《歷世真仙體道通鑑》Vol. 33

The Venerable Master He

No one knew where Venerable Master He was from. During the Longshuo era of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang, he lived on Mount Heng in Hengyue. He never revealed his name, and his face looked that of a man in his forties. He walked as swiftly as the wind and often traveled around Cangwu and the Five Ridges. He came without greed or longing and left without aversion or regret. This continued for more than a hundred years. People often saw him, yet his appearance never changed. When asked about his family name, he would only say, “He, he.” When pressed about his home and his cultivation, he would answer only, “A man of such-and-such a time.” People therefore called him Venerable Master He. His clothes were worn and his shoes threadbare, yet his spirit was broad and expansive.

The Daoist priests Tian Xuying and Deng Zhongxu once asked him, “Venerable Master, you never speak. How can you guide those who come after you?” He replied, “To know that you do not know is highest; not to know, yet think that you know, is low. Who can bore open the apertures of chaos—the undivided state before Heaven and Earth separated—and grasp the principles of nature?” Then he leaned on his goosefoot staff and walked into the woods. Soon a group of tigers followed him. After that, no one ever saw him again.

During the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, the Daoist Sima Chengzhen traveled to Mount Heng. Looking toward Zhurong Peak, the mountain’s highest summit, he said, “A great immortal ought to dwell here. Otherwise, why would its aura be so remarkably fine?” He then saw Venerable Master He in the woods and approached to greet him. Master He sat leaning against a rock, as though he had seen nothing, and gave no reply. After withdrawing, Sima Chengzhen sighed, “This is truly someone whose De is complete, yet who does not display it in words.” He built a thatched hut on Zhurong Peak and invited Master He to live there. Once settled, Master He never went out again. The regional inspector Lü Wei came to the hut to ask for instruction in Fulu (talismans and registers). Zhang Taikong, Tian Xuying, and Deng Zhongxu all took him as their teacher, yet none could grasp the essence of his teaching.

On the Lower Prime day of the second year of Tianbao, the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month, cranes flew among the clouds overhead, and a rich, unusual fragrance filled the air. He told his disciples, “After I have gone, place me on the flat rock south of Purple Canopy Peak.” He then died, his face unchanged. His disciples kept watch around him and performed the rite for the spirit’s departure. At midnight, they heard a clap of thunder, and his body had vanished. Su Wulian, the governor of Hengyang, composed an inscription for his stele.

Liu Zhigu

The Daoist priest Liu Zhigu, courtesy name Guangxuan, had ancestors from Pei County in Pengcheng. From the time of Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan and son of Emperor Jing of the Han, down through twelve generations, his family had held high rank and prospered. His great-grandfather Liu Ying passed the examination for filial and incorrupt officials during the Sui dynasty, then served in various posts, including as magistrate of Linqiong County. His grandfather and father therefore settled there.

Zhigu’s family lived in Linqiong, in the area of present-day Qionglai, Sichuan. His mother, Lady Wu, gave birth to him after an auspicious dream.

Zhigu was clever from birth and understood things clearly even as a child. As he grew older, he showed exceptional talent, and in adulthood he was upright in character. He regarded fame and profit as enemies and devoted himself solely to cultivating the Dao. During the Longshuo era of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang, he left home to become a Daoist priest of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) at Taiqing Monastery, versed in the Daoist scriptures of all three caverns. From the Eight Lords’ Precious Chapters and the Three Tablets’ Secret Registers to alchemical scriptures, medical arts, pulse techniques, and methods for restoring the dead to life, there was nothing he did not understand.

Emperor Ruizong summoned him and questioned him about Daoist matters. Deeply satisfied with his answers, the emperor gave him special rewards and sent him back to the mountains. During the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong, natural disasters spread and epidemics raged; eight or nine people out of every ten fell ill. The emperor summoned Zhigu to treat them. Zhigu lamented, “Even the Star Lord of Fire Virtue, a deity associated with the power of fire, can cause a sage to contract an epidemic. The way to treat illness is to refine medicines. The highest medical art can discern by listening to the sound; acupuncture and moxibustion are far inferior by comparison.” He therefore read a patient’s complexion instead of taking the pulse and used Qi (vital energy) to dispel pain. Even when illness had reached a critical stage, he could open its course like a breached river, clearing the pathogenic influence from the interstices between skin and flesh as snow melts away. Such was the subtlety of his medical art. The emperor repeatedly bestowed precious gifts on him, but he refused them all.

In the nineteenth year of the Tianbao era, Zhigu and the Inner Secretary Tian Sisong jointly presided over a Zhaijiao (purification ritual), performing rites for twenty-four deities. Much later, Zhigu asked to return to Shu and requested that the emperor convert his residence into Daqianqiu Monastery. The emperor personally wrote and bestowed its signboard, and Li Yong composed an inscription for the monastery’s stele.

