixir, he rode a dragon up to Heaven. His ministers admired him and buried his sword and shoes at Qiaoshan. Five hundred years later, Qiaoshan collapsed and the tomb chamber lay empty. Only a sword remained, and later even that sword disappeared.

Yuzi was Emperor Ku. He once visited Zhongshan and obtained the Scripture of Nine Transformations and Ten Changes. Using the arts recorded in it, he could vanish between the sun and moon and travel among the stars. One day, he suddenly died of illness, and people built a tomb for him at Mount Bohai. When the Xia dynasty fell into decline in its middle period, someone opened Yuzi’s tomb. The chamber was empty except for a sword resting on the north side. The sword gave off sounds like a dragon’s roar and a tiger’s growl, so no one dared approach it. Later, the sword disappeared as well. By the time the tomb was opened, five hundred years must have passed since Yuzi’s death.

Wangzi Qiao’s tomb was at Jingling. During the Warring States period, someone also opened his tomb and found a sword inside. Just as the person was about to pick it up and examine it, the sword suddenly flew into the sky. One might infer that these divine swords were left in the tombs in place of the Immortals, then returned to their former places of their own accord after five hundred years. Perhaps this was brought about by people of supernatural powers through the use of magic. Once the tomb chambers collapsed or were opened, the swords could emerge and soar away!

◎On Corpse Liberation

The Way of Corpse Liberation—the Daoist method of leaving the body behind and becoming an Immortal through a special form of departure from the world—may be a relatively elementary kind of mysterious art. Yet it creates a barrier in the minds of skeptics and is difficult for those who hear of it to understand. If the word “death” is used to close off this path, there is nothing more to discuss. Only Peng Keng…

Although the way of corpse liberation is subtle, it can make those who once aspired to cultivate the Dao feel uncertain, and leave others unable to understand. To cut off the path of cultivation through death leaves nothing more to discuss. As for Peng Keng, the legendary long-lived immortal who wandered through forests and mountains; Feng Gang, the legendary immortal who came and went among the courts and markets; the Four Elders of Shangshan, who appeared by borrowing pale-colored heads; and the Eight Lords, legendary immortals who underwent countless transformations—none of these are things I would choose to do.

Some people are listed in Fangzhu, the registers of immortals or related rosters. They ought to have become corpse-liberation immortals, escaping through the transformation of their remains or a feigned death. Yet they have not, because of their natural endowments, declining resolve and conduct, shallow learning, or a will that has stagnated. These are circumstances that ordinary cultivators may encounter; they are not the case of those mentioned earlier, whose Daoist arts are profound and whose family backgrounds are exceptional. Those people have already taken superior elixirs of immortality, yet still deliberately choose corpse liberation.

In the past, I received from my former master the supreme method of corpse liberation: the way to transcend through the transformation of one’s remains. Though I never put it into practice, I have never ceased to keep it in mind. Now the mortal world is in turmoil and wars overlap. The Three Officials—the gods of Heaven, Earth, and Water—drive people out and punish them, while the worthy are resented and the Dao is harmed. Those who speak of immortals instead meet with calamity, while those who pursue sensual pleasure and private gain enjoy wealth and rank. Why should those who resolve to seek the Dao and longevity struggle through this storm-tossed age, bind themselves, enter prison, and languish among the common people?

Now I secretly transmit the method of corpse liberation. It may be passed on to disciples who show promise of becoming perfected beings. Use it to withdraw from the world and avoid danger; carry it out to depart this life and free your descendants from their attachment to you; conceal your traces and travel far, then you may ascend to famous mountains.

Those who possess both Daoist skill and learning, master the arts, can command the myriad ghosts and summon all spirits, and can depart at will whether sitting or standing; those who can divide their Qi, disperse their form, and transform themselves; those whom blades cannot harm even amid battle, whom calamity and illness cannot assail even in peril, and who incur no misfortune even in the courts and markets—such people need not practice corpse liberation. Those who choose corpse liberation are mostly people who have little desire to ride dragon chariots for pleasure and prefer to dwell in the mountains and forests.

Further account.

The Zhengao says that those who swallowed langgan flowers, a legendary immortal medicine, then built tombs and pretended to die included Yanmenzi, Gaoqiuzi, and Master Hongya. Yanmenzi’s tomb is in Lu County, Yuyang; Gaoqiuzi’s is in Wenxi County, Hezhong; and Master Hongya’s is in Guzang County, Wuwei. These three places are all said to contain empty tombs for people who died in ancient times. Yet people do not know that after Gaoqiuzi underwent corpse liberation—casting off his mortal body and ascending to the realm of immortals, as Daoism describes it—he entered Liujing Mountain and took liquid gold. He later received the langgan flower elixir at Zhongshan, then pretended to die again in Guzang County, Wuwei. He entered Xuanzhou and was enrolled as a Perfected One of the Central Peak. Yanmenzi is now in the Golden Court of the Great Cavern of Meng Mountain, enrolled as an Immortal Minister of the Central Origin. Master Hongya is now a Perfected One of Qingcheng.

Those who rinsed and swallowed dragon embryos to escape death, then drank jade nectar, struck their coffins, and departed included Wang Xicheng, Zhao Boxuan, and Liu Zixian. Those who took the Golden Elixir and presented themselves to others as dead included Zang Yanfu, Zhang Zifang, and Mo Zhai’s disciple. Those who drew upon the Nine-Turn Elixir but whose corpses still stank, or took the knife-point measure of elixir but whose bodies became infested with worms, included Sima Jizhu, Ning Zhongjun, King Zhao of Yan, and Wang Ziqiao.

To undergo corpse liberation and feign death was to sever people’s attachment to life and death, showing the world that life has limits, with beginnings and endings. How could these people willingly let their corpses rot in a dark place and become food for ants? They acted this way only to stop those who defied the natural order and recklessly sought immortality, and to make everyone abandon unrealistic hopes.

Method of Forging a Sword for Corpse Liberation

For a Perfected One to undergo corpse liberation by means of a precious sword is the highest form of cicada-shedding transformation and ascension. One should first observe purification for one hundred days. Then have a swordsmith choose a gengshen day in the seventh month or a xinyou day in the eighth month to forge a fine, sharp sword. The sword should be three chi and nine cun long, one cun and four fen wide, and three and a half fen thick. Beginning nine cun from the tip, both sides should be sharpened. The hilt may be made to whatever length is needed, and a loop ornament may be fitted to its pommel. The blade need only be three chi long and sharp.

The sword blade is one chi and nine cun long, one cun and four fen wide, and three fen and a half thick. The nine-cun section near the tip forms the cutting edges on both sides. The length of the hilt may be decided according to the needs of its use, and a “recording ring” may be fitted to the pommel, but the sword’s total length must be three chi and nine cun.

“Recording engraving” means carving patterned characters into the sword. Carve the character “Ren” on both faces of the blade, nine times on each face. Carve the character “Ji” on the back of the blade, nine times in all. The characters should be cut deeply. Make each cut from the back of the sword toward the blade, carving in the direction of the cutting edge.

The engraved areas may be inlaid with gold or silver to make the characters clearer. There is also an image on the middle section of the blade. At the central “recording” section, raise a ridge shaped like a short length of sword blade, called the “Hidden Foundation.” On its inner side, carve the character “Sun” on the left and “Moon” on the right, and outline them with a circle. This is what is meant by “hiding the radiance of the sun and moon.”

The scripture says that after five hundred years the Hidden Foundation will become manifest. When the sword is wielded, it can reach the Five Sacred Peaks; when sheathed, it can be concealed in the realm of no interval. It can subdue the Nine Yin below and receive the Dark Mystery above. Its protective power is enough to drive away demons, and its might is enough to illuminate the Seven Essences. Raised upward, it can reflect the Five Qi represented by “recording”; lowered downward, it can take the place of the body and transform its shape.

To distinguish the sword’s left and right sides, and its inner and outer faces, point the tip south, with the back of the blade upward and its cutting edge downward. In this position, the east side is on the right and the west side on the left; the eastern face is the inner face and the western face the outer face. The scripture describes the sword’s wondrous powers with the phrase, “Turn the summit to yellow and red; extend across the Five Phases; tread the Dipper and contain Yin; cleave lightning and cut the wind.” “Dipper” refers to the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, and “Yin” refers to the Six Ding deities, the Yin spirits described in Daoism.

The nine-cun section near the tip, with cutting edges on both sides, must also be engraved. On both the inner and outer faces of the sword ridge, carve the character “Ding” three times. Starting from the junction of the two cutting edges, carve one character every three cun, with each character facing toward the tip.

This sword should be kept beside the bed, between the pillow, comb, and bedding, so that it never leaves your side and can protect you. It can drive away evil spirits and reflect a person’s form. Inscribe talismanic characters on it using a divine medicine—a substance used in ritual arts or alchemical preparations—and you can conceal your body and remain unseen.

The sword’s length, width, and thickness, as well as its engraved inscriptions, follow the model of the numinous swords of the Four Perfected Ones of Taiji. It is sometimes called “Dividing Light” and sometimes the “Spirit-Wielding Saber.” The swords differ only in whether their blades are made from keen or dull materials. The finest swords are made by firing stone from Mount Kunwu, smelting metal brought from the West, and casting it according to a prescribed model. This superior material is the ultimate model for the Four Perfected Ones’ numinous swords, and ordinary people cannot obtain it. Yet fine iron made according to the model is also enough to turn light and shadow, transcend the ordinary and become perfected, conceal one’s traces, and transform one’s form. Once the medicine has been applied to the sword, rare materials brought from the West are not necessary for it to achieve its wondrous effects. Ordinary iron can also be used; what matters is the model and the material.

When fierce beasts such as tigers and wolves hear the qilin’s cry, they flee back to their dens. Flocks of birds fall silent when they hear the phoenix sing. Is the qilin’s horn really sharper than the claws and teeth of tigers and wolves? Is the phoenix’s voice really more fearsome than that of fierce birds of prey such as eagles and ospreys? What makes them precious is their numinous sound and mysterious presence: through them, the subtle principle of the Dao becomes manifest, De becomes the standard that all things follow, and the True Dao becomes a means of reaching the realm of emptiness. Thus they can calm the delusions of myriad spirits and overawe every kind of vicious evil.

Why insist on using Kunwu gold or a blade capable of cutting jade? Wang Ziqiao’s sword was only ordinary, low-grade iron. The sword that the Yellow Emperor wears today was left behind when he underwent corpse liberation at Mount Qiao—a Daoist transformation in which the body is shed and one transcends this world. It too was not made from metal brought from the Kunlun region in the West.

◎ The Stages, Accounts, and Methods of Corpse Liberation

If one wishes to hide for a time and conceal one’s identity … The sword that the Yellow Emperor wears today was left behind when he underwent corpse liberation at Mount Qiao. It too was not made from metal brought from the Kunlun region in the West.

◎ The Stages, Accounts, and Methods of Corpse Liberation

If you wish to conceal your name for a time and live in seclusion high in a famous mountain; to observe the changing world at will and roam freely among forests, mountains, rivers, and marshes; or to sever your ties of concern for your children so that cultivating the Dao is never obstructed, then you should practice the “sword corpse-liberation” method. This involves using a sword in place of your own body and creating the appearance that you have died, so you can slip away into hiding. To do so, relinquish the grief of family ties outwardly and suppress attachment and desire inwardly. If you do not wish to become a true official and would rather live in self-sufficient seclusion, this method is for you.

