《歷世真仙體道通鑑》Vol. 27

Comprehensive Mirror of Successive Generations of Perfected Immortals and Their Embodiment of the Dao, Volume Twenty-Six

Grand Historian Xu

The Perfected Lord Grand Historian’s surname was Xu, his given name Xun, and his courtesy name Jingzhi. His great-grandfather was named Yan, his grandfather Wang, and his father Su. For generations, the Xu family had lived in Xuchang. They valued integrity and refinement and had no wish to enter government service. They were descendants of Youzhi of Yingyang. At the end of the Han dynasty, his father fled the turmoil and moved to Nanchang County in Yuzhang Commandery, where the family settled.

In the second year of the Chiwu era of the Wu kingdom (239), Xu Xun’s mother dreamed that a golden phoenix carried a pearl in its beak and dropped it into her palm. She admired the pearl, then swallowed it. When she awoke, she felt movement in her belly. She was pregnant, and gave birth to Xu Xun. Mai, the Lord of Far Journeys of Mount Qujun, and Mu, a senior military aide of the Jin dynasty, were both distant cousins of Xu Xun.

Xu Xun was clever from birth and striking in appearance. As a young man, he was openhearted and easygoing, and never set himself against others. Once, while hunting with others, he shot a doe. After the fawn fell, the doe kept turning back to lick it. Even after the doe collapsed and died, the fawn would not leave her. Deeply moved, Xu Xun broke his bow and arrows on the spot and resolved to devote himself to study.

He read widely in the classics and histories and was also versed in astronomy, geography, music, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), and the study of prognostications and portents. He was especially drawn to the arts of immortal cultivation and had achieved considerable skill in them. Hearing that Wu Meng of Xi’an had received secret methods from the master Ding Yi, Xu Xun went to study under him and learned all of their essential teachings. Later, he and Guo Pu visited famous mountains in search of a suitable place to cultivate. They eventually chose the Jin family residence on Xiaoyao Mountain, south of the Western Mountain. (Today, the site is the sacred retreat of Xiaoyao, Yulong Wanshou Palace.) Xu Xun devoted himself to cultivation there every day; a cinnabar well and a medicine mortar still remain at the site.

Xu Xun sought neither fame nor status. His fellow villagers were moved by his filial conduct and fraternal care, while his friends admired his virtue and loyalty. Once, someone sold him an iron lampstand. When Xu Xun lit the lamp that night, he saw that the paint had peeled away to reveal gold beneath. The next day, he went to find the seller and returned the gold. He refused anything others gave him if it was not rightfully earned, however small it might be.

The commandery recommended him as a Filial and Incorrupt official, but he declined. The court invited him to serve several times. Unable to refuse, he took office as magistrate of Jingyang County in Shu in the first year of the Taikang era under Emperor Wu of Jin (280), at the age of forty-two. When he first began handling government affairs, he warned officials against greed and baseness, abolished burdensome and petty regulations, and released prisoners, guiding each of them with reason. Officials and common people alike were convinced by his example and willingly resolved to mend their ways.

Xu Xun investigated matters with great discernment, and officials dared not deceive him. When hearing legal disputes, he always began by teaching those involved to be loyal, filial, compassionate, benevolent, and forgiving…

The Perfected Lord was cautious and diligent, valued thrift, drew close to the worthy, kept away from the wicked, curbed greed, and put a stop to violence. These teachings were recorded in proclamations and set out in great detail. He also worried that, across distances of a hundred li, many households might never hear of them. So he chose respected and virtuous local people, along with elders who were good at speaking with others, and charged them with guiding the villagers. As a result, the habit of quarrelling and rivalry gradually faded. In time, no one brought lawsuits.

In earlier years, poor harvests had left the people unable to pay their land taxes. County officials pursued payment according to the law, driving many to flee and resettle elsewhere. The Perfected Lord used a miraculous elixir to transform rubble into gold, which he secretly buried in a county garden. One day, he summoned all those who had not yet paid their taxes to the courtyard and sent them to work in the garden behind it. As they dug in the fields, they discovered the gold and were able to pay their taxes; they could then settle down again. Refugees from neighboring areas admired the Perfected Lord’s kindness and came in large numbers to settle under his protection, increasing the population and the number of households.

Later, a great epidemic broke out in the region, and seven or eight people in every ten died. The Perfected Lord treated the sick with a divine remedy he had been taught, using talismans and incantations. The sick recovered at once, and none remained incurable, even those whose condition was severe and had resisted treatment for a long time. Once word spread, sick people from other commanderies and counties came in a steady stream, more than a thousand arriving each morning. The Perfected Lord then set up a bamboo pole as a marker beside the river, ten li outside the city, and left there water empowered with talismanic rites. The sick took water from beneath the pole and drank it; all recovered. The elderly and frail, who could not go in person, had water brought home to drink, and they too recovered and were well.

The people of Shu composed and sang a song about this: “The people do not steal; the officials do not deceive or act corruptly. Our lord saves the people, and illness has no power to harm them.” Later, people from Jiangzuo, the region east of the lower Yangtze, also came to collect water empowered by the Perfected Lord of Jingyang. He chanted over a vessel of water, placed a talisman in it, and had them take it back to leave beside the river. He also set up a bamboo pole to mark the place, so the sick could drink the water. Most of the people of Jiangzuo recovered as well. The river was later called the Shu River, or the Brocade River; it is now in Ga’an County, Ruizhou.

The Perfected Lord served in office for many years. Knowing that turmoil was about to overtake the Jin dynasty, he abandoned his post and returned east. (Jingyang County had originally belonged to Hanzhou. After the Perfected Lord ascended to immortality, the court issued an edict renaming the county Deyang, in recognition of his virtue and his kindness to the people. Later, the county seat moved west, and the former site was turned into a Daoist temple, now called Jingyang Temple.) The people of Shu, grateful for the moral guidance and benevolent influence he had brought, tried every means to keep him there. People throughout the region built shrines for him while he was still alive, and families passed down and worshipped his portrait as though it were an image of a deity. On the day he departed, people carrying provisions to see him off filled the countryside; some walked a thousand li before turning back.

Some people followed Xu Zhenjun to his residence and chose to stay in his service, refusing ever to leave. Xu Zhenjun therefore built a thatched shelter on the open ground east of his house for them to live in. It was laid out like a military camp. Many changed their surnames to Xu, following the surname of the Perfected Lord, and so the place came to be called “Xu Family Camp.” Such was the extent of his kindness to the people.