Zhigu’s elder brother followed Confucian teachings, while his younger brother followed Buddhism, so Zhigu set up images of the Three Teachings and enshrined them together. Zhang Yue, Duke of Yan, heard of his deeds and greatly admired him. He therefore composed “Inscription on the Three Teachings,” which reads:

“Upright Qi gives rise to spirits; gathered from emptiness, it takes form. The Highest Clarity honors the Celestial Emperor, while the Central Yellow guards him. Spirits appear in splendid robes and dwell in palaces of emptiness. Purple Qi rides the Dipper; the crimson furnace drinks the sun to kindle its fire. Thus the spirits of the ten directions are set in motion. Buddhism is like a lotus blossom, and Confucian learning like a unicorn’s horn. Though their teachings differ, their roots are one; with a shared mind, one attains the Way. The Daoist mind is subtle: only by holding fast to it can one avoid losing it.”

Later, on the occasion of the Emperor’s Birthday Festival, Zhigu renamed the monastery Tianchang Monastery. A visitor once taught him the art of refining gold and silver. Zhigu’s halls were tall and splendid, and their construction cost a great deal, yet they had never been built through human labor. After the work was complete, the visitor came again and arranged to meet Zhigu at Mount Funiu in Dongyang. At the foot of the mountain stood an ancient monastery, which Zhigu repaired and made his home.

The visitor then taught him the Scripture of the Divine Tiger, along with the secret texts of Highest Clarity and the essentials of the High Path of Soaring. Zhigu practiced for ten years. Suddenly, he saw light shining inside his room, and a single stalk of cinnabar fungus, a legendary immortal herb, had grown there. When struck, it rang like metal or stone. In a dream, a divine being told him, “In the rock wall behind the mountain there is a golden fish. Ride it, and you can soar into the sky. As for this stalk of cinnabar fungus, when struck…”

This recounts the miraculous deeds of three Daoist practitioners.

The first tells of a stone-seeking cultivator who discovered a golden fish. He received a revelation in a dream, and the next day went to search beneath a dripping spring. When he struck the rock with a lingzhi mushroom, thunder suddenly roared, splitting the boulder open to reveal a three-foot-long golden fish. He mounted the fish and ascended into the skies amid swirling clouds and mist.

The second is Wang Min, who dwelled in Qingluo Mountain near Luoyang. Though already several hundred years old, his face remained unaged. He was skilled in cultivating lingzhi and medicinal herbs, having authored three volumes of Mountain Dwelling Miscellany, and sustained himself daily with powdered lingzhi. During Empress Wu Zetian's reign, Wu Youxu retreated to Song Mountain to escape political turmoil and studied the arts of nourishing life and refining Qi (vital energy) under Wang Min. Wang cautioned him: "Abandoning official rank to pursue the Daoist path is no easy task—one must have unwavering resolve." Later, during Emperor Xuanzong's reign, Wang Min was summoned to the capital to assist in completing the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) scriptures. Upon finishing the texts, auspicious signs appeared—celestial cranes circled above, and an extraordinary fragrance filled the air. Eventually, he returned to the mountains and passed away as an immortal who had attained the Dao.

Lastly is the story of the painter Wu Daozi. Originally named Wu Daozi, he renamed himself Dao Yuan after attaining immortality through cultivation. His painting skills were so extraordinary they bordered on the divine. Though Emperor Xuanzong summoned him to court, he preferred the freedom of creating among the common people.

These stories illustrate how practitioners attained longevity, ascension, and other miraculous abilities through cultivation, as well as the choices they faced between worldly life and spiritual pursuit. Key methods mentioned include daoyang lianqi (guiding exercises and breath cultivation) and the transmission of Shangqing (an important Daoist school) scriptures.

The wall stood several yards high. Emperor Xuanzong ordered a landscape painted on it and asked Wu Daozi what tools he wanted. Wu Daozi said, “Please screen off this wall with a curtain and prepare a vat of ink.” Xuanzong did as he asked.

Before long, Wu Daozi lifted the curtain, vigorously splashed the vat of ink across the white wall, and covered it again. After a while, Xuanzong asked how the landscape was coming along. Wu Daozi replied, “It is finished. Your Majesty may come and see.” Xuanzong approached and looked. There he saw mountains and rivers, woods and trees, houses, birds and beasts—everything complete and exquisitely rendered, beyond the skill of even the finest painters in the empire. Xuanzong gazed at it for a long time, filled with admiration.

Wu Daozi slowly stepped forward and pointed to the painting. “Beneath this cliff is a small cave where many immortals live. Knock on its door, and someone will surely answer.” As he spoke, he reached out and knocked. The cave door suddenly opened, and a young attendant stood beside it. Wu Daozi reported, “You can enter this cave; the scenery within is beautiful. I will go in first, and Your Majesty may follow.” With that, he leapt inside, then beckoned Xuanzong to join him. Xuanzong, however, could not enter, and the cave door promptly closed again.

After a while, the city guards reported that Wu Daozi had climbed over the walls of the Forbidden City and leapt away. No one knew where he had gone. When Xuanzong returned to inspect the wall, he found its surface smooth and as it had been before. The landscape painting had vanished completely.