The procedure is as follows. Write “Qu Chen Fei Jing,” a substance or technical term used in the scripture’s practice, on both sides of a sword. First pretend to be ill, then lie down holding the sword. Mix your saliva with Fei Jing and form the mixture into a pill the size of a soybean, which you swallow. Make another pill the size of a small bean and hold it in your mouth, then rub it on the sword’s pommel. Silently call the sword by its name and pray: “Liang Fei Zi Gan, I now nourish you with Qu Chen Fei Jing. Let you take my place, so that my form is not revealed. I shall go into hiding; for now, enter the tomb in my stead. Come seek my path again after five hundred years. Now I bid you farewell. Do not, whatever you do, let the matter go awry. May you ascend to Taiji, the Supreme Ultimate, and have your merit recorded in the Eight Su.”

When the prayer is finished, close your eyes and swallow your breath ninety times. Then open your eyes and suddenly see Taiyi, a Daoist deity, riding a heavenly horse to the bedside. Mount the horse. Looking back, you will see that the sword in your arms has become your corpse, left behind in its place. At this point, change into the clothes bestowed by Taiyi at his arrival. Leave your old clothes and headcloth where they are, covering the corpse formed from the sword. Then ride off through the air, traveling wherever you please.

You may also return to your hometown under a different name, without fear of obstruction. The corpse formed from the sword is indistinguishable from a real person: it will even stink and become infested with worms. Once the sword is placed in a coffin, however, it returns to its sword form and no longer looks like a corpse.

The heavenly horse is a divine beast like Jiguang or Tenghuang. The Perfected One of Taiji commands the envoy Taiyi to bring a horse and lead it by the reins to welcome you, and to bestow a precious robe. These things appear in a hazy, indistinct way, and their origins are hard to know. When the heavenly horse departs, even if many doctors are attending and your descendants crowd around you, once you have changed clothes and hidden the sword, your figure has already shifted and vanished. Though those present stand shoulder to shoulder, right before your eyes, they do not notice what you have done. This is what is meant by “transforming and escaping among the Three Luminaries, circling the sun’s essence, changing in myriad ways with each breath, no longer in one’s former shape”: through transformation, one hides among the sun, moon, and stars, changing countless times in an instant until one’s form is no longer as it was.

The precious robe is a seamless garment. The sword is called “Zi Gan,” and its name is “Liang Fei.” Before using the sword, when you lie down to sleep, you should also pray silently: “Liang Fei Zi Gan, divine metal, wield your numinous power. Make the hundred spirits serve; grant me long life. Let no evil spirit harm me, even if Heaven and Earth should fall into chaos.” As you pray, face the sword’s pommel and recite the words softly. When mounting the heavenly horse, use the method of “concealing the radiance,” a technique for hiding one’s form and appearance…

Place the two Recorded-Form Spirit Pills—said to enable the body to change shape and vanish from sight—in a blue sword case. Tie the opening tightly and put it under the bedding. After a while, what is inside the case will turn back into the sword that was there before. Only after two or three years will it suddenly disappear on its own.

This is called “Qu Chen Flying Essence,” also known as “the Flower of the Sun’s Essence of the Seven Yangs.” It is probably akin to langgan, a kind of jade in legend. This elixir can also move about and vanish, dissolve its form, and make its shadow split into indistinct, barely perceptible shapes. Even the Four Seas cannot contain its form, yet a grain of millet can enclose it. It vanishes and turns back seven times, concealing the Three Lights—the sun, moon, and stars. It is truly marvelous.

If someone achieves corpse liberation with the aid of other medicines, rather than changing through the Spirit Pills, they cannot return to their hometown. Should they return, the Three Officials—the deities who govern the affairs of Heaven, Earth, and Water—will seize them.

Corpse liberation takes many forms. Some die and then come back to life; some are beheaded and die, but later appear off to one side. Some corpses vanish before burial; in other cases, the body remains but the bones disappear. Some leave behind only their clothes, their bodies having departed; others lose their hair, and then their bodies disappear. Departure by day is called “upper corpse liberation”; departure at midnight is called “lower corpse liberation.” Those who depart at dawn or dusk are called “masters of the underworld.”

All these forms of corpse liberation leave traces that do not fade, making them easy to doubt. Even if one can vanish from sight, this does not fulfill people’s hopes, and one cannot return to one’s hometown. One wanders without a settled place—this is the greatest regret. This is the method of corpse liberation from the Great Clarity tradition. How could it be compared with the methods of transformation and concealment taught by the Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate? The two are far apart in rank, and there is reason for the difference.

The Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate’s Admonition

The Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate warned: “Even after years of transmitting this kind of art, one may only be at the very beginning. In ancient times, when society was stable, it should be transmitted in full, according to the prescribed term. In the middle age, as the world declined, the transmission could gradually be reduced by half. In the later age, when the world was in turmoil, only one third could be transmitted. This principle applies not only to this art but also to the Great Dao of long life. If one encounters someone truly suited to receive it, the transmission need not be subject to these restrictions. The ‘later age’ mentioned here refers to the era of the Golden Horse. This matter is recorded in the Admonitions of the Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate.”

◎ The Method of the Spirit Staff for Corpse Liberation

The Jade Instructions of the Red Writ say: “Choose bamboo growing on the sunny side of a numinous mountain and make it into a staff seven feet long. Its nodes should be distinct, and it should be straight from end to end. Sweet bamboo is best. Write the Black Emperor’s Talisman in the second node from the bottom, the White Emperor’s Talisman in the third, the Yellow Emperor’s Talisman in the fourth, the Red Emperor’s Talisman in the fifth, and the Azure Emperor’s Talisman in the sixth. Leave the topmost node empty, so it can connect with Heaven, and the bottommost node empty, so it can be planted in the earth. Seal the upper node with wax, pierce it through the middle, and stamp it with the Seal of the Primordial Beginning (the seal of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning). Then seal the lower node with wax, pierce it through, and stamp it with the Seal of the Five Emperors (the seal of the Celestial Emperors of the five directions).

Sew a red cloth cover large enough to hold the spirit staff. Keep the staff with you whether lying down, resting, or sitting up. When going out, you may remove the cover, conceal the staff, and carry it with you; after each use, place it somewhere clean. Point the staff at Heaven, and the celestial spirits will bow; point it at the earth, and the earth spirits (local deities) will come to greet you; point it northeast, and all ghosts will be bound in form.

When carrying the staff on a journey or performing a spell, click your teeth thirty-six times. At the same time, visualize each of the Five Emperors sending a Direct Talisman Officer (a divine official who conveys talismanic commands) to protect you. The officers wear clothes in the colors corresponding to their respective directions, and the radiance of the five colors shines upon the spirit staff. Then visualize each of the Five Emperors sending a Jade Maiden, who together guard either side of the staff. After this, softly recite the invocation:”

The Mountain of the Sun is where the Primordial Celestial Worthy’s highest essence and Qi reside. It opened up Heaven and Earth and enabled sweet bamboo to receive spiritual Qi. The Commanding Talisman’s guardian officers lead divine troops. Five-colored radiance flows and turns; vermilion flames and golden bells shine. It assists the Highest Perfected, who have attained the Dao, as they enter and leave the netherworld. When the celestial gods are summoned, they come in reverence; when the earth gods are commanded, they arrive to welcome the summons. Point toward a ghost and it is destroyed; demons and monsters are bound in form. The numinous talisman and divine staff inspire awe in all directions.

“It perishes with me and lives with me. After passing through countless kalpas, it will take the place of my body. Through it, my shadow-body is released, and my consciousness ascends to Shangqing, the Daoist realm of the highest heavens. The commands conveyed by the talisman are to be obeyed; no one dares not to heed them reverently.”

After reciting this, draw in the Qi of the five directions in turn, swallowing five times from each direction, for a total of twenty-five times. Practice this method for nine years with constant diligence and care, never growing lax, and the perfected spirits will appear. The divine staff can also carry a person through the air. If you wish to leave the world through corpse liberation—the symbolic shedding of the body through a relic or substitute—the divine staff can take the place of your body. In an instant, you can become a Perfected One.

When making offerings on the eight calendrical festivals associated with your birth, burn incense on either side of the divine staff and bow to it twenty-five times. Practice for nine years with constant diligence and care, never growing lax, and the perfected spirits will appear. The divine staff can also carry a person through the air. If you wish to undergo corpse liberation, the staff can take the place of your body. In an instant, you can become a Perfected One. Burning incense and bowing to the divine staff on the eight festivals associated with your birth can bring a response from the spirits and their descent; in this way, the Daoist method is perfected.

Water Liberation (Three People)

Xin Xuanzi

Xin Xuanzi, whose courtesy name was Yanqi, was from Dinggu in Longxi. He enjoyed cultivating the Dao. Later, while crossing the Qin River plain, he drowned at Changliang. The Queen Mother of the West and the Northern Emperor of Fengdu, a deity who governs the netherworld, took pity on him and ordered the Three Officials—of Heaven, Earth, and Water—to gather his remains and return his soul. He came back to life, gained an extended lifespan, and moved to the Southern Palace. He is now appointed to command the East Sea and is a candidate for the post of Zhonglang General of Jinyuan, overseeing the affairs of ghosts and spirits in the Wu and Yue regions.

Duan Jizheng

The Record of Daoist Deeds and Numinous Immortals states that Duan Jizheng, a native of Dai Commandery, was a recluse who studied the Dao with Sima Jizhu in his later years. He drowned while crossing the Qin River plain and later became a divine officer in charge of ghosts and spirits in the Wu and Yue regions.

Duan Jizheng

The Record of Daoist Deeds and Numinous Immortals states that Duan Jizheng, a native of Dai Commandery, was a recluse who studied the Dao with Sima Jizhu in his later years. He drowned while crossing the Qin River plain; this probably counts as water liberation, a way of shedding the body and ascending to immortality through water. He is now in Mount Weiyu.

Wang Jinxian

Wang Jinxian was the daughter of Wang Yan of Langgan. After she was seized by Shi Le, she went with her maid, Liuchu, to the banks of the Yellow River. Vowing not to suffer disgrace, they then threw themselves into the river. At that time, the female immortal Han Xihua of Mount Song was out traveling. Seeing them fall into the water, she took pity on them and rescued them both. To all appearances, they sank beneath the river; in truth, Han Xihua secretly saved them.

Han Xihua then took them into Mount Songgao and taught them the essentials of the Daoist arts. Wang Jinxian now lives at the Yiqian Palace in Huayang. Liuchu’s family name was Tian; she was from Yuyang and was the granddaughter of Tian Feng, magistrate of Junyi County. She was about twenty-two or twenty-three at the time. Dignified in appearance, resolute in character, and steadfast in her principles, she was able to throw herself into the river alongside Wang Jinxian. Tian Feng had secretly performed good deeds and cultivated De, and the resulting blessings also reached Liuchu, enabling her to become an immortal.

Preface to the Supreme Scripture of the Flying Immortal’s Precious Sword, by the Perfected One of Taiji

What is called “liberation from the corpse”—the way an immortal becomes one by feigning death or leaving behind a transformed body—is a change and shedding of the physical form. It is also the transformation of one’s original nature through cultivation: the body’s material form disappears and changes, in a way of withdrawal that transcends the domain of the Five Phases.

Although liberation from the corpse ranks low among the grades of immortals, the fundamental Dao it entails is not necessarily shallow. Some do not wish to ascend to heaven, choosing instead to live in seclusion on a famous mountain. Some honor and clarify the teachings that guide the world, helping people sever the path of birth, death, and rebirth. Others wish to relinquish their attachment to their descendants. Becoming an immortal is no easy matter; some hope to observe the changes of the world for a long time, while also fearing the burdens of service as an immortal official.