Xu Zhenjun once went to Xinwu and rested in a cypress grove. Suddenly, five young girls arrived, each carrying a precious sword to present to him. Finding this strange, the Perfected Lord accepted the swords. (A temple called Cypress Grove Temple now stands there.) Later, the five came together to the Perfected Lord’s residence. Every day they amused themselves by practicing swordplay, and no one else could guess where they had come from. The Perfected Lord recognized them as sword immortals and always treated them with respect; later, they helped him with divine swords. (After Xu Zhenjun ascended, the five withdrew from the world beneath the cypresses he had planted with his own hands. They were therefore called the “Immortal Maidens of the Cypress Trees.”)

Later, while traveling through Songyang, Xu Zhenjun and Lord Wu heard that in Huangtang Jing, Danyang County, Jinling, there lived a female teacher named Chenmu who was well versed in Daoist arts. They went together to pay her a visit and ask her about the Daoist teachings. Chenmu said, “You were both born with the bones of immortals, and your names among the immortals were ordained long ago. In the past, the King of Filial Piety and Fraternal Devotion descended from Shangqing (a celestial realm of Daoism) into the human world to teach people and make the way of filial piety known. He first descended to the home of Lord Lan in Lan Village, Qufu County, Yanzhou, and said to Lord Lan: ‘In the Later Jin, the immortal Xu Xun will come to transmit my Daoist teachings, and he will become the foremost among the immortals. I leave behind the Precious Scripture of the Golden Elixir and a bronze tally with an iron certificate for you to keep safe and hand over to him when he arrives.’ You have waited faithfully for many years, and now he has finally come. I, too, have received the teachings of the Illustrious King of Filial Piety. Since these teachings take filial piety as their foundation, they should now be transmitted to you.”

Chenmu chose an auspicious day, ascended the ritual platform, and, following the prescribed rites, swore an oath before transmitting the teachings. She repeatedly enjoined him to observe the prohibitions and precepts, then passed on to Xu Zhenjun the bronze tally and iron certificate, the Precious Scripture of the Golden Elixir, the Zhengyi method for slaying evil, the Five and Three method of flying steps, and the secret methods of every grade. She then said to Lord Wu, “In the past, you served as Xu Zhenjun’s teacher by means of your divine formulae. Now, among the teachings of the Illustrious King of Filial Piety, only Xu Zhenjun has received the transmission, so you should in turn take him as your teacher. Moreover, the Jade Emperor’s mysterious register of immortals records your office as Censor of Xuandu, and Xu Zhenjun’s as Great Envoy of Gaoming, responsible for overseeing the registers of immortals. Your ranks are equal. Each of you is in charge of matters corresponding to the Twelve Terrestrial Branches and the twelve regional divisions: Xu Zhenjun governs the Field of Xuanxiao, corresponding to the Zi position, and oversees the twelve divisions; you govern the Land of Xingji, corresponding to the Chou position. From now on, you should…” The original text breaks off here.

As Xu Jun was an elder, the two gentlemen performed a formal bow of thanks and took their leave. The Perfected Lord arranged to visit his mother in later years, every year. When she learned of this, she said, “Do not come again. I am about to return to the immortal homeland where the Celestial Emperor dwells.” She then picked up a blade of fragrant grass, tossed it toward the south, and said, “When you return, find the place where it lands and build a shrine for me there. It will be enough to come once each year in autumn.”

After the two gentlemen returned, they first went to look for the place where the fragrant grass had landed. They found it more than forty li south of their home; by then, it had grown into a clump. They built a shrine there, also calling it the “Yellow Hall,” and established the Chongdao Abbey nearby. From then on, they went to pay their respects there on the third day of the eighth lunar month each year.

At first, when the Perfected Lord went to search for the fragrant grass, he saw a pond of clear water beside the road. He rested there briefly and said, “This is a place to rest and find quiet.” (The Qizhen Abbey in what is now Qingpi Village takes its name from this.) He also saw local people slaughtering livestock in great numbers to make offerings to the gods, warning one another, “If the offerings are not abundant, the gods will grow angry and bring disaster.” The Perfected Lord said, “How could evil spirits dare to cause such trouble?” That night, he stayed at an inn and summoned wind and thunder to uproot the trees there. The next day, he told the local people, “The place of these evil rites has been cleared away. You need not make offerings anymore.” (An abandoned village altar still remains there today, but people no longer worship at it.)

He also saw the road crowded with people carrying shoulder poles and traveling far to fetch water. He thrust his staff into a dry pond in front of the village altar, and a spring immediately welled up for everyone to use. It never ran dry, even during droughts. (The Ziyang Well at Daze Village, now called the Nail-in-the-Dragon Stone Well, is the spring mentioned here.) The next day, he climbed to the mountaintop and pointed to a fissure with a spring halfway up the mountainside. “Something strange lies hidden there and will cause trouble in the future,” he said. He then set up an altar and established a Jing—a Daoist site for worship and cultivation—to suppress it. (Today, people rest here each year when they come to pay respects to the Mother of Chen. The place is called Longcheng Abbey.)

The Perfected Lord then crossed the Little Shu River (now called Huanghukou) and came to a riverside market. The shopkeeper, Zhu, was poor but received him respectfully. In a playful gesture, the Perfected Lord painted a pine tree on the wall of Zhu’s house, then left. That very day, Zhu’s business became twice as prosperous as usual. Later, the river rose and the embankment burst, sweeping away all the market buildings. Only the wall bearing the painted pine tree remained unharmed. (The place is now called Songhu Market, where the Zhu family built a temple to worship the Perfected Lord.)

The Perfected Lord once refined a divine elixir on Huanglong Mountain in Aicheng. A dragon demon had taken up residence in a mountain pool, using it as its lair. It often caused floods, trying to submerge the elixir chamber. The Perfected Lord sent divine soldiers to capture it and pin it to a stone wall. (The stone where the dragon was pinned still remains today.) After the divine elixir was complete, he performed a rite in the stone chamber of Ge Xianweng on Mufu Mountain.

Later, the Perfected Lord arrived at Xiuchuan. He admired its swift-flowing stream and its water, which was sweet and clear, so he took out his divine sword and sharpened it on a stone beside the stream. (The stone still stands behind Meishan in Xiuchuan. Later generations built a temple there to commemorate the Perfected Lord’s deeds, naming it Jingyang Temple.) He then crossed the water and climbed Xiufeng Peak, now called Jingyang Mountain. At its summit, he set up an altar and performed a Zhaijiao rite, giving thanks to the Lord on High. A Zhaijiao is a Daoist ceremony in which an altar is established to honor the gods, offer prayers, or give thanks. Afterward, he swallowed an elixir. Lord Wu lived nearby; south of the stream are Wuxian Village and Wuxian Temple, said to have been the home of the Perfected Lord Wu.

The Perfected Lord then set out for Lord Wu’s home, passing through Xi’an County, now called Fenning. The local shebo—the god who governed the land in that area—came out to pay his respects. The Perfected Lord asked whether any demons within his jurisdiction were harming the people, but the shebo hid them.