Yan Zhenqing

Yan Zhenqing, courtesy name Qingchen, was the fifth-generation descendant of Yan Shigu. He was widely learned, skilled at writing, and dutiful toward his parents. During the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong’s reign in the Tang dynasty, he passed the jinshi examination and was selected in the special examinations. He later rose to the post of Investigating Censor. His later virtue and achievements are described in detail in the Book of Tang.

Ouyang Xiu wrote in his Collected Inscriptions that Yan Zhenqing composed and calligraphed the Record of the Magu Altar. Ouyang praised Yan Zhenqing’s loyal and righteous character as radiant as the sun and moon, while also observing that his belief in the immortals showed how deeply the teachings of Laozi and Buddhism had troubled people.

The Qingsuo gaoyi records that Ouyang Xiu and Mei Shengyu once visited Mount Song together. While drunk, they saw four large characters written in red on a sheer cliff of the western peak: “Cave of Divine Clarity.” Ouyang Xiu pointed them out to Mei Shengyu, but Mei said he could see nothing. Ouyang Xiu said no more. Later, when he asked to retire, he wrote a poem: “On a cliff ten thousand feet high, four red characters read ‘Cave of Divine Clarity’; mist and rosy clouds lock away the immortal tower. I gaze into the distance, yet no one comes to visit; perhaps the phoenixes and cranes are now waiting for me.” A few days later, Ouyang Xiu died. He had seldom spoken of immortals during his life and had advocated upholding the Confucian Way.

In the fourth year of the Jianzhong era (784), Emperor Dezong of the Tang ordered Yan Zhenqing to set out and campaign against Li Xilie. His family and friends knew he was unlikely to return, so they held a farewell banquet for him at Changle Slope. After drinking too much, Yan Zhenqing jumped and paced about before the hall, saying, “In my early years, I met a Daoist who gave me the Bixia Elixir, a medicinal elixir of the Dao. After I took it, my body has never grown weak. He also said that when I was seventy, I would face a calamity, after which danger would turn to good fortune. He said, too, that one day he would await me on Mount Luofu. Could the calamity I face today be the one he spoke of?”

When Yan Zhenqing reached Daliang, Li Xilie ordered him strangled and buried south of the city. After Li Xilie was defeated and killed, Yan’s family opened the coffin and saw that his face looked lifelike. His whole body was golden, his fingernails had grown over the backs of his hands, and his beard and hair had reached several feet in length. Later, his family reburied him on the north side of Mount Yanshi.

According to tradition, in the seventeenth year of the Kaiyuan era under Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, Yan Zhenqing had obtained and taken a divine elixir. After Li Xilie was subdued, people moved Yan Zhenqing’s remains to a new burial place. When they opened the coffin, they found that his face still looked alive. The hermit Cao Yong said, “In another thirty years, he will break out of his coffin and ascend, wearing feathered robes as he walks among the mountains and marshes.” This is what is called a “terrestrial immortal”—an immortal who remains in the human world yet transcends the ordinary.

Later, a merchant came to Mount Luofu and saw two Daoists playing Go beneath a tree. One of them asked, “Who has come here?” The merchant replied, “I have come from Luoyang.” The Daoist smiled and said, “That is fortunate. Please do me the favor of delivering a letter to my home.” He had a boy bring paper and brush, then wrote the letter. When Yan Zhenqing’s descendants received it, they were greatly shocked. “These are the characters written by the Grand Preceptor himself!” they exclaimed. They dug up the grave and opened the coffin, only to find it empty. They immediately set out for Mount Luofu to look for Yan Zhenqing, but never found any trace of him.

Others have said that the “silkworm head and horse tail” quality of Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphy shows that he truly attained the Dao and became an immortal. Bai Yuchan said that Yan Zhenqing now serves as Left Judge of the Office of Exorcism in the Northern Pole, a Daoist divine office responsible for driving out evil and dispelling harmful spirits.

Deng Ziyang

The Daoist Deng Ziyang was from Nancheng County in Jianchang. At first, he lived in seclusion northwest of the Magu Altar. Later, while traveling home to visit his family, he found a divine sword and wore it at his side. He was resolute in character and confident in his ability to help the world and save people. Whenever he rested beside streams or in mountain valleys, he constantly recited the Tianpeng Incantation, a Daoist spell used to summon deities for protection and drive away evil.

In response, the Northern Emperor sent a divine being to teach him sword techniques. Deng then traveled far to Mount Heng in the South, visited Songling, and paid respects at the Qingyu and Guangtian Altars. He worshipped Perfected Deng and received a spiritual response in a dream. During the Kaiyuan era under Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, he was summoned to the Datong Hall to conduct a Zhaijiao, a Daoist purification ritual of prayer and sacrifice, and was conferred the title Celestial Master by Hu Fan. After cultivating the Dao and accumulating virtue for twenty-seven years, he suddenly saw a tiger pulling a dragon carriage, with two people holding…

In the courtyard, he turned to his friend Zhu Wuyou and said, “They have come to welcome me. Please submit a memorial on my behalf, asking that I be allowed to return to my native mountain for burial, and that a temple be built beside the altar.” Emperor Ming agreed. Later, he underwent corpse liberation, as Daoist tradition describes the practitioner’s body remaining behind while the person transforms and departs.

