《歷世真仙體道通鑑》Vol. 9

Du Chong, courtesy name Xuanyi, was a Perfected One of Taiji and a native of Haojing. In the twenty-seventh year of King Zhao of Zhou, a Ding-si year, he heard that Master Wenshi had already ascended to immortality. He then came to live at Lingzhai and devoted himself to studying the Dao. At that time, five recluses had come from distant places (the Hunyuan Shilu says there were seven). They were all quiet and sparing in speech, broad in spirit, refined and unassuming in character. They paid no heed to gain or loss among themselves and jointly upheld the principles of humility and restraint, never boasting of their own merits.

The Belvedere where Master Wenshi had once lived had received a gift of a hundred yi of gold during the reign of King Kang of Zhou, and had been repaired and expanded. Du Chong lived there, reciting the Daode Jing and nurturing and guarding his spiritual breath. Later, when King Mu of Zhou heard of him, he had the Belvedere and a shrine built and appointed Du Chong as a Daoist. The king believed Du Chong could harmonize the breath and that his virtue was fit to serve as a model for all things. He treated him with respect but did not regard him as a subject. The feudal lords honored him too, yet granted him no noble title.

After Du Chong had lived at the Belvedere for more than twenty years, he encountered a Perfected One in a quiet spiritual revelation: Master Wenshi came to his sleeping chamber, accompanied by two attendants who stood on either side holding jade-green cases. Du Chong bowed and asked for instruction. He was given two cases containing the Ninefold Radiance Elixir Scripture. Master Wenshi told him, “The Lord Lao and Master Yin have gathered the Great Emperor at Mount Bachun in the Eastern Sea to revise the register of the names of the assembled Perfected Ones. Immortals from the mountains, rivers, caverns, and palaces throughout the world have come, from near and far. At that gathering, the Earth Office, which governs the earthly realm, recommended you, saying that your diligence has earned merit. So the Lord Lao ordered me to deliver this immortal scripture to you.”

Du Chong followed the instructions in the scripture to prepare and take the elixir. His body then shone with a jade-like luster, his five viscera grew firm and lustrous, and his breathing became subtle. Later, he again received a spiritual revelation of the Perfected One Li Jun, who bestowed upon him the Supreme High Scripture of the Plain Numinous Cavern Mystery and Great Being. Du Chong continued his practice and made considerable progress. He thus loosened the knot of the embryonic womb and released the bonds within his body, preserving his life and gathering his true nature. He could command the spirits and perceive many profound mysteries.

King Mu of Zhou personally honored Daoism and sought the way of the immortals. He chose fine steeds swift as the wind, able to travel a thousand li in a day. First he went to Mount Kunlun and ascended to the Palace of Xuanyuan; then he traveled west to Mount Guishan and paid his respects to the Queen Mother of the West in the Chamber of Green Jade. He next journeyed east across the blue sea to respectfully visit the Elder, gathering blossoms from the Ruomu tree. After that he went north to Xuanlong and south to Changli, drinking together the essence of Mount Jiang. He drove tigers and leopards and commanded the hundred spirits, moved freely through the hidden realms, and left tracks impossible to discern. He lived to be more than a hundred and twenty years old; because of his fine virtue…

In the twelfth year of King Mu of Zhou, the jǐhài year, the Primordial Lady of the Upper Clarity (Shangqing), a revered female immortal of the Upper Clarity school, sent an immortal official down to the human realm to welcome Du Chong and bestow writings upon him.

Du Chong became a Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate and was ordered to go to Mount Wangwu to serve as an Immortal King. The Comprehensive Record of the Primordial Chaos states that he was then 110 years old.

Another account says that in the nineteenth year of King Mu of Zhou, also the jǐhài year, the Old Lord sent the Primordial Lady of the Upper Clarity down to welcome Du Chong and bestow writings upon him. Examination of the biographies shows that the account in the Record is in fact mistaken.

Your servant Daoyi says: Du Chong understood the subtlety of the Dao and De, and regarded wealth and rank as trifles. The Son of Heaven therefore treated him with courtesy but did not regard him as a subject; the feudal lords honored him but did not grant him a noble title. The Dao De Jing says, “The Dao is always without a fixed name, like uncarved wood. Though it is small, none under Heaven dares treat it as a subject. If lords and kings can keep hold of it, all things will naturally turn toward them.” Was Du Chong not precisely one who took this Dao as his charge, leading kings and lords to embrace the way that turns toward the Dao?