As the Perfected Lord passed a small shrine, its deity—the five brothers of the Mao family—came out to meet him and said, “A flood dragon here is harming the people. It heard that the Immortal Lord had arrived and knew it could not escape him, so it fled to Ezhu. It will return again in the future. We beg the Immortal Lord to rid the people of it.” (The shrine is now called Xieyou Temple and stands four hundred paces east of the county seat.)

Following the flood dragon’s trail, the Perfected Lord came to Ezhu. Three old men stood by the road; a Temple of the Three Kings now stands in the area. The Perfected Lord asked where the flood dragon had been causing harm. All three pointed to the bridge ahead and said, “It is hiding beneath the bridge.” (The bridge is now called Fulong Bridge.) The Perfected Lord went to the bridge, raised his precious sword, and shouted at the creature. Startled, the flood dragon fled into the great river and hid in a deep pool, now called the Lower Dragon’s Lair. The Perfected Lord ordered his officers and soldiers to pursue and drive it out. The flood dragon was forced downstream and eventually killed; the place where it emerged is now called the Upper Dragon’s Mouth.

Angered by the Xi’an County shebo’s neglect of his duties, the Perfected Lord sealed the doors of his shrine and forbade the people to make offerings there. (The main gate of the City God’s Temple in Fenning is still kept shut throughout the year. If it is opened, a fire breaks out in the county seat. During rites, the ritual officiant can enter and leave only through a side gate, and few residents go there to worship.) The Perfected Lord, meanwhile, ordered people to make offerings at the small shrine. (Xieyou Temple is now conferred the title Marquis of Xieyou. Its incense offerings are plentiful, and it is often said to be efficacious.)

Not long afterward, the Perfected Lord returned to the prefectural city. He said, “Waterways and roads meet here, and the population is large. Surely there must be people destined to attain the Dao and become immortals?” He mixed several pills of elixir with other medicines and put them up for sale, so people could buy them according to their fate. Many later bought the medicines back, but none obtained an elixir. The Perfected Lord sighed, “In this world, people with an affinity for immortality and the talent to attain it are truly rare.”

The Perfected Lord heard that a flood dragon was causing havoc in Xinwu, so he took up his sword and went to hunt it down. According to legend, a Dragon Spring Abbey was later built where he passed; it is now called Immortal Wandering Abbey. The frightened dragon fled into a cave in a stream, which to this day is called Hidden Stream. The Perfected Lord then inscribed talismanic characters on a great stone and composed the “Writing for Subduing the Flood Dragon” to suppress it. The text was carved on a stone stele, which is still preserved. The site is now a Buddhist monastery called Extending the Real, with a Daoist temple of the same name beside it, ten li west of Fengxin County.

At that time, a great serpent had made its den in the mountains around Shangliao in Haihun. Its breath rose as clouds and mist that stretched for forty li. Anyone—person or animal—caught in its breath was sucked in and swallowed; no one escaped. Boats on the rivers and lakes often capsized and sank because of it, bringing great suffering to the people.

When the Perfected Lord heard of this, he climbed to the summit of North Ridge Mountain to investigate. It is said that Huixian Peak, east of Red Bird Abbey, is where he made his inspection. Sure enough, poisonous vapor filled the sky. Taking pity on the people suffering this calamity, he gathered his disciples and prepared to go slay the great serpent.

As soon as they entered the territory where the serpent dwelt, more than three hundred residents from near and far came to weep and plead with the Perfected Lord to save them. He said, “The affairs of the world turn and change in cycles. This calamity has now come, and the people have fallen into this tribulation; perhaps it was fated. I have come here for this very purpose, and I will certainly rid you of it. I swear I will never coexist with this serpent.”

Before long, his disciples arrived and urged him together to act. The Perfected Lord said, “We must wait until the right moment.” He planted his sword in the ground and silently prayed to Heaven. After a long while, spring water welled up from the earth. Then a red bird flew past. The Perfected Lord said, “The moment has come.”

It is said that this place was later called Waiting for the Moment Abbey, then renamed Red Bird Abbey. Today it is also called Longevity Sage Abbey, or Broad Blessing Abbey. The Song dynasty Daoist priest Wan Zhongxing wrote a poem about the event, whose general meaning is this: Long ago, a great serpent ran rampant. The Perfected Lord Jingyang once waited here for the right moment to destroy it. Only then did the immortal in the cave understand that the moment had arrived, as a numinous bird in the sky suddenly brought word. The Perfected Lord sent his talismanic messengers into action, flying furiously past the valley entrance; his sword flashed down like a falling star, striking terror even into ghosts and spirits. A thousand years later, the place has risen and fallen many times, yet, regrettably, the Perfected Lord’s hidden virtue and beneficence remain without end. Zhang Tianjue also wrote a poem called “The Spring of the Planted Sword,” whose general meaning is this: Where the Perfected Lord planted his sword, a spring bubbled up beneath the rocks in the blink of an eye. As he waited for the right moment, he saw from afar a bird fly across the sun. Now the demons of Haihun have all been driven away, but the blessings he left behind endure.

(Wu Zhenjun) was still living in Jingtu when he went to the place where the serpent was coiled. Holding a treasured sword, he gathered his Qi and performed a spell. The serpent was terrified and burrowed into its cave. The Perfected One then drew a talisman to summon the Shebo of Haihun, the local deity who governed that area, and ordered him to drive the serpent out. He failed, so the Perfected One summoned the Shegong of Nanchang to help.

It is said that the talisman summoning the gods fell east of the county seat. A temple was built there and called Fuluo Temple, later renamed Taihe Temple. The serpent emerged from its cave, raising its head more than ten zhang high. Its eyes were like torches, and the poisonous fumes it spat shot straight into the sky. The villagers beat drums and shouted as they came to help.

At that moment, the Perfected One called up wind and thunder and commanded the divine troops to subdue the serpent, pinning it so that it could not move. Lord Wu performed his steps, planted his foot on the serpent’s head, and split its forehead with his sword. Only then did the serpent lower its body. The disciples Shi Cen, Gan Zhan, and the others brought their soldiers to strike at it. Its belly split open, and a small serpent several zhang long crawled out. Lord Gan wanted to kill it, but the Perfected One said, “It has not harmed anyone. It must not be killed without cause.” Terrified, the small serpent fled six or seven li, while the sound of the drums and shouting could still be heard behind it. It looked back at its mother. The place names Shezigang and Qiliting in this area are said to have originated from this event.

The disciples asked to pursue and kill the small serpent. The Perfected One replied, “If this serpent harms the people a hundred and fifty years from now, I will return to destroy it. Take as proof the cypress I planted before my altar: when its branches grow long enough to brush the ground of the altar, the time will have come.”