Yiqi Xuanjie

Yiqi Xuanjie had glossy black hair, the appearance of a youth, and a pure, fragrant breath. He often rode a yellow mare, giving it neither fodder nor grain and using no bridle or tack; he laid only a blue felt blanket across its back. He often traveled through Qingzhou and Yanzhou. When he spoke of events from a thousand years earlier, he sounded as though he had witnessed them himself.

Emperor Xianzong of Tang heard of his extraordinary abilities and summoned him to the palace, where he was lodged in the Jiuhua Chamber, given a purple rush mat, and served dragon-paste wine. The emperor visited him each day to seek his counsel and treated him with great respect. Xuanjie, however, was simple and unrestrained, never showing the deference expected of a subject.

The emperor asked him, “You are advanced in years, sir. Why has your appearance not grown old?” Xuanjie replied, “I planted numinous herbs in the sea and became this way after taking them.” He then planted three kinds of numinous herbs in front of the palace hall: the first was called Twin Qilin Mushroom, the second Six Directions Sunflower, and the third Ten Thousand Roots Vine. After taking them, the emperor felt that they truly had remarkable effects.

At that time, the Western Regions presented two fine pieces of jade, one round and one square. Xuanjie said, “These are dragon-and-tiger jades. The round one grew in water and was treasured by a dragon; the square one grew in the mountains and was treasured by a tiger.” The emperor sent people to investigate, and fishermen and hunters confirmed that this was so.

Xuanjie wished to return to the Eastern Sea and asked the emperor for permission, but it was not granted. Later, someone in the palace carved wood into a model of the three immortal mountains in the sea, decorating it with brilliant colors and inlaying it with pearls and jade. On New Year’s Day, the emperor and Xuanjie looked at it together. Pointing to Penglai, the emperor said, “If not for a transcendent immortal, who could reach such a place?” Xuanjie smiled and said, “The three immortal islands are close at hand. Who says they are hard to reach? Though my abilities are modest, I would gladly travel there for Your Majesty and bring back a few things, so you can see what they look like and how beautiful they are.”

As soon as he had finished speaking, his body suddenly rose into the air and gradually grew smaller, soon entering the palaces of gold and silver. Those around him called out to him repeatedly, but he never appeared again. The emperor missed him and sighed in sorrow, nearly wasting away from grief. He therefore named the mountain “Island of the Hidden Immortal.” More than ten days later, a report from Qingzhou stated that Xuanjie had ridden the mare across the sea and departed.

Xu Qiyan

Xu Qiyan was a scholar who lived at the foot of Mount Qi. During the Zhenyuan era of Emperor Dezong of Tang, he sat the jinshi examination but did not pass, so he went to study at Haotian Abbey in Chang’an. Over the course of a little more than a month, he lost three horses in succession, making it difficult for him to travel. He then set out to find another good horse. At that point, a foreigner led in a horse and said it could run extremely fast. Qiyan wanted to buy it, but still had some doubts. There was a Daoist at the abbey who could…

Yi Qiyan asked someone to cast a divination. The result was the line from the Qian hexagram: “The flying dragon is in the heavens; it is beneficial to meet a great person.” The diviner said, “This horse is of dragon stock. In time, it will give you the chance to meet a noble person, and then nothing will be beyond your ability to accomplish.” Everyone laughed and said he was talking nonsense. Only Qiyan believed him, and bought the horse. Though he took special care to feed it, the horse never gained weight.

Later, Lord Wei took up command in western Shu. Qiyan had once served under him, so he set out in person to visit him there. On the way, as they passed through Jiange, the horse was startled and lost its footing. Horse and rider plunged together into a deep ravine, nearly ten thousand feet down. Dry leaves had piled up at the bottom, and neither of them was injured. They looked up and saw sheer cliffs all around. There was no way to climb out.

After a long while, Qiyan prayed aloud: “I’m no Liu Bei, and you’re no Dilu—the horse said to have carried Liu Bei out of danger. It seems there’s no leaping out of here. Alas, how could the Daoist’s divination be so wrong?” He then removed the horse’s bridle and saddle blanket and let it wander as it pleased. After about a day, feeling his way along holes in the rock wall, Qiyan gradually found footholds. He climbed up along a large chestnut tree and picked fist-sized chestnuts to eat, which eased his hunger and thirst somewhat.