Peng Zong

The Perfected One of Great Clarity, Peng Zong, whose courtesy name was Faxiān, was from Pengcheng. At the age of twenty, he became a student of Perfected Du Chong, who greatly admired and cared for him. King Mu of Zhou revered the teachings of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi and longed for the immortals, so he went to visit Du Chong. Later, Peng Zong repaired the Precious Lodge, built a numinous altar, and established a temple where he enshrined statues of the Old Lord and Perfected Yin. He also invited Dao practitioners from throughout the realm to carry on the ways of the immortals, and appointed attendants to clean and maintain the site in each of the four seasons. Afterward, King Mu traveled west to Mount Kunlun. He visited Du Chong once more, then departed.

Peng Zong then withdrew to cultivate the Dao, devoting himself to realizing the Great Dao. His practice grew profound, and he came to understand the principles of humans and spirits. Once, while accompanying his master into the mountains to gather herbs, he suddenly fell into a deep ravine and injured his hands and feet. His condition was critical for a time, and it took him a long while to recover; yet he remained as respectful as ever. Later, while under orders to go into the mountains and cut firewood, he was bitten by a snake, but showed no anger. Taking pity on him, Du Chong set up an altar and swore an oath on his behalf. Peng Zong treasured and studied the Dan Jing, the Five Thousand Words (the Dao De Jing), and the Way of the Mysterious One. His cultivation grew ever more subtle.

At times, several divine lamps would float in the air at midnight, illuminating his seat. Their light gathered without fading and could even pierce the darkness. At other times, when he rose in the morning to practice anxing—a Daoist method of guided movement and health cultivation—his presence seemed lofty and radiant. Clouds of five-colored light often drifted down in profusion and circled around him. He could sustain a single breath for three days and nights. He also once sank beneath the water and did not emerge for a full day. When he lay rigid and motionless with his eyes closed, he would often remain so for about a year, with dust gathering over him in a layer as thick as paper. Those who saw him thought he was dead; yet when he rose, his complexion was even more fresh and radiant. With a single breath, he could recite the Five Thousand Words twice from beginning to end. His voice was clear and fluent, no different from the breathing and speech of an ordinary person.

Whenever Peng Zong went into or out of the mountains, poisonous snakes and tigers…

When the forbidden art was performed, the person could not move, even if they tried to hide in secret or were jostled and bumped. Only after Zong lifted the restriction could the person move again.

Once, after Zong had left, a hunter far away slandered him and even planned to come to his home to bully and insult him. Zong performed the forbidden art, and the man’s hands and feet were restrained without his realizing it; he stood rooted to the spot. At times, Zong also had ghosts beat him. Bystanders heard only the sound of the man knocking his head against the ground, without knowing what had happened. Only when the man repented did Zong lift the restriction. Zong lived to be more than 150 years old, yet his appearance remained like that of a young man in his twenties. In the first month of the Bing Shen year, the thirteenth year of King Li of Zhou, the Supreme Lord of the Dao (a revered deity in Daoism) sent an immortal official down to welcome him. He bestowed an immortal text on Zong, titled him Perfected One of Great Clarity, and appointed him to oversee the Red Citadel Palace.

Song Lun

Song Lun, Perfected One of Great Clarity, whose courtesy name was Dexuan, was from Luoyang; another account says he was from Luoyuan. In the Jiachen year, the twenty-first year of King Li of Zhou, he entered the Dao and took up cultivation, living at Louguan, a Daoist temple. From then on, he quieted his mind and nurtured his spirit, held fast to “the One”—the state of single-mindedness and inner unity described in Daoist thought—and kept his heart at peace, avoiding worldly affairs. He cultivated alone, reciting the Dao De Jing several times each day and taking herbs such as polygonatum and atractylodes. After cultivating in this way for more than twenty years, he became spiritually attuned to the Lord Lao.