He also prophesied: “Within 1,240 years after I ascend to immortality and depart, eight hundred terrestrial immortals will appear among the Five Tombs within Yuzhang. Their master will emerge from Yuzhang and vigorously spread my teachings. The prophecy will be fulfilled when a sandbar suddenly rises in the middle of the river by the prefectural city and extends far enough to cover the mouth of Shajing.”

“Terrestrial immortal” refers to an immortal in Daoist legend who has perfected their cultivation but remains in the human world. The original text then explains the locations and place names meant by the “Five Tombs”: to the east, within the territory of Yangzhou, the eastern stronghold is Wanling; to the south, also within Yangzhou, the southern stronghold is Haoling; to the west, within the Weitai region of Yongzhou, the western stronghold is Queling; to the north, within Taiyuan in Youzhou, the northern stronghold is Fuling; and in the center, Chang’an and Changpu form the dividing region, with Tailling as the central stronghold.

The original text also cites the records Longsha Rises in Yuzhang and The Office of Regional Administration Rides the Clouds, which explain that Longsha lies on the western bank of the Zhang River, atop a rocky outcrop facing the prefectural city. It also mentions that Pan Qingyi wrote a poem titled “Gazing at Longsha.” The text at the end is incomplete; it seems to say that although Longsha has not yet joined into a continuous stretch, it has already begun to show signs of a certain auspicious presence.

(It is said that long ago, a vast area around Jiaolong Pool was turned into fields of mulberry and hemp. The land followed the winding course of the river, with prefectures and counties linked together and connected to one another, and so on.)

If that little serpent had truly harmed the people, then the eight hundred men naturally ought to have killed it. If it had harmed no living beings, they should not have killed it. Thus the serpent’s offspring was able to enter the river. (In Jianchang County there is a place called Serpent’s Offspring Harbor, said to be where it went. At Wucheng Mountain in Xinjian County stands a temple known for its efficacy. The Song dynasty bestowed on it the title “King of Numinous Compliance, Manifest Response, Peaceful Deliverance, and Beneficent Grace”; among the people, it is commonly called the Little Dragon Temple.)

After the great serpent died, its bones gathered together and formed a sandbar. (Today it is called Serpent Bone Sandbar.) Wherever the Perfected Lord (referring to Xu Xun, revered in Daoism) passed through the Haihun area, he left behind altars and wells, six in all. Including the place where he met the marquis, there were seven. Arranged by direction, these sites resembled the shape of the Big Dipper and were used to suppress calamities and eliminate future troubles. (These seven Jing, or ritual grounds for Daoist purification rites, were called Jinhua Jing, Yuzou Jing, Danfu Jing, Huabiao Jing, Ziyang Jing, Huoyang Jing, and Liuzhen Jing. Today, palaces and temples stand at all these sites; some later became Buddhist monasteries or government offices.)

The Perfected Lord then came to the northwest of the county seat. Seeing a mountain spring whose water was clear and sweet, he cast a talisman into it to cure the people’s illnesses. Its healing effects were said to rival those of the Shu River’s water. (Today this place is called Coldwater Terrace.)

After the giant serpent had been slain, the demon’s blood stained the treasured sword. The Perfected Lord ground and washed the sword clean, then cut a piece from a rock to test its edge. (Today, Jianchang County has a Sword-Grinding Pool and a Sword-Testing Stone.) He told his disciples, “Although the great serpent has been eliminated, the dragon spirit has not yet been destroyed. That demon is spiritually perceptive and must know that I intend to rid the land of harm. I fear it will seize the opportunity to attack and breach the prefectural city. I am returning there. You two, Zhan and Cen, will come with me.” This was the sixth year of Yongjia under Emperor Huai of Jin (312 CE).

The Perfected Lord’s Daoist arts were profound and mysterious, and his reputation was known far and wide. Several hundred people wished to become his disciples. Unable to turn them all away, he transformed charcoal into a beautiful woman and sent her to the disciples’ lodgings at night, testing them in this way. When he inspected them the next day, only ten had resisted the temptation of beauty and kept their integrity unblemished. They later became his foremost disciples after his ascension. From then on, whenever the Perfected Lord traveled through the rivers and lakes to slay dragons and serpents, disciples often accompanied him, while most of the others departed in shame. (Today, at Xijin in Jianchang County, there is a Charcoal Woman Market, along with a Daoist temple called Miaoming.)

The Perfected Lord then returned to the prefectural city with the two Perfected Lords Gan and Shi and inspected the areas within and outside its walls. Just then, a handsome young man of elegant bearing and splendid dress announced that he wished to meet him, claiming that he was …

His surname was Shen. He was courteous in manner, diligent and respectful in his work, and quick to respond. Suddenly, he made a hasty farewell and left. The Perfected Lord said to his disciples, “That man was no human being. He was the essence of an old flood dragon, who came deliberately to test us. Though he looked human, he carried the stench of a fishy wind. I pretended not to understand; perhaps that would make him reveal his full hideousness.”

After tracing where he had gone, they found him by the river. He had turned into a yellow ox and was lying on the sandbar outside the commandery city, now called Yellow Ox Sandbar. The Perfected Lord cut out a paper figure and transformed it into a black ox, then sent it to fight the yellow ox. He also had Shi Cen wait nearby with a sword. As the two oxen fought fiercely, Shi Cen swung his sword and struck the yellow ox on its left leg. The yellow ox charged into a well south of the city. The well was called Cross Spring; it now lies at the southeast corner of Shanglan Temple, with its mouth hidden behind a wall, which is why it is also called Flood Dragon Well.

The Perfected Lord sent an officer bearing talismans to track the creature. He learned that it had traveled all the way to Changsha, emerged from Jia Yi’s Well, taken human form, and entered the home of Jia Yu, the governor. The flood dragon spirit had long coveted Jia Yu’s daughter for her beauty, so it had turned itself into a handsome young man and gone to visit her. Jia Yu admired his talent and agreed to marry his daughter to him. The flood dragon spirit then lavishly bribed Jia Yu’s trusted aides, who all spoke in its favor, and so the marriage was arranged.

For several years after the wedding, the flood dragon spirit would leave alone at the turn of spring and summer and wander among the rivers and lakes, as if engaged in trade. In autumn, it would return aboard a large ship laden with goods, bringing back nothing but treasures. In truth, it had seized these riches when rising spring and summer waters capsized boats. That autumn, it returned alone and deceived Jia Yu, claiming that bandits had stolen its goods and that it had injured its left leg. Everyone in the Jia household sighed with regret and quickly summoned a physician to treat the injury.