They went on for several dozen more li. The holes in the rock wall gradually grew brighter. Suddenly, it seemed they had come out of a cave. Before them lay a level plain, bright with spring, where more than ten thousand green peach trees were growing. Among the blossoms stood a pool of blue stone, with a stone house beside it. Inside, a white-haired, rosy-cheeked Daoist lay on a stone couch. Two Jade Maidens—women who served immortals—stood nearby.

Qiyan stepped forward, bowed, and bowed again. The two maidens were startled. “Who are you, to have suddenly arrived at the dwelling of the Primordial Lord of Great Unity, a Daoist immortal?” they asked. Qiyan explained what had happened in detail. The two maidens reported the matter to the Lord, who summoned Qiyan. Qiyan clasped his hands and bowed in greeting.

The Lord asked, “What do you enjoy in the human world?” Qiyan replied, “I love the Dao. I often read the Zhuangzi, the Laozi, and the Yellow Court Scripture.” The Lord said, “What have you each understood from these three Daoist books? Tell me one by one.” Qiyan replied, “The Zhuangzi says, ‘The breathing of the True Person is deep, as though it comes from the heels.’ The Laozi says, ‘Jing and Qi, pure and abundant, are true and not false.’ The Yellow Court Scripture says, ‘If you concentrate your thoughts on the whole scripture, you can enjoy endless longevity.’”

The Lord said, “You are already close to attaining the Dao.” He then told Qiyan to sit. A Jade Maiden poured him stone marrow, the immortal elixir spoken of in legend. The Lord said, “Even Ji Kang failed to obtain it. Now you have received it; such is your destiny.”

Qiyan knelt and bowed in thanks, then drank the stone marrow. A Jade Maiden came forward to announce, “The Daoist Ying has arrived.” The Lord ordered that a couch be set out. The newcomer was a Daoist with long eyebrows, thick lips, a robust build, and a venerable face. Holding divining rods, he knelt and bowed. The Lord asked after him: “You have come from far away. What brings you here?” He replied, “…”

Qi Yan came to pay his respects to the Primordial Lady and said, “Please let me calculate two things for you: Who split open Mount Hua, and what spirit built a bridge across the sea?”

The Daoist replied, “Which god split open Mount Hua? And which ghost built a bridge across the sea? I cannot know either.” Then he laid out his divination stalks and examined them carefully, considering the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity and reasoning through the six directions and four quarters. He searched from the heavens above down to the hidden springs below. After a long while, he said, “Though legend says it was the Giant Spirit God who split open Mount Hua, in truth it was the spirit of Kuafu. Though legend says it was an ugly monster that built the bridge across the sea, in truth it was the ghost of the Five Strong Men.”

The Primordial Lady nodded. “That is exactly right.” Then she asked, “Then calculate what I will do tonight.” The Daoist laid out his divination stalks again and said, “Tonight, the Primordial Lady will travel east for thirty thousand li.” She said, “Isn’t that very far?”

Qi Yan studied the Daoist closely and realized that he was the same person who had once divined the matter of his horse. He was astonished. The Daoist said, “The Qian hexagram I obtained before is coming true today.” Qi Yan bowed his head to thank him.

Before long, an immortal boy arrived riding a deer-dragon. “The Eastern Sovereign has sent me to welcome the Primordial Lady,” he said. “Tonight, please come to Mount Qulong to admire the moon.” The Primordial Lady clapped her hands and laughed. “The Daoist’s divination has come true!” The Daoist thanked her respectfully and took his leave. The Primordial Lady said, “Give my regards to the Daoist Xing Hepu.” He agreed.

The Primordial Lady said to Qi Yan, “You may come with me to Mount Qulong.” She ordered him to bathe in the pool. Then the two of them mounted the deer-dragon, and in an instant they reached Mount Qulong.

There they saw a towering bridge stretching a thousand paces, its pillars rising ten thousand fathoms. It arched across the blue sky like a long rainbow and unfurled through the heavens like a white ribbon. The bridge joined the Milky Way, and its shadow fell upon the vast sea. Its surface gleamed like jade, untouched by dust. Clouds gathered over it and lingered.

The Primordial Lady had Qi Yan pay his respects to the Eastern Sovereign. “You are the grandson of Chief Clerk Xu, aren’t you?” the Eastern Sovereign asked. Qi Yan replied, “My father died when I was young, so I do not know what office my grandfather held.” The Eastern Sovereign said, “Just last night I drank with your grandfather, and I knew you would come today.”

The Eastern Sovereign ordered an immortal boy to pour sweet wine. The Primordial Lady, the Eastern Sovereign, and Qi Yan drank together. The Primordial Lady asked the Eastern Sovereign, “How is the sea these days?” He replied, “It is shallower than when we last met. It has already receded by half. Alas, it seems the day when the blue sea becomes mulberry fields cannot be far off.”

The Eastern Sovereign had a jade maiden sing “The Song of the Elder of Qingcheng” to accompany the Primordial Lady’s wine. The song went: “Moonlight shines upon the jade steps; spring water drips like milk. The jade flute summons the phoenix, which dances amid the mist. Where will the Elder of Qingcheng roam? The dark crane cries aloud and rises into the sky, leaving only a slender shadow among the clouds.” The immortal boy struck jade instruments in accompaniment. The banquet was a great delight. The Eastern Sovereign brought out a jade tablet and inscribed a poem whose opening words were, “Creating…” The original text ends here.