A round radiance appeared above the Lord Lao’s head, and golden light shone from his face. He wore a nine-colored silk mantle and a crown of sevenfold morning radiance. Six immortal youths stood beside him, attending the Perfected One and holding Fulu (talismans and registers). Song Lun prostrated himself on the ground, weeping as he pleaded. The Lord Lao said to him, “I possess a scripture method of the Way within the landscape, which grants passage to the realm of the Real. It arose at the beginning of the Three Primordial Epochs and came from the court of the Nine Mysteries. The Five Virtues unite to bring auspiciousness; the Six Qi gather to form their essence. Practitioners can divide and manifest their true forms and wield spirit light, preserve themselves, and extend their lives. If you can cultivate it, you will summon a cloud chariot and move between presence and absence, pass through the netherworld, and see into what lies far away. You will make the light of the sun, moon, and stars shine together, harmonize Yin and Yang, and transform things at will, ultimately ascending to the highest realm of clarity.”

Song Lun lay prostrate, sobbing and choked with grief. The Lord Lao told him to quiet his weeping, then opened a scroll from his treasured collection and gave him the Lingfei Six Jia Plain Memorials and Cinnabar Talismans. He further instructed him: “If you can devote yourself to cultivating the highest Dao, grasp its true meaning, and keep the mysteries present in your mind, practicing without interruption and with perseverance, you will preserve yourself and ascend to become an immortal. Reverent cultivation brings blessings; carelessness and neglect invite calamity. The Great Dao is transmitted only to those who can put it into practice. Never pass it on lightly.”

After receiving the scripture, Song Lun studied and practiced it earnestly, and gradually became attuned to the divine. Six jade youths were often at his side, taking turns to attend him. He knew in advance whether events that had not yet occurred would bring good fortune or ill; he perceived things as if with divine insight, and everything he said came true. At times, he also shared a bed with the Inner Perfected Ones of the Five Emperors …

The Immortal came to welcome him, and together they traveled and feasted among the mountain forests, flying with ease and covering three thousand li in a day. They crossed dangerous waters on foot, swiftly finding a place to ford. At times they roamed freely among rivers, lakes, and marshes.

When testing people’s hearts, he would transform into a bird or beast and stay docilely by their side. Sometimes he took the form of a moose. Hunters pursued him, but he always kept a distance of a hundred paces, then fifty, and they could never catch him. Even skilled archers could not hit him. At times he transformed into a bird such as a dove or pigeon and flew above the open country. Hunters shot arrows attached to cords or set nets to capture him, but none could catch him.

Sometimes he transformed into a sick person and used the opportunity to offer guidance, bringing people to understanding; the sick person would then recover at once. When he was over ninety, in the thirty-second year of King Xuan’s reign, on the seventh month of the Ding Si year, the Supreme One—a Daoist honorific for the highest deity—sent an Immortal official down to welcome him. He was given scriptures and registers, invested as a Perfected Person of Great Clarity, and entered into the register of the Immortals of Mount Song in the Central March.

Feng Chang

Feng Chang, a Perfected Person of the Western March, courtesy name Yanshou, was from Mount Li. By the age of fifteen, he had mastered books on Yin-Yang and celestial divination—texts that used Yin-Yang and the heavens to predict fortune and misfortune. When King Xuan of Zhou heard of him, he summoned Feng Chang to serve as an archivist at the Pillar’s Base. Feng Chang often kept his mind clear and outwardly blended in with ordinary society, fearing entanglement in cycles of rise and decline. When he saw disorder in the heavens and feared that disaster might befall him, he resigned and withdrew into seclusion, citing illness as his reason. Quietly concealing his talents, he kept away from the world. He gave up his possessions, ended his social ties, and devoted himself to contemplating the principles of the Dao and nurturing life. He focused his spirit and safeguarded his Qi. Every day he recited the Five Thousand Words (Daodejing) and took asparagus root. After five or six years, he gradually felt that he had gained something, and so worked still harder, vowing to prolong his life.

In time, he made contact with the Perfected Person Master Deng, who taught him the Purple Writ in the Numinous Script and methods for nurturing the spirit. Feng Chang then rode the clear light of dawn and regulated his breath as he traveled among the numinous peaks and ridges of Mount Zhongnan. He climbed cliffs and lofty heights, called to the sun and stars, and refined his hun and po souls, softening the Yin soul and turning back the Yang spirit. His face, too, took on the luster of jade. After more than ten years, his appearance was radiant and his vitality abundant. Blue vital essence and fluid Qi gathered naturally within him, forming a numinous spring like a purple cloud. Every part of his body showed signs of flourishing, and the Qi in the Three Passes—the bodily apertures spoken of in cultivation—flowed freely and smoothly.