The Perfected Lord disguised himself as a physician and went to visit Jia Yu. Delighted, Jia Yu called his son-in-law out to be examined. The flood dragon spirit sensed that something was amiss and, terrified, dared not come out. Jia Yu got up himself to summon it. The Perfected Lord followed him into the hall and shouted sternly, “You flood dragon spirit of the rivers and lakes, you have caused untold harm! I tracked you all the way here. How could I let you escape? Come out at once!”

With no way out, the flood dragon spirit revealed its true form, coiling and crouching beneath the hall, where the Perfected Lord’s officers and soldiers put it to death. The Perfected Lord then sprinkled ritual water—water used in performing rites—on its two sons. They too turned into little flood dragons and were killed along with it. Jia Yu’s daughter was also on the verge of turning into a flood dragon spirit. Her parents pleaded with the Perfected Lord, who used a divine talisman to prevent her transformation.

The Perfected Lord said to Jia Yu, “Water lies beneath the flood dragon spirit’s dwelling. Beneath your home, the water is less than a foot below the surface, and below that lies nothing but floodwater. You must move your family quickly, or you will bring disaster upon yourselves.” Jia Yu’s entire family…

The flood dragons, terrified, moved to higher ground. Before long, the land there sank into a deep pool whose depth could not be measured—the Zhaotan Pool in present-day Changsha. The Perfected Lord Xu Xun then returned to Yuzhang. The flood dragons’ remaining followers were powerful. Fearing that the Perfected Lord would come and destroy them, they grew anxious and took human form, wandering through the city to learn about him.

They found one of the Perfected Lord’s disciples and pretended to say, “My family has done good deeds for generations. We have heard from afar that the worthy Master Xu has a divine sword, and we would like to ask about its powers.” The disciple replied, “When my master’s divine sword points to the sky, the heavens split open; when it points to the ground, the earth collapses; when it points to the stars, they lose their proper courses; and when it points to rivers, their waters flow backward. No kind of evil spirit dares resist it. It is a sacred treasure.” The visitor asked, “Is there anything it cannot harm?” Joking, the disciple said, “Only winter melons and gourds.”

The flood dragons believed this was true. They turned all their companions into gourds and winter melons, then floated them, vines and all, across the river’s surface, intending to escape downstream and leave the region. When the Perfected Lord rose in the morning, he sensed a dense aura of evil. Looking toward the river, he recognized the objects as transformations of flood-dragon spirits. He handed his sword to Shi Cen and sent him across the water to cut them down. Every last one of the flood dragons’ followers was slain; not one survived, and the river changed color.

The Perfected Lord said, “This place is the lair where the flood dragons have taken refuge. If we do not find a way to subdue them, they will emerge again and cause trouble, and the people will be unable to control them.” He therefore commanded the spirits to forge an iron pillar in a well south of the walled city. The pillar rose several feet above the well, while eight iron chains below it hooked into the earth’s veins. This is the site of the present-day Yanzhen Palace. He prayed, “If the iron pillar tilts, evil spirits will rise again, and I will return. If it stands upright, the evil spirits will be banished forever.”

From then on, the evil spirits in the waters vanished, and the city remained peaceful. The Perfected Lord also feared that in later generations corrupt strongmen might act recklessly, so he used the iron pillar to leave a prophecy and a warning: when the region is at peace and the people’s hearts are turned toward goodness, treachery will never arise; even if someone plots rebellion, the plan will ultimately fail. The Perfected Lord thought so far ahead for those who would come after him.

The following year, the Perfected Lord feared that some flood dragons and dragon clams, having scattered through the areas around Poyang and Xunyang, might return. He therefore traveled along the rivers and lakes to destroy them completely. He came to the summit of Mount Tiaoyao, where there were three dragon lakes. Their caves opened into the great river and also extended toward the areas around Raozhou and Xinzhou. The Perfected Lord exterminated the flood dragons and demonic spirits, and established the Jing of Yuyang Prefecture to guard the place. Beneath the stone cliff to its northwest there was a bend, where…

He used magical arts to subdue the place, then built a Taicheng Prefecture Shrine, a Daoist sanctuary established to guard and protect the area. Beside the shrine was a vast, unfathomably deep pool inhabited by many jiaolong. Perfected Lord Chi exterminated them all, but the two young offspring of a pair of jiaolong escaped. He built the shrine there to prevent them from causing harm.

He also forged iron talismans to guard the mouth of Poyang Lake and block the jiaolong’s passage. At the time, the talismans lay in the river at Shangzhong Stone in Hukou County. He further forged an iron cover for Yuan Pool in Luling, to control the jiaolong’s hiding place, and subdued it with iron talismans. The site is now called Feifu Ridge, and there stands a Daoist temple named Chongzhen. He also left behind a sword about eight chi long, resembling both jade and bronze or iron. People could not tell what it was made of.

The following year, the seventh year of the Yongjia era, he traveled to Changsha and then went on to Shaoyang. A year later, he journeyed to the commanderies of Chenzhou, Hengzhou, and others. Wherever he went, he rid the people of poisonous threats and removed dangers, then returned to Yuzhang. In all, he established more than seventy prefecture shrines to guard the commanderies and counties and ward off calamity.

In the second year of the Taining era under Emperor Ming, the Grand General Wang Dun, courtesy name Chuzhong, raised troops against the court and stationed them at Hu. Perfected Lord Chi and Lord Wu went together to meet him, hoping to persuade him to withdraw his forces. At the time, Master Guo Pu was serving in Wang Dun’s headquarters, so they asked Guo Pu to arrange an introduction and met Wang Dun together. Wang Dun welcomed them with wine and asked, “I dreamed that a tree burst through the sky. What do you make of it?”

Perfected Lord Chi replied, “It is an inauspicious sign.” Lord Wu said, “If the character mu is broken open at the top, it becomes wei. You would do well not to act rashly.” Wang Dun’s expression changed, and he ordered Guo Pu to cast a divination. Guo Pu said, “This venture will not succeed.” Displeased, Wang Dun asked, “How long will I live?” Guo Pu answered, “If you raise troops, disaster will soon be upon you. If you return to Wuchang, the length of your life is still beyond measure.” Wang Dun flew into a rage and ordered his guards to seize Guo Pu and behead him.

The Dongxian zhuan records that Guo Pu had already told his family to prepare his funeral articles. As he faced execution, he instructed them to bury him among the pines on the western bank of the river. Three days later, people at the South Market saw Guo Pu selling his clothes and talking with acquaintances. When Wang Dun heard this, he refused to believe it. He opened the coffin and found it empty. Guo Pu had already undergone bingjie, a Daoist transformation in which a person sheds the mortal body and becomes an immortal by means of a weapon or execution. He had become an immortal official of the Water Palace.