Once the wondrous Dao has been fully cultivated, one may choose a higher or lower destination according to one’s own capacities and wishes. Thus, worldly eyes cannot assign fixed ranks to life and death. This is what is meant by concealing the radiance of the sun, moon, and stars, and quietly withdrawing in broad daylight.

It also says: Apply the “Recorded-Form Numinous Pill” (a fabled elixir used to transform the body through corpse liberation) to burning charcoal, and others will see the practitioner’s body burned to death. This is called “fire liberation.” Mix a pill with water and swallow it, then lie down embracing a tree. Others will see the practitioner apparently die of wounds in an empty house. This is called “weapon liberation.”

Whichever method is used, once the appearance of death has been manifested, one must not return to one’s hometown; one must change one’s name and appearance. In the past, someone practiced this method in the mountains of Linlü, then went home again after three years. Those who practice the lower level of “corpse liberation” should never look back toward their hometown. But the passage here describes a higher path of liberation: the practitioner’s name has already been entered in the Purple Registers and among the Three Officials. They can no longer peer through the cracks of the mortal world, and this must not be misrepresented as merely feigning death to escape.

◎“Preface to Ronghu’s Transmission of the Ten-Turn Purple-Gold Elixir to Shun”

The Scripture of Gathering Spirits (Jiling Jing) records: Long ago, Shun moved away from Pingyang and was preparing to leave the capital for Puban when, along the way, he met a Hu man from the northern Rong peoples. The man struck Shun with his pillar-like body. Shun said, “What a strange man!” His attendants seized the Hu man and asked where he came from. Shun said, “He is an old Hu man.” He then ordered them to release him. The attendants let the man go.

The Hu man said, “Because I struck you like a pillar, I was able to meet your ruler. If I had not struck you, how could I have met him?” He stubbornly refused to leave. The attendants reported this to Shun. Shun ordered them to bring the Hu man to him, but the man would not come forward. He said to the attendants, “The Son of Heaven thinks me uncouth, so he has sent word for me. The order comes from your ruler. But if I do not wish to come, your ruler cannot bring me here in person. It is your ruler’s will that has brought me here, not my own.”

Having said this, the Hu man lay down and sang a local song. The attendants reported what had happened to Shun. Shun said, “He refuses to come when summoned; that is a slight against my invitation. Yet I have entered another’s territory and slighted its host. Perhaps I, too, have my reasons.” Shun ordered a carriage prepared and went in person to where the Hu man was. The Hu man still lay there and did not rise.

Shun stepped forward and said, “The guest has shown the host some disdain, and I, the host, have failed to observe the proper courtesies of hospitality. Please, guest, conduct yourself according to the guest’s rites, and allow me to fulfill the host’s duties in person.” The Hu man said, “That is how it should be. How do you intend to send me on my way? I knew no rites when I was born, and I knew no rites as I grew up. I grew naturally, without making any arrangements. Heaven did not teach me rites when I was born, nor did it teach me rites as I grew. To be born, nurtured, and grow is the way of Heaven. Rites arose only after loyalty and trust had declined. Now you are the Son of Heaven, yet you do not understand what gave rise to your own life. Instead, you tirelessly expound on rites. How can you understand life and realize the Great Dao?”

On hearing this, Shun exclaimed, “Could this Hu man be a sage? I should learn from him.” He then treated him with due courtesy. The Hu man passed on to Shun the Ten-Turn Purple Gold Elixir Formula, a Daoist formula for cultivating and refining the Elixir. Later, Shun made a southern tour of Mount Jiuyi and ultimately underwent corpse liberation—a Daoist transformation in which the body disappears as one becomes an immortal—and did not return.

There are many ways to shed the body and become an immortal. Some withdraw to forests, mountains, and springs; others travel through foreign lands. Some personally encounter an enlightened master, while others meet a true spirit. Some receive Fulu (talismans and registers) that record their future life; others wear a token that conveys the secrets of becoming immortal. Some sit upright in an empty valley and die; others stand in a remote mountain cave and transform away. Some leave behind only their hair bun, while the knots in others’ clothing remain untied.

Some pass through the refining forces of water and fire, then return to life a thousand years later. Others are wounded by weapons, losing their limbs yet remaining alive. In some cases, one foot fails to transform away, while the Five Viscera shine with radiance. People like Zhao Chengzi have their names recorded in the Purple Palace, the halls of the immortals, and entered in the registers of the Cinnabar Terrace, where the immortals keep their rolls. This is because they received the protection of the Three Officials’ Taiyi, who guarded their bodies and kept them from decaying.

Taiyi, whose office is to guard the body and keep it from perishing, is also called Wuyou Shou. His courtesy name is Gui Huichang; he is also known as Jie Meng and Ji Pin. He is charged with overseeing human life and destiny.

The High Holy Emperor Lord said to Perfected One Jingxiao: “If you wish to have the methods of shedding the body and becoming immortal engraved in The Mysterious Record of Returning to Heaven through the Nine Heavens, you should bathe and observe purification on the fifth day of the fifth month, when Yang Qi rises and unites above. At noon, enter a room and burn incense…”

The High Sage Emperor Lord said to Perfected One of the Scenic Empyrean: “If you wish to have your name inscribed in the register of immortals in the Method of Dissolving Form and Returning to Heaven through the Nine Empyrean Heavens of the Mysterious Record, you should bathe and fast on the fifth day of the fifth month, when the Yin-Yang energies of Heaven and Earth come together. At noon, enter a room, burn incense, face north, make nine prostrations, and pay homage to the Jade Heaven. When the ceremony is complete, remain facing north and click your teeth together twelve times.

“Next, visualize cinnabar-colored clouds filling the fasting chamber, brilliant with light. Visualize the Five Elder Immortal Sages, revered deities of the five directions, standing among the crimson clouds, draped in fluttering blue-green silk and wearing jade crowns that reach to Heaven, each holding a blue-green register of immortals. Then visualize the Jade Youth who Leads the Immortals, a divine official in charge of guiding immortals, dressed in brocade robes and wearing a crown adorned with seven treasures, holding a silver tablet. Imagine these two perfected immortals writing your name on a white tablet and entering it in the blue-green register. Then have them hand your tablet to the Emissary Who Inspects the Perfected, for the Left Immortal Who Determines the Register to review and submit it to the emperors of the Nine Heavens. Once the Seven Sages have confirmed it, the register is returned. The Five Elder Immortal Sages and the Jade Youth Who Leads the Immortals then dissolve into the Crimson Palace within your body, the inner palace corresponding to the heart. Then recite this invocation:

“Cinnabar energy of the Vermilion South gathers in the Upper Yang. The primordial energy of Heaven meets and mingles; all six wishes flourish. The Nine Sages and Seven Perfected gather in the Jade Hall. Submit my name on the mysterious tablet and enter it in the register of immortals in the Western Palace. Write it clearly, so it may reach the four quarters. Cinnabar clouds wheel across the sky and descend upon my chamber. The feathered procession shines in splendid array: to the left rides a vermilion phoenix, to the right a wandering dragon is held aloft. The six reins rise together, ascending to the splendid immortal hall. The Five Elders bear the tally, accompanied by the spirits of the four directions. May I preserve the mysterious radiance for all time, shining with the same light as the sun and moon.

“When you have finished reciting, make seven prostrations to the Seven Sages and swallow seven breaths. The rite is then complete. After practicing in this way for seven years, you will receive in the Upper Palace the Daoist name entered in the Mysterious Record, be illuminated by the perfected immortals of the Nine Heavens, and ascend into the formless realm.

◎ Talisman of the Great Mystery for Nurturing Life

The Lingbao Talisman of the Great Mystery for Nurturing Life is said to have been composed by Yu the Great, who received it from the Perfected One of Bell Mountain. The scripture sets out separate instructions for offering ritual prayers, ingesting the talisman, and wearing it.

◎ Powder Bequeathed by the Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate

The Perfected said: Those who depart through “corpse liberation”—the Daoist practice of leaving the body behind and ascending to immortality, with an object left behind as a sign of their departure—always leave an item behind before they go. The item may be a knife, sword, piece of bamboo, or staff; it may also be a talisman of water or fire. Records of Xia Yu say that he received this method from a Perfected of Zhong Mountain. The specific methods for making offerings, conducting a Zhaijiao (purification ritual), and taking or wearing the associated objects are recorded in this scripture.

The Supreme Ultimate Perfected’s Belt Powder

The Perfected said: Those who depart through corpse liberation always leave an item behind before they go. They may use a knife, sword, piece of bamboo, or staff, or free themselves by means of weapons associated with water and fire. After leaving the body, they should feel no attachment to their native home and should not be troubled by affection for their parents, spouse, or children.

This “powdered transformation”—a corpse liberation method carried out with medicinal substances—requires only that the medicine be spread on a belt. The belt is then fastened tightly; after holding the breath and following the prescribed procedure, one departs. This seems easier than other methods. The ingredients are:

One large portion of water-gold, two large portions of cinnabar, three large portions of water-mercury, four large portions of Geng lead, and five large portions of yellow earth.

Grind all the ingredients together into a fine powder, mix them with Nine Yin Spirit Water, and spread the mixture on a belt. Fasten the belt tightly. By following this method, one can leave the body, leaving behind only a corpse lying on the bed mat.

The Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan

The Yellow Emperor’s title was Xuanyuan. He could denounce and command the hundred spirits. He spoke from a very young age, was wise and discerning, could foresee events, and understood the workings of all things. He called himself the Master of Clouds, and his body bore the features of a dragon.

The Yellow Emperor chose the day of his departure himself and bade farewell to his ministers. He was later buried at Bridge Mountain, but after the mountain collapsed, his coffin was found to contain no body—only his sword and shoes. The Immortal Books say that the Yellow Emperor mined copper at Mount Shou and cast a ding cauldron beneath Mount Jing. When the cauldron was complete, a dragon lowered its whiskers to welcome him, and the Yellow Emperor rode it up to Heaven. His ministers and officials all grasped the dragon’s whiskers and followed, clinging to the Yellow Emperor’s bow and to the dragon’s whiskers. Some pulled out the whiskers, and the Yellow Emperor’s bow fell to the ground. The ministers could not ascend with him; they could only gaze up at the Yellow Emperor and weep in grief. For this reason, people call the place where he ascended “Ding Lake,” and his bow “Crow’s Cry.”

Eulogy:

The sacred, profound, and remote realm of the sovereigns is lofty and difficult to fathom. They once descended temporarily into the world to govern the myriad beings, and so were honored as the foremost of all kings. Their teachings reached across heaven and earth in every direction, and the wondrous workings of their spiritual powers had no bounds. Tradition says that they feigned burial at Mount Qiao, then ascended to the distant heavens.

Ning Feng (Ascending to Heaven by Transforming His Body in Fire)

Ning Feng lived in the time of the Yellow Emperor. Tradition passed down through generations says that he served as the Yellow Emperor’s pottery official, overseeing the making of ceramics. Someone once passed by and tended his kiln for him. This person could make five-colored smoke rise from the fire. After a long time, he taught this method to Ning Fengzi. Ning Fengzi piled up firewood and burned himself; with the smoke, he rose and fell through the air. When people inspected the ashes, they found bones still within them. They therefore buried him in the mountains north of Ning, and called him “Ning Feng.”

The praise poem says: Ning Fengzi was truly extraordinary, endowed with the wondrous Dao of nature. He refined and transformed his body in a blazing furnace, his breath spreading and rising with the five-colored smoke. The ashes cooled, leaving only bones, interred in a tomb on Ning Mountain. People can see the traces he left behind, but who can truly understand their mystery?