Later, he met the Perfected Person Peng Zong. Peng Zong arrived riding a white tiger, accompanied by two attendants, and descended at Feng Chang’s dwelling. Feng Chang received him as a disciple would, standing respectfully below him. He held his breath, bowed repeatedly, and asked for the essentials of the Dao. The Perfected Person said, “Your De is profound and wondrous, and your spirit and Qi are lofty and clear. Through cultivating the Dao, you will surely return to the Real and should be able to transcend the world. If you wish to soar like a great roc along the pathways of the clouds and obtain treasures as precious as jade, you must strive diligently and never lose heart. When the time comes, someone will naturally come to summon and guide you.” After speaking, Peng Zong took out the Hidden Book of the Great High—a Daoist esoteric text—and gave it to Feng Chang.

Feng Chang also wrote a commentary on the True Eight Visions and contemplated the Mysterious Nine Origins. He dwelt amid the streaming clouds and sky, living in seclusion in the vast and empty reaches of the Great Void…

Yao Tan traveled through the mountains and countryside, observing the welfare and safety of the people in each place. Whenever he encountered someone who was ill, he would help and treat them. He once secretly treated a person whose mind had become disordered; some patients recovered in ten days, others in five. People with leprosy also came to seek his help, and they recovered within a month.

Once, a fire broke out in a home. The eaves and beams were joined together, and the flames spread with the wind. No one could put out the fire. Yao Tan focused his intention on helping, and the flames went out by themselves. He passed away in the spring, in the third month of the gengyin year, the twentieth year of King Ping of Zhou’s reign, when he was more than eighty years old. The Heavenly Emperor sent celestial officials to welcome him and bestowed on him the title “Perfected One of the Western Mountain.” From then on, he ascended to Shangqing, one of the realms of immortals in Daoism, and moved freely there, abiding in Wuwei (non-action).

Yao Tan

Yao Tan, the Perfected One of Xuanzhou, had the courtesy name Yuantai and was from Pingyang. In the first year of King Ping of Zhou’s reign, when the capital was moved to Luoyi, Duke Xiang of Jin was enfeoffed as a regional lord for helping escort the Zhou king. Duke Xiang issued an edict ordering offerings to be presented at the ancestral shrine, the temple complex to be rebuilt, and fifty households to be assigned to its service. He also selected seventeen learned Confucian scholars to come there. Yao Tan was nineteen at the time. Because he was well versed in ancient texts, he received special honors. Duke Xiang then knelt and bowed with his face toward the north, taking Yao Tan as his teacher. He devoted himself to cultivating the Dao and realizing its nature, year after year. Yao Tan was exacting and scrupulous in his conduct, seeming almost divine; everyone revered and admired him.

Duke Xiang’s son, Duke Wen of Jin, also looked up to Yao Tan. While traveling east through the Jing and Wei river region, he came in person to greet and comfort him, and supplied him with medicines. Finding worldly affairs tumultuous, Yao Tan withdrew to a secluded mountain grotto far from others. He often recited the “Five Thousand Words” (the Daode Jing), reflecting on it with focused attention and rarely venturing out.

Once, the mountain grotto suddenly collapsed. Trees were smashed down as though falling from the sky, landing directly over Yao Tan’s head; sand and stones flew everywhere in countless numbers. Yao Tan sat still, concentrating his mind, and paid no attention. Soon afterward, a mass of giant snakes surged out and gathered where he lived. They opened their mouths and drew in breath as if to swallow him; some even coiled around his body. Yao Tan remained unafraid.

Later, the mountain spirit led a group of demons carrying a huge boulder, towering like a mountain peak. It rushed toward Yao Tan on the wind with the force of thunder and lightning. Yao Tan opened his eyes and slowly rebuked them: “What are you creatures? You petty mischief-makers dare to do what is against reason. I have long since planted the good seeds of cultivating the true, and my mind is pure as jade. Your demonic deceptions cannot obstruct my path of cultivation.” He then focused his mind and spirit, and in an instant the boulder and all the strange visions vanished.

Next, three imposing figures said to Yao Tan, “We are the righteous spirits of this mountain. The Heavenly Emperor sent us to test you, and you have now passed.” With that, they departed. Afterward, Yao Tan consumed and refined pine resin. For several decades, there was often a green...