Perfected Lord Chi then lifted his wine cup and flung it into the air. It turned into a white dove and flew in circles around the roof beams. Wang Dun looked up, and Perfected Lord Chi had vanished.

The place where Chu Zhong led his troops ultimately fell. After his defeat, Chu Zhong was deeply frustrated and resentful. He died soon afterward and was later subjected to the punishment of kneeling over his own corpse.

The two Perfected Lords returned to Jinling and planned to hire a boat to travel to Yuzhang. The boatman said there was no one aboard who knew how to steer. The Perfected Lords told him and the others, “Just close your eyes and sit still. Do not peek, under any circumstances. I will steer the boat for you.” With that, they summoned two dragons and had them flank the boat as it moved forward. They also pressed a seal into the cliff wall on the western bank to ward off water demons. According to tradition, the imprint is still there today.

The boat gradually rose into the air. Before long, it passed over the summit of Mount Lu and reached Golden Arch Cave on Purple Cloud Peak. The two Perfected Lords wanted to explore the cave, so they lowered the boat slightly and skimmed the treetops, making a creaking sound. Unable to resist, the boatman stole a glance. The two dragons then abandoned the boat among the layered peaks, snapping its mast and dropping it into a deep ravine. In time, the place where the boat was abandoned became ironstone, and locals called it Iron Boat Peak. The mast that fell into the ravine also turned into a broken stone.

The Perfected Lords said to the boatman, “You did not heed my words. Where do you think you are going now?” The boatman bowed and begged for help. The Perfected Lords taught him to eat a miraculous herb. From then on, he could live without eating grain and would neither age nor die. In the end, he lived in seclusion on this mountain.

Later, Huan Yi, the governor of Jiangzhou, sent people to search for the strange traces on Mount Lu. When they reached Purple Cloud Peak, they saw a boat on the lake, along with a flock of cranes, red-scaled fish, and a young man riding a white horse. The young man let out a long whistle that carried for several hundred paces. The search party guessed that these were people like the boatman.

The two Perfected Lords each rode a dragon, one taking the water route and the other the land route. They returned to meet at Heavenly Treasure Cave on Northern Ridge, then went back to their former place of seclusion. Every day they discussed and investigated the true principles with their disciples. For decades, they paid no further attention to worldly affairs, devoting themselves wholeheartedly to cultivating the Great Dao. They also composed the song “Drunken Thoughts of the Immortals” and wrote “Eight Treasures of Instruction” to teach their disciples:

Loyalty, filial devotion, integrity, caution, generosity, breadth of spirit, tolerance, and patience are essential principles for cultivating oneself. A loyal person does not deceive; a filial person does not disobey. An honest person is not greedy; a cautious person does not make mistakes. By cultivating oneself in this way, one develops De (Virtue). Treat others generously, and you will earn their support. Keep a broad and ample heart, and you will handle matters with composure and ease. Be tolerant, and you can accept others; learn patience, and your mind will become calm and at peace. If you follow these principles in your dealings with others, resentment and wrongdoing can be dispelled.

All disciples in our lineage, whether active or at rest, should be diligent and single-minded, keep these teachings in mind at all times, and hold fast to their original intentions. If they turn away from those intentions, the Three Officials will investigate and punish them. The people of the surrounding communities, moved by these teachings, will correct their conduct, turn toward goodness, and shun wrongdoing; filial devotion to parents and respect for elder brothers will flourish. In their daily lives, whether traveling or staying at home, they respond to circumstances as they arise and appear no different from ordinary people. Yet where they live, immortal cranes often cry out and wheel through the sky, while auspicious clouds circle overhead…

Since the Eastern Jin, war had raged constantly across the Central Plains, and the south of the Yangtze had also suffered repeated incursions. Within a radius of more than a hundred li of the place where Perfected Lord Xu Xun lived, bandits dared not enter. The villages were peaceful, harvests were abundant year after year, and the people suffered no calamities. His blessings benefited the people, though they did not know their source.

In the second year of Ningkang, the year jiǎxū, during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, the Perfected Lord was 136 years old. At dawn on the first day of the eighth month, a celestial procession descended from the clouds. Two immortals rode in a carriage, surrounded by a large retinue, and arrived in the Perfected Lord’s courtyard. He came down the steps to greet them and bowed in homage. The two immortals said, “We have come by order of the Jade Emperor to bestow an edict upon you.” The Perfected Lord bowed his head and listened. The edict proclaimed:

“The Jade Emperor hereby addresses the youth Xu Xun, who studies the Way in pursuit of immortality: You began cultivating the Great Way in remote ages and have practiced with diligence and hardship, enduring many trials and mastering the methods of the Dao. You studied every kind of teaching and all manner of immortal arts under various masters. You have relieved calamities, dispelled misfortune, and destroyed demons and evil spirits. Your merit has benefited the people; your name is recorded in the registers of the Jade Court, and you are esteemed by the assembled immortals. You deserve promotion and are hereby appointed Grand Historian and High Commissioner of the Immortals of the Nine Provinces. You are also granted a purple feathered robe, a jade standard and precious tally, and one portion each of jade elixir and Golden Elixir. Upon receiving this edict, carry it out at once.”

The Perfected Lord bowed again in gratitude, then ascended the steps to receive the edict. One immortal said, “I am Cui Ziwen, the High Lord of Jade Truth.” The other said, “I am Xia Qiu Zhong, the Grand Minister of Primal Truth.” After speaking, they invited the Perfected Lord to sit and told him the date on which he would ascend to Heaven. Then they departed in a cloud chariot.

The Perfected Lord summoned his disciples and the village elders and told them he would soon depart. From then on, people gathered at his home every morning and evening, setting out banquets and drinking wine as they shared their feelings at parting. The Perfected Lord also taught them to do good and build merit in hopes of becoming immortals, and wrote works such as The Master of the Numinous Sword. For eleven of his disciples, he composed ten admonitory poems each, in five-character lines with paired rhymes, to leave for later generations.

For those disciples whose merit was complete but who could not ascend to Heaven with him, the Perfected Lord passed on the “Formula for the Great Merit Wish-Fulfilling Elixir.” This prescription was one of the divine formulas of Ding Yi. To prepare it, one first had to choose an auspicious day, observe purification, and establish an altar to offer prayers to the eighteen medicine deities. One then wrote Fulu (talismans and registers), recited an incantation for each ingredient in turn, and compounded the elixir. Used to treat any kind of illness, it brought recovery as desired.