Yu Zi

Yu Zi’s surname was Zhang and his given name was Zhen. He was from Nanjun. In his youth, he studied many kinds of classics. When King You of Zhou summoned him, he did not answer the call. He sighed and said, “As people live in this world, they move ever farther from the day they were born and ever closer to the day they die. Yet they crave wealth and status, and do not know how to care for body and mind. Once their allotted lifespan ends and their breath stops, they die. What use is it to be a king or lord, with heaps of gold and jade? In the end, the body still turns to dust. Only by cultivating into an immortal and transcending the worldly can one endure without end.”

Later, Yu Zi took Sang Zi as his teacher and learned various arts. He then devised a method of cultivation of his own and wrote more than a hundred Daoist texts. His arts centered on “Wukui.” He also mastered the principles of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), explaining their subtle mysteries and using them to cultivate body and nature, treat illness, and avert calamities and misfortune. It is said that he could summon whirlwinds that tore roofs from houses and snapped trees, and raise thunder, rain, and mist. He could turn leaves of grass, broken roof tiles, and stones into livestock such as cattle and sheep, or into dragons and tigers; they took shape in an instant. He could also multiply himself into hundreds or thousands of figures. He could cross rivers and seas, then hold water in his mouth and spray it out; the water would turn into pearls and jade, which would not turn back into water.

At times he would hold his breath until he seemed not to be breathing. He could not be lifted or pushed, and his body could neither bend nor straighten. After a hundred days, or sometimes several dozen, he would become active again. When he traveled with his disciples, he would knead mud into pellets and give them to the disciples, telling them to …

Close your eyes, and in an instant a great horse will appear before you. You can ride it for a thousand li in a single day. You can also exhale a five-colored breath that rises hundreds of feet into the air. When a bird flies past, point at it with your finger and it will fall. Stand beside deep water and cast down a talisman: summon fish and turtles, and they will swim together to shore. You can also enable your disciples, simply by looking up, to see things a thousand li away. This ability can last a very long time.

During “Wukui,” fill a vessel with water and place it between the two kui. Blow and exhale toward the water, and a red light will appear above its surface, shooting straight upward and shining brightly to a height of one or two zhang. Use this water to treat all kinds of illness: if the illness is inside the body, have the patient drink it; if it is outside, bathe the patient in it. Either way, recovery will be swift. Later, he entered Mount Kongtong to refine elixirs. After taking one, he pretended to die, then departed by the method known as “release from the corpse”—leaving behind a body, or by other means, to escape the mortal realm.

◎ Wang Ziqiao

Wang Ziqiao was Crown Prince Jin, the son of King Ling of Zhou. He loved to play the sheng, whose sound resembled the cry of a phoenix. He once traveled around the Yi and Luo Rivers. Later, the Daoist Fuxiu Gong guided him up Mount Songgao. More than thirty years later, someone went up the mountain looking for him and met Huan Liang. Huan Liang relayed Wang Ziqiao’s message to the others: “Tell my family to wait for me at the summit of Mount Goushi on the seventh day of the seventh month.” On that day, he indeed appeared, riding a white crane that came to rest on the summit. The people saw him from afar but could not approach. He raised his hand in greeting, then departed a few days later. Later, people built shrines to him both below Mount Goushi and on the summit of Mount Songgao.

The eulogy says:

Wang Ziqiao was wondrous indeed, his spirit roaming freely, his breath clear and fresh. Between the Yi and Luo Rivers, he played the sheng, whose sound was like a phoenix’s cry. Fuxiu Gong sensed his presence, reached out to guide him, and together they climbed the high mountain. He swung his staff and walked along the green cliffs, then took flight on feathered wings and went off alone.

◎ Qing Pingji

Qing Pingji was from Pei State. In the time of Emperor Gaozu of Han, his name was Wei Ping. By the reign of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, his appearance had still not aged. He later departed by the method of release from the corpse. More than a hundred years later, he returned to his hometown and, a few days afterward, departed again by the same method.

◎ Sima Jizhu

Sima borrowed wings and went off alone.

◎ Qing Pingji

Qingping Ji was from Pei. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Han, he once served as Weiping. By the time of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, his appearance had still not aged. He later departed by “corpse liberation,” a Daoist method in which a practitioner leaves behind the body while spirit and form depart. More than a hundred years later, he returned to his hometown and stayed for several days, then departed again by corpse liberation.

Sima Jizhu

Sima Jizhu was from Chu and earned his living as a diviner in the marketplace at Chang’an. During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han, Jia Yi and Song Zhong served as Grand Masters of the Palace. They had heard that “a sage of virtue is not necessarily found at court; sometimes such a person moves among the common people.” So they decided to visit Sima Jizhu.

They found Jizhu seated at ease, with his disciples attending him, as he discussed with them the patterns governing the movement of Yin and Yang. Jia Yi and Song Zhong said, “Judging by your bearing and listening to your words, sir, you are rare in this world. Honorable offices should be held by worthy people. Why have you chosen such a lowly status and taken up such a base occupation?”

Jizhu laughed and said, “From your manner, you two Grand Masters seem to understand the arts of the Dao. How can you say something so shallow? Now the distant peoples beyond the frontier refuse to submit, and the movements of the four seasons are out of harmony. Yet you do nothing but hesitate and talk idly, relying on one another’s power and dealing with one another for profit. Why should a worthy person be ashamed of these things? One’s inner life is free from the troubles of hunger and cold; one faces no fear of being robbed from without. In high position, one is respected by the people; in low position, one is spared calamity. That is how a gentleman conducts himself in the world. Making a living through divination embodies the saying, ‘The highest De does not consider itself virtuous.’ The phoenix does not mix with sparrows. Your understanding is so limited—how could you grasp the way of your elders?”

At his words, the two men were instantly ashamed and at a loss. Later they said to each other with a sigh, “Those of great Dao and De are secure; those of great power are in danger. If a diviner makes a wrong prediction, he may lose the rice given in payment. But if one advises a ruler and gets it wrong, one may have nowhere left to live.” Later, Song Zhong was convicted of a crime and punished. Jia Yi, grieving, wrote the “Rhapsody on the Owl.” After Liang Xiaowang fell from his horse, he vomited blood and died.

Sima Jizhu later entered the Great-Being Palace on Weiyu Mountain and became a disciple of Xiling Zidu, studying the “Way of the Stone Essence and Golden Light for Concealing the Form and Transforming the Body,” a Daoist practice for cultivation and bodily transformation. Before departing, he left behind his pillow and sleeping mat as a substitute. At a glance, they looked no different from a real person. His family therefore buried them at the southern foot of Shengpan Mountain in Shu. Zhuge Liang composed an inscription for him:

“In the profound and still realm of mystery, Yin and Yang unite. Heaven and Earth join, and from this all things grow and appear. The Master illumines the principles of things and distinguishes the yielding from the firm; thus spirits and ghosts can be perceived, and the six degrees become clear.”

After attaining the Dao, Jizhu often read the Jade Scripture, consumed the essence of the Luminous Elixir, and absorbed the radiance of Fuchen. His complexion was like a young girl’s, and he wore a three-foot-long beard, black as ink. He had two children: a son named Fayu and a daughter named Jihua. They too lived on Weiyu Mountain and studied the “Thirty-Nine Chapters” together.

Bao Shuyang was from Guangning. In his youth, he enjoyed practices for nourishing life and took cinnamon powder made from ground cinnamon bark. Later, he lived with Sima Jizhu on Mount Weiyu, where he became a disciple of the Western Spirit Maiden of Great Mystery, Xiling Zidu, and learned the art of corpse liberation: a Daoist method by which a practitioner leaves the mortal world and becomes an immortal by means of a body left behind.

Xu Wan was from Haiyan in Wu Commandery. From a young age, he possessed Daoist arts and could subdue malevolent spirits. When the daughter of the Du family of Qiantang was troubled by an evil spirit, Xu Wan performed a rite to summon it. A “man” wearing a white, single-layer hemp garment walked through the door. Xu Wan shouted at him, and the man immediately turned into a white tortoise. One day, Xu Wan went with several of his cousins to Mount Shiqi to gather firewood. He did not return by evening. The next morning, people went up the mountain to look for him and found him standing motionless against a tree, a sickle tucked beneath his arm. Someone stepped forward to embrace him, but found only an empty shell.

Dong Zhongjun was from Linhuai. In his youth, he practiced breath circulation and body refinement, Daoist methods centered on regulating the breath and training the body. He lived to be over a hundred and showed no signs of aging. Once, after someone falsely accused him and he was imprisoned, he pretended to die. His body began to stink and decay, and even worms appeared in it. After the prison guards carried his body outside, he came back to life and departed through corpse liberation.

Long Shu’s place of origin is unknown. On Mount Jin, he obtained a divine fungus, an elixir of legend shaped like a parasol tree’s fruit. After processing it, he took two daogui measures each time; the daogui was an ancient unit for measuring medicine. After two years of taking it, he attained the Dao and became an immortal, departing through corpse liberation.

Wang Fangping

Wang Yuan, whose courtesy name was Fangping, was from the Eastern Sea. He was recommended as a Filial and Incorrupt official for his outstanding filial conduct. He later served as a Gentleman of the Palace and gradually rose to the post of Grand Master of the Palace Without Portfolio. He had a thorough command of the Five Classics and was also versed in astronomy, prophetic diagrams and texts, and the learning of the Yellow River and Luo River. He could foresee when the realm would prosper or decline and what good or ill fortune awaited the various regions of the Nine Provinces, as though he had long understood it all.

When Emperor Huan of Han heard of his abilities, he summoned him repeatedly, but Fangping refused each time. Later, the emperor ordered officials from the commanderies and kingdoms to bring him forcibly to the capital. Fangping lowered his head and kept silent, refusing to answer the imperial summons. Instead, he wrote more than four hundred characters on a palace gate, recording events that would take place in the future. The emperor disliked the writing and ordered it scraped away. As soon as the characters on the surface had been removed, they appeared again beneath; the ink had seeped deep into the wood.

Fangping had no descendants, and people in his home district passed down accounts of him from generation to generation. Chen Dan, a former Grand Commandant from the same commandery, built a Daoist chamber for him. Chen went there to pay his respects morning and evening, asking only for blessings and never seeking to learn his Daoist arts. Fangping lived in Chen Dan’s household for more than thirty years. During that time, the Chen family suffered no illness or bereavement; their servants were safe, their livestock multiplied, and the yields from their fields and silkworms increased greatly. Chen Dan’s official career also continued to advance.

Later, Fangping said to Chen Dan, “My allotted time has come. I can stay no longer. Tomorrow at noon, I must leave.” When the appointed hour arrived, Fangping “died.” Chen Dan knew he had transformed and departed, so he did not dare lay the body on the ground. He wept and lamented, “Master, you have left me. Whom can I rely on from now on?” He prepared a coffin and burial garments, burned incense, and dressed Fangping in the clothes. Three days and three nights later, Fangping suddenly vanished. The clothes remained fastened with their belt, like the cast-off skin of a snake.

More than a hundred days after Fangping’s departure, Chen Dan died. Some said Chen Dan had obtained Fangping’s Daoist arts and left the human world; others said Fangping had foreseen Chen Dan’s impending death and therefore departed first. Fangping later traveled east into Mount Kuocang, passed through the land of Wu, and stayed at the home of Cai Jing, near the Xumen Gate.

◎ Luan Ba (military liberation: a pretense of death, using weapons or similar means, to leave the body behind and depart).