The Bridge of Transforming Heaven spans the eastern edge of the blue sea. The jade wheel—the bright moon—passes over it once more, and the rainbow in the clear sky seems to brush against one’s robe.

On the summit of Yingzhou, the legendary immortal mountain in the sea, the pure and harmonious Qi gradually disperses, as though drawn into the bellows—the mechanism through which Heaven and Earth breathe and move their Qi. The Primordial Lady then recited:

“A lofty bridge rests upon the rocks, reaching straight to the clouds. Riding a deer to its heights, one finds the view opening wide. Pure Qi washes away the haze, leaving the blue sky clear; osmanthus blossoms brush low against the jade hairpin, and a crisp chill steals over me.”

Qiyan also asked to leave a few lines, and recited:

“From the top of the winding Dragon Bridge, we admire Yingzhou; even mortals may accompany immortals on their carefree wanderings. There is no need to climb the cinnabar steps to reach the clouds. The crystal platter is cool and clear, and the osmanthus is in bloom in autumn.”

Just then, red luan birds sang out, and brilliant phoenixes danced gracefully. The sounds of the sheng and xiao flutes reached beyond the heavens, while the strings of the qin drifted down to the human world. When the immortal companions had enjoyed themselves to their hearts’ content, they each gathered their belongings and prepared to depart by carriage. The Primordial Lady ordered a carriage brought, and had Qiyan ride back with her, on deer and dragon.

Looking down, Qiyan saw a great city and asked, “What place is this?” The Primordial Lady replied, “This is the kingdom of Silla.” When they reached a small city by the sea, Qiyan asked again. “This is Dengzhou in the Tang kingdom,” she said.

Before long, they returned to the cave dwelling where they had first met. Qiyan bowed once more and took his leave. The Primordial Lady said, “You have drunk the stone marrow, the legendary elixir of the immortals, and can now live for a thousand years in the human world. If you can keep this secret and avoid debauchery, then one day you may see me again.” She ordered a Jade Maiden to bring Qiyan’s horse, and said, “Though this is your horse, it was originally a dragon offspring from my cave. After once growing angry and damaging crops, it was banished to the human world to carry burdens. Later it happened to wander away and form a bond with you.”

The horse came to the place where Qiyan had dismounted years before. Its coat was unchanged, and it moved with the lightness and strength of one of the legendary Eight Steeds. The Primordial Lady said, “When you reach the human world, you need not use this horse anymore. Simply release it in the Wei River valley, and it will turn into a dragon—just as, long ago, Fei Changfang threw a green bamboo staff into the Ge Pond, and it became a dragon.”

Amazed and delighted, Qiyan bowed repeatedly and took his leave. The Jade Maiden said to him, “When the dragon offspring returns, please give my regards to Tian Pōzhēn of Guo County, and bring me some needles.”

Qiyan mounted the horse. It raced like the wind, and in an instant he had reached his old estate in Guo County. The fields and gardens lay abandoned, and the villages and towns had fallen into decline. After asking around, he learned that sixty years had passed. It was the fifth year of the Dazhong era under Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang.

Qiyan’s body had become pure and light, and his temperament was detached and free of desire. Having nothing to crave, what use could he have for such things? He no longer asked after his former household possessions, but thought only of finding Tian Pōzhēn. He asked everywhere and at last found her. Tian Pōzhēn said, “The sisters from Taiyi’s Zixiao often send people to buy needles.” When Qiyan pressed her about other matters, she fell silent.

Then he took a needle, tied it to a horse’s mane, and placed it beside the Wei River. Sure enough, the needle turned into a dragon, slipped beneath the water, and disappeared. Shui left Qiyan and went into seclusion around Mount Lu. Many people had seen him.

Master Mo

No one knew where Master Mo came from. He traveled around the capital, carrying a small bamboo case and making his living by selling medicine. When someone fell ill, he would touch them with his hand, and they would recover. People therefore called him “Master Mo,” though they did not know his real name. If someone gave him money, he accepted it; if no one paid him, he asked for nothing.

He wore his hair in two coils atop his head. His appearance was rough, but his eyes were bright, and his glances drew people’s attention.

One day, when it was raining, Master Mo went to stay at the home of Li Sheng, a teahouse owner. Li Sheng took him in. From then on, Master Mo came to stay almost every night, leaving during the day. One day, he arrived to ask for lodging with another guest. Li Sheng did not turn them away.

At midnight, Li Sheng got up and saw what looked like a light in the room through the window. Startled, he leaned in to look more closely. Master Mo was sitting amid flames. The other guest, meanwhile, had one shoulder braced against the bed and was leaning at an angle, as if struggling to hold it up. Li Sheng cried out to them. Both men vanished, and the room immediately grew dark. All that could be heard was snoring.