On the fifteenth day of the eighth month that year, the Perfected Lord held a grand purification gathering and invited everyone in the village, young and old, men and women alike. All came to attend. At noon, people heard music in the distance and saw auspicious clouds spread across the sky. After a while, the procession gradually approached the gathering place: there were feathered canopies and dragon chariots, officials and armed guards in attendance, as well as immortal youths, radiant maidens…

Guides led the way both before and behind. Red clouds and purple Qi (vital energy) spread across the sky, surrounding them. The two envoys who had come earlier returned to the steps, and the Perfected Lord descended to welcome them with a bow. The two immortal envoys again read aloud the imperial edict:

“Heaven proclaims to Xu Xun, the youth who studies the path to immortality: your sins from a former life—greed, killing, and failure to make offerings to your ancestors—are pardoned. Your merits in this life are recorded: reciting incantations over water, drawing talismans to heal the sick, punishing evildoers, and cutting away harm. Now the Director of Destiny at Qianshan is commanded to transmit the Golden Elixir to you, so that in the lower realm you may repay old debts and seal away your physical form, then enter the Three Heavens together with your body, your family, and your kitchen and dwelling. At once cleanse away all impurity and clear the land. Dispatch the Left Mighty Celestial Marshal (a divine general of Heaven) and the Flowing-Gold Fire Bell to guard you, shine upon the place, and ward off the evil Qi of the Central Yellow. Do not delay. After this proclamation, confer and seal the titles of your distant ancestors: your great-grandfather Yan, formerly a Director of the Jade Void; your ancestor Yu, formerly a Grandee of the Purple Tenuity military guard; and your father Su, formerly a Registrar in charge of the Taiji registers. Appoint each as an immortal official of the Central Peak, and grant them the residence they occupy, naming it ‘The Left Court of the Immortal Bureau.’”

The Most High Lord Yuzhen said, “Though you have many disciples, only six are fit to ascend to Heaven with you. The rest each have their own appointed time to ascend and cannot travel with you.”

He then bowed to the Perfected Lord. The Perfected Lord mounted the dragon carriage and ordered Chen Xun to carry the register and lead the way. Zhou Guang and Zeng Heng rode and drove the carriage; Huang Renlan and his paternal kin attended him, while Xu Lie and his mother’s attendants followed. The immortal family, forty-two people in all, ascended to Heaven together, and the chickens and dogs flew up after them.

The people of the village were reluctant to part. They fell to the ground weeping bitterly, unable to bear the separation. The Perfected Lord said, “Immortals and ordinary people follow different paths. At parting, sorrow and joy each have their place. If you practice filial devotion, kindness, respect, and obedience, and honor Heaven and Earth, how could you fail to receive a response?” He then left behind a bell used in cultivation and a stone casket, saying, “After the world has changed, these will eventually become relics of the past. For now, let them remain as keepsakes for the future.”

A servant named Xu Da was buying rice with his wife at the Western Ridge. When he heard that the Perfected Lord was about to ascend, he hurried back. In his haste, the cart overturned and scattered the rice on the ground; the rice then sprouted from the earth. (Today the place is called “Overturned Cart Ridge” or “Sprouted Rice Town.”) When Xu Da arrived, he wept and begged to accompany them. Seeing that his affinity for immortality had not yet ripened, the Perfected Lord taught him and his wife the arts of an earthbound immortal. They later withdrew together to live in seclusion on the Western Mountain. (For details, see “The Biography of Xu Da.”)

Not long after the immortal procession rose into the sky, a medicine mortar and a cartwheel each fell back down. A chicken coop also fell at a place more than ten li southeast of the residence. (It was formerly called “Chicken-Roost Shrine”; today it is …)

The altar tables, medicine-washing cauldron, alchemy furnace, and other relics are all preserved in the monastery.

A few mice in Chongyuan Monastery fell to the ground. Although their intestines were hanging outside their bodies, they did not die. People guessed that they had probably once stolen and eaten immortal medicine. Later, when people saw these mice, they took them as auspicious signs.

After the immortal’s carriage rose into the sky, it flew into the distance and gradually disappeared from sight. Only auspicious clouds and rosy mists filled the valleys, while a strange fragrance drifted across an area a hundred li in every direction. It had still not faded a month later.

When the Perfected Lord first returned from Jingyang, he gave Shu brocade to Chenmu as a token. She made it into curtains for the hall. On the day the Perfected Lord ascended, the curtains suddenly rose into the air and circled his former home for an entire day before flying into the clouds. A Daoist monastery was later built there, and for this reason it was named Youwei Monastery.

Long ago, the Perfected Lord and Guo Pu went in search of immortals and chose a site in the mountains. They came to Qiwushan in Yichun. Wang Shuo, the son of Chief Administrator Wang, welcomed the Perfected Lord and invited him to stay at the Western Pavilion. Some time later, the Perfected Lord said to Wang Shuo, “I think you are capable of inheriting my art of the Dao.” He then secretly taught him the methods of immortality. The Perfected Lord added, “The mountains and rivers here are beautiful. South of the Daoist retreat there is also a numinous spring, facing the grotto-heaven and overlooking the Yuan River. This is an excellent place to build a Daoist retreat.” Wang Shuo followed his advice.

The Perfected Lord wrote the character “Jing” on the wall. It was written in the seal script of the Heavenly Writings. After finishing it, he left. On the day the Perfected Lord ascended, his cloud carriage passed over Wang Shuo’s home and sent down two attendants dressed in blue to tell him that the Perfected Lord had received an edict from the Jade Emperor and had come especially to bid him farewell. Wang Shuo and his entire family looked up, bowed, and begged the Perfected Lord to take them with him to become immortals. The Perfected Lord leaned down and told them, “Your immortal bones are not yet sufficient. You can only prolong your lives; you cannot ascend.”

The Perfected Lord then broke off a stalk of immortal mugwort and gave it to Wang Shuo. “This immortal mugwort has a distinctive flavor. Plant it here. Take it regularly, and you can attain long life. Sweetness nourishes the flesh, pungency nourishes the joints, bitterness nourishes Qi (vital energy), saltiness nourishes the bones, smoothness nourishes the skin, and sourness nourishes the sinews. Mix it with bitter wine and take it; it will surely be effective.” With that, he bade them farewell and departed. Afterward, members of the Wang clan took immortal mugwort as he had prescribed, and it is said they all lived to be a hundred. Today, Yuxu Monastery in Linjiang Army stands at that same site, and the immortal mugwort is still there.

More than three hundred people followed the Perfected Lord in their cultivation. Among them, eleven—including Lord Wu—excelled in merit and practice and understood the methods of the Dao. After the Perfected Lord ascended, local people and Wang Jian, a grandson of the Perfected Lord’s clan, built a shrine on the site. They inscribed the Perfected Lord’s one hundred and twenty poems on bamboo slips and placed them in a large bamboo tube, from which people drew one to divine good or ill fortune. These were called “sacred lots.” The shrine and monastery also preserve relics including a bell, a carriage, a box, a mortar, precious altar tables, a medicine-washing cauldron, and an alchemy furnace.