Luan Ba was from Shu Commandery. He loved Daoist arts and took no part in worldly affairs. The commandery governor came to visit him and, after meeting him, asked him to serve as chief clerk. He treated Luan Ba with the respect due a teacher and friend. The governor once said to him, “I hear that the chief clerk has wondrous arts. Could you show me one?” Luan Ba replied, “Certainly.” He then sat upright and withdrew into the wall. His form gradually faded like clouds and mist, and soon disappeared. Then a tiger’s roar came from beyond the wall, and a tiger ran back into the chief clerk’s residence. It was Luan Ba.

Later, Luan Ba entered the court and served as a secretary. At the New Year’s Day court assembly, he arrived late and looked as though he had been drinking. When wine was brought before him, he did not drink it but instead spat a mouthful toward the southwest. The official in charge reported that Luan Ba had shown great disrespect, and the emperor issued an order asking him to explain. Luan Ba bowed and replied, “In my home village, people believe I can drive off and control ghosts and protect the people, so they built a shrine for me while I am still alive. This morning, the village elders all urged me to drink, and I could not refuse, which is why I seemed drunk. Just now, I sensed that a great fire had broken out in my home village, so I spat out wine and turned it into rain to put out the flames.” The emperor ordered that Luan Ba be pardoned and allowed to return to his former seat. He also sent a courier with a letter to inquire in Chengdu. The report proved true: on New Year’s Day, rain had fallen from the northeast, and the rain carried the smell of wine. Later, Luan Ba was executed over an incident. This was what is known as military liberation: in Daoist legend, a practitioner uses a weapon or execution to leave the mortal body and become an immortal.

◎ Female Immortal Zhao Sutai

Zhao Sutai was the daughter of Zhao Xi, the Han dynasty Inspector of Youzhou. In his youth, Zhao Xi was kind and upright, and gave aid to the poor. He also saved Wang Hui and others from execution along with their clans, thereby accumulating dozens of hidden merits through good deeds. Zhao Xi was able to visit Zhuling, a Daoist paradise, in person. His son, too, was able to transform away from his mortal body and travel through the grotto heavens, blessed realms where immortals dwell. Zhao Sutai, meanwhile, lived in Yiqian Palace. She had been there for four hundred years and still refused to leave, saying that nowhere in the world was more pleasant. She often went out in ordinary clothes to enjoy the mountains and rivers, finding pleasure in these excursions.

◎ The Wife of Female Immortal Cheng Wei

During the Han dynasty, Cheng Wei’s wife, whose husband served as a palace guard, had the power to transform things through supernatural abilities. Cheng Wei was about to accompany an expedition but had no clothes to wear, which left him greatly distressed. His wife immediately conjured two bolts of fine silk, and they appeared before him from nowhere. Cheng Wei was fond of practicing the arts of transmuting yellow and white—that is, the ancient methods for refining gold and silver—but he failed again and again. His wife took a little medicine from her pouch and dropped it into the vessel he used for refining. In moments, the mercury turned into silver. Cheng Wei wanted to ask her to teach him the art, but she steadfastly refused, saying that his destiny was not yet ready for him to receive it. When she could no longer refuse him, she left by way of corpse liberation, a Daoist method in which the body is shed and one departs.

◎ Liu Xinhua

Liu Xinhua’s place of origin is unknown. He was tall and heavily bearded, and when he let his arms hang down, his hands reached past his knees. He lived for a long time on Mount Wudang, five hundred li from Xiangyang. He would set out in the morning and arrive by evening. He never showed any particular signs of cultivation, yet he often used medicinal arts to treat the people, laboring without growing weary. He gathered most of his medicinal materials himself, knew plants and minerals well, and had a thorough command of their properties.

Liu Daochan, the governor of Yongzhou, feared him because of his unusually long arms. He had Liu Xinhua taken to Xiangyang under guard, then sent on to Emperor Wen. Each morning, Liu Xinhua was locked in a prison cart and taken to Mount Jiang to gather herbs; each evening, he was brought back to the Court of the Commandant of Justice, the office responsible for judicial and penal affairs. Later, Liu Xinhua wrote two short notes and gave them to a prison guard. The guard did not dare accept them, so Liu burned them. One night, Liu Xinhua vanished, though the locks and keys remained exactly as they had been. The gate guard on night watch discovered him and took him back to the Court of the Commandant of Justice.

Liu Xinhua said to the prison guard, “The authorities will soon kill me. When I am buried, do not nail shut my coffin.” A few days after he was executed, Emperor Wen grew suspicious of these words and ordered the coffin opened. There was no body inside, only a bamboo staff.

◎ Zhang Xuanbin

Zhang Xuanbin was from Dingxiang. He was once recommended for the post of maocai, a category in the Han-dynasty recommendation system for selecting outstanding talent.

Zhang Xuanbin was from Dingxiang and was once recommended for the post of Maocai, a title for a promising local talent. At first, he studied under Master Su of Xihe, learning methods of cultivation such as regulating the breath, as well as the practice known as “White Origin of the Cavern Chamber.” Later, on Mount Shaoshi, he met Fan Ziming, who taught him Daoist arts for escaping the body and transforming, and for concealing himself or making himself visible. He once lived on Mount Tianzhu and has now come to Huayang, where he oversees prohibitions and commands the officials responsible for water and rain.

Zhang Xuanbin excelled at discussing “emptiness and nonbeing.” He held that “nonbeing” is the foundation on which “great being” depends, and that “small being” arises from it. By accumulating “small being,” one can nurture “small nonbeing”; by understanding “great being,” one can grasp “great nonbeing.” Being and nonbeing depend on each other: being contains nonbeing, and nonbeing contains being. Thus my eyes cannot see external things, and external things cannot be seen by me. Nonbeing takes being as the means by which it comes into form; nonbeing also takes nonbeing as the means by which it appears as nonbeing. In this way, nonbeing has no fixed abode. Even empty space can serve as its dwelling, yet nonbeing remains nonbeing. Before I was born, there was no such thing in the world as “nonbeing.”

That, in broad outline, was his argument. Even the many numinous immortals of Mount Tongbai could not refute him. He himself said, “Long ago, on Penglai, I met Song Chensheng. We discussed ‘nonbeing,’ and I believe I came to understand its meaning.”

Wang Jia (liberated from the body through military means)

Wang Jia, whose courtesy name was Zinian, was from Anyang in Longxi. He lived for a long time at the entrance to Dongyang Valley, taking his disciples up mountain cliffs and dwelling in caves, where he practiced Daoist arts such as “riding the six Qi” and “guarding the Three Ones.” He wore the same clothes in winter and summer, yet his appearance grew younger day by day. Fu Jian, ruler of Former Qin, summoned him many times, but Wang Jia refused to enter government service.

Later, when Fu Jian was preparing a major campaign south, he appointed his younger brother Fu Rong as grand general and sent an envoy to consult Wang Jia. Wang Jia said, “Metal is firm; fire is strong.” He then mounted the envoy’s horse, adjusted his clothes and headwear, and proceeded slowly east for several hundred paces. Suddenly, he spurred the horse and galloped back. He then took off his clothes, threw away his hat and shoes, returned to his lodging, dismounted, and sat cross-legged on his bed without speaking again. Fu Jian still did not understand, so he sent someone to ask, “How long will the dynasty’s fortune continue?” Wang Jia replied, “Not yet at its end.” Fu Jian was delighted, taking this as an auspicious sign.

The following year, the guiyou year, Fu Jian suffered a crushing defeat at Shouchun, and Former Qin fell as a result. “Not yet at its end” was interpreted to mean that disaster would befall the state in a year marked by the character wei. Former Qin lay to the west and, according to the Five Phases, belonged to Metal; the Eastern Jin capital lay to the south and belonged to Fire, which can melt Metal. Wang Jia soon moved to Mount Songgao, which was said to be an auspicious sign. Later, after Yao Chang had pacified Chang’an, he asked Wang Jia, “Can I ascend the throne as emperor?” Wang Jia replied, “You may perhaps attain it.” Yao Chang flew into a rage. “If I can attain it, say so plainly. Why say ‘perhaps’?” He then killed Wang Jia and his two disciples.

Earlier, Yao Chang had sent a man to Longyou, and on the way the man encountered Wang Jia traveling with two disciples. By then, Yao Chang’s envoy had already journeyed more than a thousand li, and it happened to be the very day Wang Jia was killed. After Wang Jia had written to Yao Chang, Yao Chang ordered the coffins of Wang Jia and his two disciples to be opened. There were no bodies inside; each coffin contained only a bamboo staff. Yao Chang himself died not long afterward.

The Biography of Yin Jun: Bao Jing’s Method of Corpse Liberation

Bao Jing, whose courtesy name was Taixuan, was from Chenliu. Even as a young man, he had deep and keen insight and could discern profound, subtle principles. He devoted himself to quiet reflection, and others found it difficult to understand his inner thoughts. According to the Record of the Cavern-Heavens, Bao Jing and his younger sister had each undergone seven consecutive rebirths from previous lives.

“Corpse liberation” (shijie) is a Daoist means of attaining immortality: the practitioner appears to die, but the body vanishes or leaves behind a substitute, allowing the practitioner to shed the mortal form.

Bao Liang, whose courtesy name was Taixuan, was from Chenliu. Even as a young man, he possessed deep and keen insight, able to perceive hidden and subtle matters. He often sat quietly in contemplation, and those around him could not fathom his thoughts.

According to the Record of the Grotto-Heavens, Bao Liang and his younger sister had both, in a former life, been descendants of Li Zhan and Zhang Lü, their ancestors seven generations back. Li Zhan and Zhang Lü were both from Beixiang in Duling and once ran an inn together at Weiqiao. Over many years, they accumulated good deeds and helped others in secret. They loved Daoist arts and hoped to attain long life. Their blessings thus extended to Bao Liang and his sister, allowing them to be reborn in another age, take different surnames, and become members of the same family. Though their family lines had different origins, this good fortune came from the virtue their ancestors had accumulated.

Bao Liang was well versed in the classics, apocryphal writings, and the arts of reading Qi and making divinations. He studied under Zuo Yuanfang, learning the Central Methods, the Three Sovereigns and Five Sacred Peaks, and the essentials of summoning and commanding spirits and ghosts. His practice of these arts was remarkably effective: he could command spirits and ghosts, seal off mountains, and subdue demons.

In the first year of the Daxing era of the Jin dynasty (318), Bao Liang made a brief journey to Jiangdong. On a road north of Mount Jiang, he encountered a handsome young man of sixteen or seventeen. They walked together for several miles. The young man’s pace was unhurried, yet when Bao Liang rode after him on horseback, he found that the other was getting farther and farther away. Bao Liang then asked, “From the way you walk, you seem to be a man of the Dao.” The young man replied, “I am the immortal Yin Changsheng. The Most High has sent me to Chicheng. You have longed for the Dao in your heart, and that is why you are able to see me.”

Bao Liang immediately dismounted and bowed. As he asked after Yin Changsheng’s well-being, Yin told him, before he could say anything else, “In ten years, war will break out here, and the land will run with blood.” The Rebellion of Su Jun later broke out exactly ten years afterward. Yin Changsheng also said that Bao Liang had long admired the Daoist arts and was destined to transcend the world and become an immortal.

Yin Changsheng then taught Bao Liang an immortal method. When a person attains the Dao and becomes an immortal in old age, they may depart through “corpse liberation” (leaving behind a corpse or substitute while the true body escapes and ascends). This was considered the highest method. Corpse liberation could be performed using either a knife or bamboo or wood. Whichever was used, one had to dip a brush in the divine elixir and write the Supreme Tai Xuan Yin Sheng Talisman on both sides of the blade or object. After a short time, the characters would disappear from its surface. The practitioner would then appear to have died in bed, while the true body had already escaped and ascended. The practitioner would not return home, and the family would take the knife, bamboo, or wood to be the practitioner’s body. Yin Changsheng thus passed this art on to Bao Liang.