The next day, Li Sheng asked Master Mo what had happened the night before. The two men only looked at each other and smiled, without answering. After that, Master Mo took his leave, and no one ever saw him again.

Lord Wang

The perfected man Lord Wang had loved Daoist arts from a young age. Later, he and his wife went into the mountains, devoted themselves to cultivating the Dao, and cut themselves off from worldly affairs. On the eight seasonal festivals, they would worship in keeping with the four seasons.

Later, they met the Perfected Man of Great Vacuity. Husband and wife bowed to him together and asked him to teach them the Dao. The Perfected Man of Great Vacuity gave Lord Wang twenty-five scrolls of plain-text books and taught him the Way of the Nine Heavens Sovereign Immortal’s Supreme Numinous Elixir. He said, “You have the makings of an immortal and should be able to attain the Dao. Your immortal name has already been determined. Carefully observe this teaching and do not reveal it to others.” He then gave Lord Wang the scriptures as well.

Seven years later, the Yellow Central One of Great Unity gave Lord Wang the Elixir of Numinous Splendor. Afterward, a dragon-drawn carriage with feathered canopies descended, and celestial immortals came to welcome him. He ascended in broad daylight and became the Perfected Man of Great Harmony. At first, Lord Wang did not know the name of the one who had given him the books. After ascending, he paid homage to his teacher and learned that he was the Perfected Man of Great Vacuity, Red Pine of Mount Heng.

Liang Xu

No one knew where the Daoist Liang Xu came from. He had heard that taking “Ningbin Chi” could delay aging and restore youth, as well as enable people to see clearly at night and perceive ghosts, among other things. At the time, Liang Xu…

It is said that Wang Yuanzhi did not take an elixir until he was seventy. Afterward, he grew younger and stronger. At the age of one hundred and forty, he could still read at night, walked and rode with ease, and was able to enter Qingyun Mountain.

Wang Yuanzhi was from Zhongling. In his teens, he went out one night and met a Daoist. He followed him into the waters of the Jiang River. By moonlight, they walked along the riverbed. The silt and sand parted of their own accord at each step, making a path. Beside it lay a creature shaped like both a dragon and a snake, about ten zhang long, its body flashing with five-colored light. Wang Yuanzhi asked the Daoist what it was. “It is a water mother,” the Daoist replied. “Anyone who sees it can attain long life.” They did not return until the following day.

From then on, Wang Yuanzhi enjoyed roaming the mountains and often drank wine, but he took neither elixirs nor other health-giving substances. He often said that he had visited the immortal dwellings at Hongya, Xishan, the Xiaoshi Altar, Kuanglu, Yusi, and Magu.

In Jiangyou, he once met the immortal Cao Dexiu. Cao Dexiu had served as an astronomer in the Western Jin and later as a Gentleman of the Secretariat in the Liang dynasty. He was said to have attained the Dao of long life. He traveled by boat along the Western River and often met with Wang Yuanzhi. Once, when Wang Yuanzhi was serving as a county clerk, he was imprisoned. On hearing this, Cao Dexiu went to his home, performed a spell over a small amount of water, and had someone take it to Wang Yuanzhi. After Wang Yuanzhi drank it, the stocks around his body fell away by themselves, and he left with Cao Dexiu.

Wang Yuanzhi and Cao Dexiu traveled between Jiujiang, Jinling, Jiangdu, and other places. More than forty years later, Wang Yuanzhi returned to his hometown, looking younger than before. In earlier times, many mountain sprites were said to inhabit the Zhongling area. Whenever Wang Yuanzhi wanted to go into the mountains, they would hide from him. He once told someone, “When I come here, the spirits keep away.” One person saw hundreds or thousands of soldiers carrying banners coming toward him on the road. Only when they drew close did he realize that it was Wang Yuanzhi walking alone. At times, Wang Yuanzhi could sail straight into a headwind; at other times, he could sit calmly on the surface of the water.

Toward the end of the Xiantong era under Emperor Yizong of the Tang, Wang Yuanzhi visited Yusi Mountain. At the time, the Daoist Piyuanxiu, who lived among the mountain streams and clouds, was an old friend of his. One day, Piyuanxiu suddenly saw Wang Yuanzhi touring Yumu Ravine with several Daoist companions and asked where they were going. Wang Yuanzhi replied, “The immortals Xiao Ziyun, Wu Shiyun, Meifu, Daxiao, and the others have invited me to Yuliang Mountain to await Fan Xianbo of Penglai.” As soon as he had spoken, he vanished. Clouds and mist immediately filled the air, while the wind stirred the mountain forests and valleys. Piyuanxiu had no choice but to return, disappointed.

(In another book, the character “zhi” is written as “zhi,” but it is unclear which form is correct.)

The Old Medicine Seller

No one knew the Old Medicine Seller’s name. When people asked him, he would say, “The Old Medicine Seller is my name.” Some people had seen him as children, then met him again in old age and found that his appearance had not changed.