The divine image was enshrined in the ancestral hall. Later, the hall was renamed a Daoist temple and, because of its brocade curtains, came to be known as the Temple of the Wandering Curtains. The people around Jingyang in Shu competed to bring gold, silk, bricks, and stones, using them to build up the well platform in gratitude for the deity’s merit. They also carved their names into the bricks. These bricks were later removed during construction at the temple complex, though they can still occasionally be found today. During the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, the temple’s incense offerings and cultivation practices came to a halt, and before long the building fell into ruin. In the Yongchun era of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Celestial Master Hu Huichao rebuilt the temple. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang held it in especially high regard. The emperors Taizong, Zhenzong, and Renzong of Song each bestowed imperial calligraphy upon it. Zhenzong also sent palace envoys bearing incense and candles, flowered banners, ceremonial pennants, and dancing puppets, and bestowed the name “Yulong.” The name “Yulong” derives from the phrase “Tai Shi, Yulong, Tengsheng Heaven” in the Scripture of Deliverance (Duren Jing). The court also forbade the cutting and gathering of firewood on the sacred mountain, exempted the local people from taxes and service, and appointed officials to oversee the temple, making it a place where senior ministers received special favor.

Emperor Huizong issued a jade investiture tablet and petitioned the deities through a Daoist jiao ritual—a ceremony in which an altar is set up to make offerings and petitions to the gods. The petition read:

“In the second year of Zhenghe (1112), the year of Renchen, the first day of the fifth month, Dingsi, and the seventeenth day, Guiyou, the emperor respectfully dispatched Cheng Qi of the Inner Palace Attendants’ Office to invite twenty-one Daoist priests to establish an altar and perform the rites at Yulong Temple in Hongzhou for seven days and nights. On the day the rites concluded, an altar was set up for a jiao ritual, with three hundred and sixty ritual positions arranged, to pay reverence to the Perfected Lord of Divine Merit and Marvelous Aid:

‘The deity is supremely transcendent, beyond depiction in form and difficult to name in words. Yet the deity’s Virtue is manifest among humankind, so we provisionally use the title revealed to us. We now specially honor and proclaim your achievements, and begin to present you with an auspicious title. May you accept this offering of reverence and protect this blessed place for generations to come. In fear and awe, with earnest prayer, I respectfully submit these words.’”

Emperor Huizong issued the following memorial accompanying the investiture of the Perfected Lord:

“Your servant respectfully carries out the imperial command to proclaim the manifest achievements of the High Perfected One, an honorific Daoist title for a revered deity. Gazing up toward the highest heavens, I have purified the dwelling of the divine spirit to express my reverence. The blessings bestowed by the deity have become a source of good fortune for the people; pure and abundant radiance has descended, bringing prosperity and longevity to the state. With utmost sincerity and reverent awe, your servant respectfully submits this memorial.”

The jade investiture tablet read:

“In the second year of Zhenghe, the year of Renchen, the first day of the fifth month, Dingsi, and the seventeenth day, Guiyou, the emperor spoke after twice bowing: Heaven’s favor grows ever greater, its blessings increase, and it protects the four quarters. Now a supreme Perfected Deity assists the Lord on High, displaying august majesty and manifesting illustrious Virtue, bestowing blessings and bringing peace. Yet if the deity’s name is not proclaimed, how can the court’s rites of gratitude for divine grace be made manifest? Therefore, an edict was issued to the relevant officials to investigate and follow…”

The Secret Record, which recounts the deeds of immortals, sets forth the True Lord’s inherited virtue and passes it down for all future generations. With reverence, we declare that the True Lord personally held the primordial charts—the foundational Daoist charts and registers—and kept wondrous methods concealed. From the Wei through the Jin, he carried forward blessings and made his efficacious powers manifest. He aided the poor and relieved illness, giving the people of the region someone to rely upon. He also smote demons and dispelled harm, thereby bringing the Three Qi—the Daoist classifications of primordial energy—into their proper distinction. He thus received the talismanic mandate of Mother Chen, the legendary Daoist immortal, and was entered among the registers of the Celestial Immortals, ascending beyond to the Jade Pivot of Heaven. His deeds have been recorded since ancient times; his image stands tall in the temple, and even now his bearing inspires awe.

Moreover, the sun shines brightly in an age of flourishing state prosperity. Auspicious signs have appeared time and again, revealing the unseen protection bestowed from beyond. Prayers for blessings and the warding off of calamities have also received a response. The people live in peace, and all things flourish. It is fitting, therefore, to grant him an exalted title, thereby expressing the court’s reverence. We respectfully dispatch Wang □, Court Gentleman for Attending the Court, Compiler in the Jixian Hall, Prefect of Hongzhou and Supervisor of Education, Commissioner for Encouraging Agriculture within the jurisdiction, Military Commissioner of Jiangnan West Circuit, Protector General, and recipient of the Purple-Gold Fish Bag, to confer the title “True Lord of Divine Merit and Wondrous Deliverance.”

We respectfully pray that the True Lord look down and bear witness, and graciously accept this solemn investiture. May he protect the state’s enduring peace, guard the fortunes of the realm, make its blessings shine with ever greater brilliance, and extend his grace to all. We hereby make this offering.

In the sixth year of Zhenghe, the temple was renamed a palace. The True Lord’s manifestations and efficacious deeds are many, and the court has repeatedly bestowed favor upon him. They are recorded in detail in the Gazetteer of Yulong Longevity Palace on Mount Xiaoyao.

Your servant Daoyi says: Grand Historian Xu gave up office and worldly honors to devote himself to cultivating the Dao. To aid the people, he used talismans and treated illness with water; to rid them of harm, he slew flood dragons and struck down serpent demons. When his cultivation was complete and his merit fulfilled, he ascended into the ranks of the immortals. Yet in his native community, he moved people through his filial devotion and affection for his kin, and won his friends through virtue and righteousness. In responding to circumstances and dealing with others, he was no different from an ordinary person. Only in the place where he lived did cranes often cry out and wheel through the air, while colored clouds circled overhead.

As an official, Grand Historian Xu achieved notable results in governance; after withdrawing from public life, he cultivated the inner elixir while engaging outwardly with the world. He was indeed an outstanding figure among the immortals. The Dao De Jing says: “The Dao is empty, yet in use it seems never to be exhausted. Profound—it is like the source of all things. It blunts its sharpness, untangles its knots, softens its radiance, and mingles with the dust. Deep and hidden, it seems to exist, yet is difficult to grasp. I do not know whose descendant it is, but it seems to have existed before the Lord of Heaven.” Grand Historian Xu understood the meaning of these words.

Comprehensive Record of Perfected Immortals through the Ages, Volume 26.