Yin Changsheng also spoke with Bao Liang about how long the Jin dynasty would last. In every figure he gave, he treated ten years as one year and a hundred years as ten, using this way of speaking to give Emperor Yuan an indirect warning. Bao Liang said only that he had arrived at the figures by calculating the calendar cycles, and did not mention Yin Changsheng’s prophecy. Yin Changsheng had instructed him to do this.

Zhe Xiang

Zhe Xiang, whose courtesy name was Boxi, was from Guanghan. In his youth, he was fond of the teachings of Huang-Lao, the Daoist tradition. He once submitted a memorial to Emperor Yuan, claiming that he had learned these things by calculating celestial phenomena. He did not reveal that the Yin Lord had told him, because the Yin Lord had instructed him to keep it that way.

Zhe Xiang

Zhe Xiang, whose courtesy name was Boxi, was from Guanghan. In his youth, he was fond of the teachings of Huang-Lao. Later, he became a student of Master Yu Shuya of Dongping, who had also attained the Dao. Zhe Xiang devoted himself to the cultivation of life. He was quiet by nature and spoke little.

For generations, Zhe Xiang’s family had been wealthy. He believed that accumulating great stores of possessions could only bring loss, with no benefit, so he gave a thousand gold pieces to relieve the poor. When someone tried to dissuade him, he said, “Doux Zhiwen once said, ‘I give away my wealth to avoid calamity, not to escape the world.’” Those who understood the meaning of these words greatly admired him. Zhe Xiang had his own date of death carved in advance. Later, he departed through corpse liberation—the Daoist transformation in which a practitioner’s body sheds away as they attain the Dao and ascend to immortality—leaving behind a body like the sloughed skin of a snake.

Wu Meng

Wu Meng, whose courtesy name was Shiyun, was from Yuzhang. He was filial by nature. As a child, he never showed arrogance or disrespect in his parents’ presence. At night, he always stayed beside them as they slept. In summer, when mosquitoes were plentiful, he did not wave a fan. Someone who slept beside him noticed that the mosquitoes did not bother him and asked why. Wu Meng replied, “I’m afraid they would leave me and go on to bite my parents.”

After attaining the Dao, Wu Meng climbed Mount Lu with three disciples. They crossed three stone bridges and came to a place with a tall hall, where many precious objects were displayed. The disciples could not identify them. One disciple secretly took an object, hoping to show it to people in the world. On their return, they found that the stone bridges they had crossed had become as narrow as fingers. In an instant, daylight grew dim. Wu Meng realized that the disciple had done wrong and made him return the object. Only then were they able to cross.

Later, Grand Commandant Yu Liang invited Wu Meng to Wuchang. Wu Meng soon turned back, saying that his allotted years had come to an end. Before reaching home, he died fifty li from it. After he was buried, people suspected that he had transformed and departed. His disciples opened the coffin to look, but the body was gone.

Zuo Ci

Zuo Ci, whose courtesy name was Yuanfang, was from Lujiang. In his youth, he mastered the Five Classics and was also well versed in astronomy and calendrical methods. Seeing that the Han dynasty’s fortunes were nearing their end and that the realm was about to descend into chaos, he sighed, “In times of decline and disorder such as these, people of high rank will face danger, while those with great wealth will invite death. The honors and riches of this age are not worth coveting.” He then studied Daoist arts, becoming especially skilled in Liujia, a form of Daoist divination. He could command spirits and deities, and summon provisions from thin air—meals said to arrive of their own accord.

Zuo Ci devoted himself to cultivation on Mount Tianzhu. In a stone chamber, he obtained the Scripture of the Nine Elixirs and Golden Liquids, a Daoist alchemical text, and mastered many arts of transformation. His deeds were too numerous to recount.

When Cao Cao heard of him, he summoned Zuo Ci and confined him in a room under guard. He gave him no food, allowing him only two sheng of water each day. After a thousand days, Zuo Ci emerged looking just as he had before. Cao Cao secretly intended to kill him. Sensing this, Zuo Ci asked to take his leave. Cao Cao asked, “Why do you suddenly want to go?” Zuo Ci replied, “I know you want to kill me, so I ask permission to leave.” Cao Cao said, “I had no such intention. Since you wish to withdraw from worldly affairs and keep to your own purpose, I need not detain you for long.” He then held a farewell banquet for him.

Zuo Ci said, “Since we are about to part, I would like to share a cup of wine with you.” Cao Cao agreed. The weather was cold, and the warmed wine had not yet grown hot. Zuo Ci untied his sword and stirred the wine with it. In an instant, the sword seemed to wear away like ink and vanished.

Earlier, when Cao Cao had proposed sharing wine, he assumed Zuo Ci would let him drink first and then take what remained. Instead, Zuo Ci pulled out his hairpin and drew it through the cup. The wine split in two, with a gap of about an inch between the halves. Zuo Ci drank one half and handed the other to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was displeased and did not drink at once. Zuo Ci urged him to finish the wine, then tossed the cup toward the roof beam. It caught on the beam and swayed back and forth like a bird dipping and rising. It seemed about to fall, yet never did. Everyone present looked up and watched. After a long while, the cup finally dropped to the floor.

When the people looked at the cup again, Zuo Ci, the legendary Daoist adept, had vanished. They searched everywhere and asked where he usually lived. Cao Gong wanted to kill Zuo Ci. Knowing that Zuo Ci had the means to escape death, he ordered his men to capture him. Zuo Ci ran into a flock of sheep and vanished in an instant. Later, someone saw him at his residence and reported this to Cao Gong. Cao Gong sent men to seize him again, and this time they caught him.

Zuo Ci was not unable to make himself invisible; he simply wanted people to know of his supernatural powers. So they took him to prison. Just as the jailers were about to question and torture him, one Zuo Ci appeared inside the room and another outside, leaving them unsure which one to beat. When Cao Gong heard, he was furious and ordered a general to take him to the marketplace and execute him. Before long, seven identical Zuo Cis appeared. The authorities caught six, while the seventh escaped; a moment later, the six vanished as well.

The authorities reported this to Cao Gong, who ordered the city gates in all four directions closed and a search for Zuo Ci. Someone who did not know what he looked like asked for a description. The reply was: “One eye is defective; he wears a hemp headscarf and a plain blue robe.” But when they looked around, tens of thousands of people in the marketplace all had one defective eye, wore hemp headscarves, and were dressed in plain blue robes. There was no way to tell which one was Zuo Ci.

Cao Gong ordered his men to seize Zuo Ci and behead him on the spot. Several days later, someone saw Zuo Ci, cut off his head, and took it to Cao Gong. Cao Gong was delighted. “It really is Zuo Ci’s head,” he said. But as he came closer, the head turned into a bunch of iris leaves. When he turned back to look at the body, that too had vanished. Later, someone came from Jingzhou and said that he had seen Zuo Ci there.

◎Wang Yan

Wang Yan, whose courtesy name was Zixuan, was from Shiping County in Fufeng Commandery. At the age of nine, he began studying under a Daoist of the Western Wei. In the third year of Datong, the year Ding-si (537), he entered the Daoist community and took Master Chen Baochi, the Perfected Gentleman Zhenyi, as his teacher. He was then eighteen. He lived at Louguan and was especially close to the Perfected Li Shunxing. Later, he also studied under the Perfected Jiao Kuang of Mount Hua. The two lived together in a stone chamber, eating pine nuts and drinking mountain spring water. They abstained from grain and practiced in seclusion.

Emperor Wu of Zhou respected Wang Yan’s profound Daoist attainment and sent an envoy to visit him. Jiao Kuang told him, “The world is in decline and awaits your help. You may answer the summons, leave the mountain, and spread the Great Dao. I will depart now.” Wang Yan went to the capital. After a long while, he asked to return to the Western Peak and live at Yuntai Abbey. Emperor Wu ordered repairs to the abbey where he stayed, but there was no soil on the mountain, and carrying it up was extremely difficult. Wang Yan silently prayed to the Mysterious True One for a response. Before long, soil suddenly welled up among the rocks beside the abbey, in an inexhaustible supply. There was no lamp oil on the mountain either, so Wang Yan set out an oil jar. Overnight, it filled by itself. For many years afterward, he used the oil for lamps, and it did not diminish.

Wang Yan lived on the mountaintop and had no dealings with people. Whenever someone came to visit, two blue birds would appear first to announce the guest’s arrival. They resembled crows and often flew around him. Wang Yan frequently climbed Immortal Palm Peak and Lotus Peak, gathering up his robe as he walked, as if crossing level ground. At the places where he stopped, fierce beasts would often stand guard, tame and docile. The Jade Book of the Profound Mysteries of the Three Caverns was left behind by Jiao Kuang, who instructed Wang Yan to pass it on to the world in the future.

Emperor Wu of Zhou believed that Buddhism had many abuses and undertook a major reform. He also ordered a purge and reorganization of Daoism. Yet he had always respected Wang Yan’s moral cultivation, so he summoned him to the capital and asked him about the essentials of the Daoist teachings. He then ordered Yuntai Abbey to select eight Daoists to work with Wang Yan in spreading the profound teachings. He also ordered the establishment of Tongdao Abbey, where Wang Yan was to collate the scriptures and illustrations of the Three Caverns and keep them in safekeeping. Wang Yan compiled the seven-volume Pearl Treasury, which contained 8,030 volumes of scriptures, biographies, commentaries, and treatises. He presented it to the throne, and it was stored at Tongdao Abbey. As a result, Daoism grew considerably.

After Emperor Wen of Sui received the abdication and took the throne, he established Xuandu Abbey and appointed Wang Yan as its abbot. He named the era Kaihuang. In the sixth year of Kaihuang, the year Bing-wu (586), Emperor Wen ordered that Wang Yan be brought to Daxing Hall in a ceremonial carriage. He purified himself through fasting, sought instruction from Wang Yan, and received the Great Precepts of Wisdom. At that time, a red phoenix arrived and flew about, alighting at the altar in front of the hall. Emperor Wen also ordered Wang Yan to establish the ritual regulations of the Daoist community; these institutions began with him. Su Wei and Yang Su both treated Wang Yan as their teacher and sat facing him.

In the fourth year of Renshou (604), Wang Yan told his disciples, “I wish to return to the Western Peak and live in seclusion, but I fear the emperor does not yet know.” In the ninth month of that year, he died at Xuandu Abbey. His body remained supple and fragrant, and his expression was peaceful, as if he were still alive. Flocks of cranes arrived, while colored clouds swirled around him.

When all the implements he used were brought together, they gave off a strange fragrance that could be smelled far away. Just after Emperor Yang of Sui ascended the throne, he heard of this and was even more astonished. He bestowed a hundred bolts of silk and two hundred thousand coins, then arranged a Zhaijiao purification ritual for three thousand people to send the man back to Western Mount Hua. Along the way, strange fragrances and clouds appeared wherever he went and lingered for a long time. On the day of burial, however, the coffin was empty. People believed he had performed the wondrous transformation known as “release from the corpse” and become an immortal who had shed the body, as shown by the discarded remains or empty coffin.

◎ The Old Man Wang

An old man surnamed Wang lived in Ji County for more than forty years, and no one knew where he had come from. He looked to be over seventy and often treated illnesses with acupuncture and incisions; his treatments were always highly effective. People in the area said that his acupuncture and stone-needle techniques differed from those of ordinary doctors.