He often carried a large gourd through the city, selling medicine. When sick people came to ask for medicine, they sometimes paid but received none. He gave all the money to others, yet the medicine had miraculous effects. Others who were not ill came to ask for medicine as a joke; after receiving it, they were sure to suffer a loss. So people no longer dared ask for medicine casually. They revered him as though he were a deity.

He often got drunk in the city, and gave away all the money he received to the poor. Someone once jokingly asked him, “Do you have a Great Restoration Elixir for sale—the alchemical pill spoken of in Daoism?” He replied, “I have one pill. It costs a thousand strings of cash.” Everyone laughed at him, thinking he was mad. He often said to people in the city, “You have money but won’t buy medicine to take. When your money runs out, you’ll become bones in an earthen bun”—meaning a grave. People did not understand what he meant and mocked him.

Later, while selling medicine in Chang’an, he shook his gourd and found it empty, with only one pill left inside. He took it out and saw that it shone with an intensely bright light. Placing it on his palm, he said to the crowd, “I have sold medicine in the human world for a hundred years and met countless people, yet not one has been willing to spend money to buy and take it. It is truly sad. Now I have no choice but to take the pill myself.” As soon as he swallowed it, five-colored auspicious clouds appeared beneath his feet. The wind rose and clouds surged, and he floated lightly up into the sky.

Mr. Yuan Kang

No one knew where Mr. Yuan Kang came from. Wearing hemp and leather garments and straw sandals, he traveled throughout the land. Wherever he went, he spent the whole day drunk. When he traveled through Qi Prefecture, he often passed through the market in Changqing County. A local man surnamed Li was wealthy. Every day, when Mr. Yuan passed his house, he would hold out his hand and say to Li, “Give me a hundred gold coins each day for wine.” Li never refused his request and gave him the money at once. Mr. Yuan came to ask for it every day, and even after a year Li had grown no tired of him.

One day, Mr. Yuan took his leave of Li. “I have imposed on you for a long time,” he said. “Now I must travel far away. If you would set out wine to see me off, you will have fulfilled a host’s courtesy. I also have something to warn you about.” Li replied, “I was just preparing a farewell feast for you.” The two then went to the outskirts of town. Halfway through the wine, Mr. Yuan said, “A great disaster is coming your way. If you act with care, you can avoid it; otherwise, when disaster strikes, the consequences will be hard to foresee.”

“If you are willing to advise me, sir, how could I fail to listen?” Li said. Mr. Yuan took a brush from Li and wrote the character “caution” on his palm. “You must not strike anyone,” he said. “Otherwise, someone will die at your hands. In a month, the danger will have passed.”

After returning home, Li thought about Mr. Yuan’s words day and night and did not dare go out. More than ten days passed. Then one day, he suddenly heard a commotion outside his gate. Forgetting Mr. Yuan’s warning, he hurried out to see what was happening. A lame beggar was standing in front of his storeroom, speaking in filthy language. In a fit of anger, Li struck him, and the lame beggar fell to the ground…

Di Shou struck his head against the threshold, fell to the ground, and stopped breathing. Overcome with remorse, he wept and said to his mother, “I did not heed the master’s words, and just as he predicted, I have brought disaster upon myself. If I flee, I cannot bear to leave you; if I stay, I will face the harshest punishment. I have always been devoted to my parents…” As he spoke, he burst into tears.

His mother said, “You can escape and save your life. Do not sit here waiting for them to bind you.” So Di Shou left through the back door of their home. As soon as he stepped outside, he suddenly saw the master. Weeping, he knelt and bowed, saying, “It has not even been a month since we parted, and I have already forgotten your teachings. Now they have come true. What should I do?”

The master said, “Go back. I will find another way for you.” He sat in a quiet room and told Di Shou, “Go out and let them arrest you. I have a plan.” Then he shut the door, closed his eyes, and sat still. Di Shou stepped outside, where the onlookers had crowded together like a wall. The officials seized him.

A short while later, the lame man suddenly sat up. Moments afterward, he got to his feet and walked away at a brisk pace. The officials then released Di Shou and let him return home. When he entered, he saw the master still seated with his eyes closed, in a state of meditative absorption—sitting quietly, gathering his attention, and cultivating concentration. The next day, the master opened his eyes and said, “That lame man was already dead. I sent my spirit out and entered his corpse, making it move. I have now left his body beside a dry streambed on Mount Lingyan, where few people ever go.”

The master added, “You are so devoted to your parents that you should have received a good reward. Your allotted lifespan was originally seventy-four years, but because you injured the lame man, it has been shortened by four years.”

As the master was about to leave, Di Shou said, “You saved me from death; your kindness has given me a new life. Even if I offered you everything in my home, it would not be enough to repay your great kindness. What would you like?” The master smiled and said, “I come and go with the stars, and endure as long as Heaven and Earth. What would I want with worldly possessions?” With that, he left.