When someone suffered from a demonic illness, Old Man Wang would use a blade to open the person’s throat and take out a creature resembling a small lizard, complete with head and feet but missing its tail. Wang said, “If this creature were whole, the person would certainly die. Fortunately, it was removed in time.” The patient recovered at once.

Another person’s back had twisted, causing severe pain as though bound with ropes. Wang cut open the person’s back for several inches and severed more than a foot of tendon beneath each armpit. The pain then disappeared. When people asked about these acupuncture and incision treatments, the patients all said they had felt no pain from the cuts, and their illnesses had immediately cleared up. Cases cured in this way occurred every year, too many to count.

One day, Old Man Wang suddenly told people, “At the beginning of summer next year, I will go somewhere else and will no longer be able to live here.” When the appointed time came, he died without having been ill. The neighbors smelled only a fragrance, which lasted for several months. At burial, the coffin was so light that it seemed to contain nothing. Everyone believed he had become an immortal who had shed the body.

Scroll 86 · On Release from the Corpse, Part Three

◎ The Formula for the Five Viscera That Sustain Life, by the Great Sovereign of the Dongsheng Realm

The Perfected One of Golden Radiance of the Supreme Ultimate carved this scripture into the wall beside the eastern window of the Jade Pearl Hall in the Purple Tenuity Palace of the Great Lord of Taiwei. The scripture reads:

Scroll 86 · On Release from the Corpse, Part Three

◎ The Formula for the Five Viscera That Sustain Life, by the Great Sovereign of the Dongsheng Realm

The Perfected One of the Golden Flower of Taiji (a title of a Daoist immortal) carved this scripture on the eastern window wall of the Jade Hall of Mysterious Pearls in the Purple Tenuity Palace of the Lord Emperor of Taiwei. The scripture says: The five kinds of stone each have their own nature; only when their essences and luster converge can they condense into form. Some things reach their end and die, while others begin to grow and come to life. In the end, all things return to their root, and the myriad paths all lead back to the true Dao. Breath disperses like drifting smoke; blood rushes through the body as vital energy is depleted. How pitiful that without true Qi, the human body cannot take shape! Why not take and blend Cloud Herb and Mysterious Waves, Floral Nectar and Blossoms, the Seven Whites Spirit Vegetable, and the White Plain Flying Dragon? Bathe at dawn, settle the mind and spirit, face east, gather the vital energies, invigorate the hun souls, and pray to the Five Lords of the Supreme God. Then pay homage to the spirits and stabilize the five directions. In this way, one may endure between Heaven and Earth, move freely in and out, keep each of the organs in its proper place, and bring forth the essences of the five organs.

This scripture belongs to the “Great Script of Interlaced Dragons of the Eight Assemblies of Shangqing,” a special script used in Shangqing scriptures, and is difficult for ordinary scholars in the world to understand. The Perfected One of Great Simplicity (a title of a Daoist immortal) clearly made out its characters, received the scripture and practiced reciting it, then asked the Lord Emperor of Taiji to explain it. “Cloud Herb and Mysterious Waves” refers to black sesame paste, also called Mysterious Clarity; “Floral Nectar and Blossoms” means honey; the “Five Lights, Seven Whites Spirit Vegetable” is Chinese chives; and the “White Plain Flying Dragon” is quartz.

The cultivation method calls for planting Chinese chives. On the fifth day of the fifth month, do not pull them up; simply weed, mound earth around them, and tend them. After five years, when the chives have matured, harvest them; they are then called the “Five Lights, Seven Whites Spirit Vegetable.” Select ten jin of plump, fine chive bulbs, one hu and five dou of black sesame paste, five dou of honey as white as snow, thirty-six hu of clear water from holes in high mountain cliffs, and five flawless white pieces of quartz. Grind the quartz finely on a grindstone, shaping it into smooth, round beads about the size of small sparrow eggs. The smaller and more translucent they are, the better, and no trace of the grindstone should remain. Then observe a pure fast for one hundred and sixty days. When the fast ends on the ninth day of the ninth month, first ram earth to make a foundation two chi high, then build a stove house. After the stove house is complete…

Prepare the stove with its opening facing west, and use a door that also faces west. Set a new iron pot on the stove. On the ninth day of the ninth month, at the hour of the Monkey or the hour of the Rooster, kneel facing the stove opening, with your body turned east, and place five small stones in the pot.

First cast in one stone and pray:

“Stone of the Lord of the Azure Emperor, spirit stone governed by the Azure Emperor of the East; Three Primordial Ladies of the Three Essences; Great One, Controller of Destiny, who governs life; Mysterious Mother: may you regulate the souls, strengthen the bones, and guard the liver. Protect and nourish the liver spirit, and bring forth radiance within the liver, so that it may remain forever in good health.”

Then cast in another stone and pray:

“Stone of the Lord of the White Emperor; where the Great One rests…”

Then cast in another stone and pray:

“Stone of the Lord of the White Emperor, spirit stone governed by the White Emperor of the West; where the Great One rests. May the Primordial Father regulate the Jing and Qi, and the Mysterious Mother guard the lungs. Protect and nourish the lung spirit, so that the lungs suffer no harm; bring forth radiance within the lungs, and let it endure for thousands upon thousands of millions of years.”

Then cast in another stone and pray:

“Stone of the Lord of the Red Emperor, spirit stone governed by the Red Emperor of the South; your sound accords with that of the Sovereign Lord. May the Mysterious Mother regulate the Shen and Qi, and Peach Health guard the heart. Protect and nourish the heart spirit, so that it does not disperse and sink away; bring forth radiance within the heart, and let it flourish like a grove of jade.”

Then cast in another stone and pray:

“Stone of the Lord of the Black Emperor, spirit stone governed by the Black Emperor of the North; your reckoning accords with that of the Great One. May the Mysterious Mother and Primordial Father regulate the body fluids, bringing them into harmony and transformation. Protect and nourish the kidney spirit, so that the kidneys suffer no harm or disorder; bring forth radiance within the kidneys, so that the highest wishes may always be fulfilled.”

Then cast in another stone and pray:

“Stone of the Lord of the Yellow Emperor, spirit stone governed by the Yellow Emperor of the Center; your august bearing accords with that of Lord Lao. May the Great One, Sovereign Lord, and the Primordial Father regulate the body fluids, bringing them into harmony and transformation. Protect and nourish the kidney spirit, so that the kidneys suffer no harm or disorder; bring forth radiance within the kidneys, so that the highest wishes may always be fulfilled.”

Then cast in another stone and pray:

“Stone of the Lord of the Yellow Emperor; your august bearing accords with that of Lord Lao. May the Great One, Sovereign Lord, regulate the souls and guard the spleen. Protect and nourish the spleen spirit, so that the spleen does not collapse or decline; bring forth radiance within the spleen, and in the end ascend to the heavens in broad daylight.”

Each time you place a stone, first hold your breath for five counts, then put the stone in. After placing all the stones, stand up, face the stove, and bow five times. Next, take five jin of fine bai xie (the white bulbs of the Chinese chive) and cover the five stones with it. Pour honey over the bai xie, then add one hu and five dou of fatty material, covering the honey. Measure the depth, height, and position of the fatty material in the cauldron. Slowly add clear water, leaving a little space at the top; do not fill the cauldron. Finally, rest the wooden lid loosely over it.

Begin heating the fire at dawn on the tenth day of the ninth month. Use straight-grained, dry, high-quality firewood. Do not use wood that is worm-eaten or has bark that is unclean. Heat the cauldron with the wood until the water inside simmers gently; do not let it boil vigorously or overflow. Check the fire from time to time, and first check the position of the fatty material. If the water boils away, add more promptly. Stop adding water once a total of thirty-six hu has been used. When all the water is gone, continue simmering until the fatty material is two cun lower than the position measured earlier; observe and judge the precise conditions as appropriate. When the process is complete, the preparation is finished. After the contents of the cauldron have cooled, clear away the ashes beneath it and seal the lid tightly.

On the fifth day, slowly take out the five stones. At dawn, face each of the five directions in turn and bow. After bowing, kneel and mix this “fat” (the thick medicinal liquid formed when the medicinal stones are decocted) into water flowing eastward, then drink it in several portions. Drink all the remaining water and fat as well, then put the small stones into your mouth and swallow them. When you hear the stones drop into your abdomen, follow the instructions in the invocations one by one, just as you did when first placing the stones in the pot, and then take the medicine. When you have finished, bow five more times.

If the medicine has finished decocting and you see that all the stones have disappeared, nothing unusual has happened. The essences of the Five (the refined essence of the five medicinal stones) have simply lain hidden, dispersed, and dissolved into the flowing fat; there is no need to worry. Take five ge (an ancient unit of volume) each day, washed down with wine. Once the medicine’s potency has changed, it returns to its original nature. Each essence settles and is nourished in one of the Five Viscera, where it generates the five stones anew. Never use a fierce fire: if the flames are too strong, the stones’ essences will scatter, the residue will burn, and the fat will develop a foul smell, making it unfit to take.

It is also said that the fat is fragrant, sweet, and especially delicious. It strengthens the sinews and bones, replenishes Jing and Qi, nourishes the Five Viscera, protects the original Qi, and gathers fluids. It can also strengthen the hun and po, and is a superior medicine. Store it in a good vessel and seal it tightly. Take two ge on the first day, then continue taking it each day as usual. If the fat has become thick, you may take it out first. After taking the stones, add the fat and mix it in while decocting, until it is as thick as solidified grease. Some people make it into pills and take thirty each day; in general, taking the fat directly is better than taking pills. After that, take it in whatever way is convenient, according to what your body tolerates. As long as you take this fat regularly, the five stones will remain in your body.

If the medicinal paste refined earlier has been used up, refine it again by the same method. Take five liang of white quartz and place it at the bottom of the cauldron as a weight. Add two liang each time, and recite the prescribed invocation as before. The only difference is that the medicinal stone is no longer ground into a round pellet; instead, it is taken again as medicine. Once the paste is ready, remove the white quartz and cast it into a great river flowing east, choosing a place where the water is deep and never runs dry.

If you no longer wish to refine this medicinal paste, that will not harm the Five-Stone medicine you prepared earlier.

This paste is called “Mysterious Water Jade Liquor,” also known as “Flying Dragon Cloud Essence” or “Paste Refined from the Essence of the Five Stones.” It is said that taking it for fifteen years enables one to be open and clear within and without, live as long as Heaven and Earth, and command ghosts and spirits. After three years of taking it, one can see at night.

The Perfected One said: “This prescription surpasses the preparation of the ‘Eight-Stone Elixir’ and is far superior to the ‘Jade Liquor of Mysterious Water and Mica.’ After the Five Stones are swallowed, they enter the throat and then guard the five zang organs. One stone guards the orifices of each organ, and each orifice gives rise to a radiance of five colors.”

Refining the Form in Great Yin

The Zhen’gao says: After death, if a person has only temporarily entered Great Yin—the realm of darkness or the netherworld—and merely passed through the Three Offices, the divine authorities who oversee human life, death, and moral assessment, then even if the flesh has rotted to ashes, the blood has stagnated, and the channels have come apart, a radiance of five colors can still arise.

Refining the Form in Great Yin

The Zhen’gao says: After death, if a person has only temporarily entered Great Yin and merely passed through the Three Offices, then although the flesh has rotted, the blood has stagnated, and the channels have come apart, the five zang organs can still grow of their own accord, while the white bones become like jade. The Seven Po are full and vigorous, the Three Hun guard the dwelling, the Three Origins protect the breath, and the Great Spirit remains sealed within the body. After thirty or twenty years, one may leave at will.

When the time comes to be reborn, the blood is gathered and flesh restored; bodily fluids are generated anew, and an embryonic form takes shape. Then the appearance is transformed and the old features washed away, so that one may look even better than in life. This is what is meant by the Perfected Ones refining their forms in Great Yin and changing their appearance in the Three Offices.

The Heavenly Emperor of Taiwei chanted: “To refine one’s form in Great Yin surpasses taking the Nine-Turn Elixir. The form becomes upright and dignified, the complexion in harmony with numinous clouds; one can then ascend to the Supreme Ultimate and become a Perfected One in the Golden Palace.”

The text also says: After Zhao Chengzi died, five or six years later, a woodcutter saw him upon entering Mount Hua. He had probably obtained the method of refining the form in Great Yin.

Refining the Corpse Form through Water and Fire

The Bengxing Jing records that the Lord of the Five Spirits, the Mysterious Elder of Beiyin Shuodan, whose surname was Hao and whose courtesy name was Fuming, was descended from Xuanhuang and belonged to the lineage of Taiqing. He was first born in the Azure Beginning Heaven, within the world of Yuanfu Qixian. At the age of twelve, he naturally loved quiet, secluded places and felt drawn to mountains and waters. He often left home for distant journeys, sometimes returning only once every ten days.

At that time, the world suffered a great famine. People starved to death, and the whole country was nearly deserted. Beneath Mount Dijingshan, Fuming found a patch of giant victory plant, a plant or immortal medicine mentioned in Daoist scriptures. He gathered it himself and shared it with the poor. Each day he was able to gather it many times over, saving thousands of people who were close to death. The plant grew back as soon as it was picked, and even after three years, it had not been exhausted. Others went looking for it but could not find where it grew.

Life was harsh then, and Fuming grew ever thinner and more haggard. Yet he had no time to care for himself, devoting himself entirely to helping the people. At last, utterly exhausted, he died beneath the mountain. The Nine Heavens recorded his merit, entered his immortal name in the Golden Register—the celestial record of the names and ranks of immortals—and guided his soul and spirit into the Palace of Zhulingshan, a celestial palace in Daoist legend. The Celestial Emperor sent a golden-winged bird to spread its wings over Fuming’s corpse throughout the year, keeping it from decaying for seven hundred years. When the Water Calamity came and the cosmic cycle changed,

The flood surged and poured down from all directions, lifting the corpse and carrying it to a boundless place. When the waters receded, Fuming’s body came to rest in the land of Yudan, on the Northern Ridge’s Dark Mound, in Beizhouye Qu Chumo Heaven.

Forty years later, a mountain fire broke out. The flames spread, and the corpse was swept away to a boundless place. When the floodwaters receded, Fuming’s body again came to rest in the land of Yudan, on the Northern Ridge’s Dark Mound, in Beizhouye Qu Chumo Heaven. Forty years later, another mountain fire broke out, and its flames consumed the corpse. After being tempered in the fire, the body rose again and transformed into a human being, with clouds of five-colored auspicious vapor hanging above him. The flames still raged, so Fuming spat and turned his saliva into rain, bringing down a flood that extinguished the blaze.

Although Fuming had already attained the Dao, he still endured the trials of water and fire; this was what happened when things reached their end. In the first year of the Kaiming era, he changed his surname to Heijie at the Northern Ridge’s Dark Mound and took the name Linghui. The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning then bestowed on Linghui the honorific title “Dark Moon, Northern Dawn, Sole, Stilled, Fivefold-Spirited, Mysterious Ancient Lord.”

“Method for Refining Form and Substance through Yin-Yang and the Six Jia” is the title of the following chapter. It refers to a method of refining the body described through Daoist systems of divination and calculation, including Yin-Yang and the Six Jia.

The Perfected of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) said: “What is meant by refining the physical substance? There are three circumstances. Those who cultivate the Way of long life must understand how generative Qi moves, so they can renew what has grown weak and ward off calamity.

Each Jiazi cycle lasts sixty days. In the human realm there are sixty Jiazi cycles, called the Yin Jia; in heaven there are also sixty, called the Yang Jia. At the end of each ten-day period, a Jiazi cycle comes to a close. At midnight, the ten-day Yang Jia descends from heaven to renew the Yin Jia. When Yin and Yang work together, generative Qi continues without interruption, and people do not fall ill. But if the Yang Jia does not descend at midnight when the ten-day period ends, people become ill, and evil Qi takes advantage of the opening to invade.

The Scripture of the Six Ren says: midnight on Jia and Ji days is when the generative Qi of Jiazi begins to move. When a sixty-day cycle ends, it starts over; sixty years make one great cycle. Those who practice the Way of Zhengyi invite generative Qi at dawn and are then undisturbed by evil Qi. After completing sixty years of cultivation, they may pray again to extend their lives by another sixty years. At the end of 120 years, things are somewhat different from before. This is because true Qi has accumulated and become abundant, Qi and Shen (spirit) have joined, and whatever they undertake succeeds.

From 120 years onward, cultivation may be extended through three Jiazi cycles—that is, 180 years—or even five or six cycles, amounting to 300 years. When Yin and Yang Qi have circulated 36,000 times, and Shen and Qi have gathered without dispersing, one may attain corpse liberation, the Daoist transformation in which one casts off the body and becomes an immortal. It is said that cultivators die by day and return to life at night. Their physical bodies travel through the Five Sacred Peaks and the seventy-four regions, carrying out each duty entrusted to them. Afterward, they can ascend to heaven in broad daylight and fly freely without relying on anything external. All this belongs to the Way of Zhengyi.

Some who practice Zhengyi, after completing their cultivation and deeds, can cleanse the sins inherited from their ancestors and have their names removed from the registers of the underworld. They emerge into view and undergo Yang Refining, continuing to refine their bodies in the world of the living. Though they have completed their work and revealed the Dao, before attaining the Dao they had accumulated transgressions that damaged their skin, bones, and meridians. Once they have succeeded, they can shed their old form like a cicada and transform their bones. They withdraw into a rocky cavern to restore their marrow and nourish their flesh. After a thousand days, they may appear before the Five Sacred Peaks and receive their appointed duties, achieving the same results described above.

Others accumulate hidden sins, and for generations perform no good deeds. A hundred kinds of evil spirits then gather around them. They indulge in food and lust, damaging their five internal organs…”

Those who follow the true path of cultivation may still die physically, even after attaining accomplishment and being entered in the registers of the immortals; their corpses may remain heavy. When the appointed period of Daoist cultivation arrives, if the physical body is in poor condition, the Lord of Great Yin, the deity who governs the underworld, will descend within it. The three hundred and sixty Yin spirits residing in the five organs and six bowels will guard the body as its flesh gradually wastes away, leaving only the bones and five organs, watched over by the hundred spirits. After one year, two years, or even ten years—the length of time depending on the depth of one’s past blessings—the Grand Physician, a divine official responsible for healing, will descend. The flesh and bones will grow full again, the body will slowly return to its former state, and the person will be reborn as before, with a jade-like appearance.

Some withdraw to mountain cliffs to escape the affairs of the world and quietly nourish their bodies. Only after a full thousand days do they go to the Lord of the Waters of Great Yin, the deity who governs the underworld’s watery domain, to carry out their duties. Once these are completed, they may become subordinate officials in the watery domain, dwell in the famous mountains of the Four Seas, and serve as officials in charge of sealing pillars. After accumulating merit and succeeding in cultivation, they may rise to become officials of the Five Sacred Peaks, gradually drawing closer to the Way of the True Immortals.

Perfected Wang said, “These three methods of refining the body are all recorded in the lower volume, so I will not explain them in detail here.”

◎ Cultivating the Middle Path of the Nine Truths

The Inner Instructions of the Central Scripture of the Nine Perfected Ones of Highest Clarity (Shangqing Jiuzhen Zhongjing Neijue) says: A person who cultivates the Way of the “Nine Perfected Ones” within himself, even before ascending to the realm of immortals, may temporarily conceal his form and reveal himself to ordinary people. When he enters the netherworld and passes under the jurisdiction of the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water, they are unable to seize him. At that time, the spirits of the Nine Perfected Ones summon back his soul, the spirit Taiyi guards his corpse, the Qi of the Three Origins protects his original Qi, and the spirit Taishang gathers in his soul. Thus his bones and flesh do not decay, and his five organs are not destroyed. He can die and return to life, pass between the realms of Yin and Yang, enter and leave the void, and endure alongside Heaven and Earth. This is the result of a Daoist’s carefully and serenely cultivating his bodily form, thereby responding to and drawing forth the Qi of the Nine Perfected Ones. The spirits and Qi of the Three Origins circulate and transform, causing the body to wax and wane; the spirit Taiyi guards and embraces the corpse, restoring its original form and substance. The principles behind this are subtle and profound!

The Nine Perfected Ones have many names, which are not listed here; a brief account can be found in the ninth chapter, “Names and Numbers,” of the Examples of the Dao (Daoli). One should also regularly visualize the spirits of the Nine Perfected Ones. The place where these spirits usually reside and nurture their divine Qi is a part of the body, north of Ziming. Visualizing them allows one to contemplate life, renew one’s essence and Qi, and guard the Mysterious Valley—the body’s aperture for storing essence and nurturing Qi. They enter and leave the Chamber of Life, the body’s palace associated with life, and roam the Cavern Palaces, its deep and hidden halls. At times they enter the Central Palace, the palace at the body’s center, and ascend to communicate with the Great Void. The spirit Taiyi guards the soul, allowing it to rest in a quiet courtyard.

Transforming the Form and Purifying the Radiance

The seventh chapter of the Declarations of the Perfected (Zhengao) says: Practicing the art of transforming the form can wash away turbid Qi from the body and change one’s breath. After twelve years of cultivation, Qi can hold the spirit and soul in its grasp. After fifteen years, the spirit can restrain and gather the po. After thirty years, the bones in the coffin can reunite with the spirit and Qi. After forty years, the body can be restored as if alive, and one can once more travel through the human world. After fifty years, one can be appointed to an office among the immortals. After sixty years, one can dwell on the Guanghan Terrace. After one hundred years, one can enter the palaces of Kun and Ying, legendary abodes of the immortals.

Rulers of the Underworld

The Scripture of Golden Slips and Jade Characters of the Great Subtlety (Taiwei Jinjian Yuzijing) says: According to the Perfect Statutes of the Four Extremes (Siji Zhēnke), those who become rulers of the underworld through corpse liberation—a Daoist means of leaving the body and ascending to immortality—must wait one hundred and forty years before being appointed as Perfected Officials. Only then may they fly upon the Flower Canopy, ride a host of dragons, ascend to the realm of Taiji, and roam the Nine Palaces.

Those who are supremely loyal and filial are all appointed rulers of the underworld after death.

Those who are utterly loyal and utterly filial are all appointed after death to serve as officials in the underworld. Only after one hundred and forty years may they receive instruction from a lower-ranking immortal and be taught the Great Dao. From then on, they cultivate step by step and advance, until they can fill a vacant post among the immortal officials. After another one hundred and forty years, they are permitted to undergo a trial for promotion.

The profoundly filial can move ghosts and spirits, taming birds and beasts that gather around their graves. The profoundly loyal are fair-minded and steadfast; their sincerity is enough to move Heaven. Some even disemboweled themselves and gave their lives to admonish their ruler. Bi Gan is now at Rong Mountain, and Li Shan is now at Shaoshi Mountain. There are…