(Continuing from the previous passage) The boy played in his room, and the interior gradually grew brighter until he could clearly see all the objects around him. Later, Lord Xu, an immortal in Daoist legend, secretly taught him the Way of “Mysterious White Returning to Form” and the scripture of “Flight through the Three Diagrams of the Heavenly Gate.” The boy’s mind was calm and peaceful, and he restrained his private desires; in this way, he received wondrous spiritual responses. He could walk in the rain without getting his clothes wet, and tread through mud without soiling his shoes. His eyes held a divine radiance: when open, they shone like lightning. He usually kept them closed. When his disciples asked him to open them just a little, a swift beam of light shot from his eyes as soon as he did, terrifying them so that they could not control themselves. When he closed his eyes, the light vanished.

He lived for more than two hundred and ten years. One day in the fifth lunar month of the Bingxu year, the eleventh year of Prince Jian’s reign, the sky suddenly darkened amid wind and rain, and thunder and lightning raged so fiercely that no one dared leave home. When the thunder gradually subsided, his disciples went outside and saw silver flowers falling thickly to the ground. They took a long time to disappear. That day, the Primordial Lady of Great Simplicity, a revered Daoist deity, sent an immortal down to welcome him. He was given books, enfeoffed as the Perfected of Xuanzhou, and assigned to reside in the Palace of White Water.

Zhou Liang

Zhou Liang, a Perfected of the Eight Su, whose courtesy name was Taiyi, was from Taiyuan. His mother once dreamed that clouds of five-colored Qi descended from the sky and enveloped her home. She became pregnant and gave birth to Zhou Liang fifteen months later. At nineteen, he stood eight chi tall and had a dignified bearing, with the air of an ancient man. He was free-spirited and broad-minded, and did not covet wealth or status. He was especially learned in the Book of Changes, the various masters, and histories. Though he lived amid worldly life, his aspirations were set on the realm of spiritual perfection.

Zhou Liang became a disciple of Yao Tan and studied the Five Thousand Words—that is, the Daode Jing—and the Scripture of the Eight Su Perfected. Through his practice, he gradually developed signs of spiritual responsiveness. In some households, ghosts and monsters caused disturbances, shaking the houses. At times they took the form of water or blood; at other times they harmed people and livestock. Zhou Liang would recite the Five Thousand Words and perform secret incantations, and the calamities would naturally dissipate. Foxes, turtles, snakes, and other spirits also caused trouble: they defiled people’s food and drink, stole their belongings, or pelted them with tiles and stones. No one could drive them away. Zhou Liang recited scriptures and chanted incantations for the people affected, and the evil beings returned to their original forms; some died on the spot.

When Prince Jin, the heir of King Ling of Zhou, heard of this, he summoned Zhou Liang to meet him. Sometimes they played the zither and the sheng together, and traveled through Shangluo. Zhou Liang played the zither alone, using only one martial string; all eight tones rang out in harmony, and many birds danced to the music. The prince admired him greatly and bestowed on him the fungus of the Nine Lights and Seven Brightnesses, along with the Way of Ascension and Liberation. After Zhou Liang practiced the Dao and consumed the sacred fungus, he gradually experienced its numinous effects. The emperor had once secretly kept company with immortals, entering and leaving treasure grottoes with them, drinking jade nectar, playing the zither and chess, and singing and chanting throughout the day. At times he appeared to be about seventy years old, with white hair and missing teeth; yet after only one or two nights…

When he went out, he would take on the appearance of a more handsome young man. At times, when cruel people caught him and mocked him, he would transform into excrement and earth, then vanish in the blink of an eye, no one knowing where he had gone. Before those people realized what was happening, ropes had already wound around them, leaving them bound there to be whipped. If anyone cursed him with vile words, blood would flow from their mouth of its own accord. He would release them only after they admitted their fault and begged for mercy. He lived for more than 190 years. In the twenty-fourth year of King Weilie of Zhou (the year Jimao), the Celestial Emperor sent a celestial official down to welcome him. The official bestowed a register upon him and conferred the title “Perfected One of the Qinlong Palace.” After that, he entered and left the Great Clarity (the lofty celestial realm in Daoist belief), feasting and roaming among the heavens.

Yin Cheng

Yin Cheng, the Perfected One of Great Tenuity, styled Chumo, was from Fenyang. At the age of twenty-eight, in the winter of the tenth month of the third year of King An of Zhou (the year Renwu), he lodged at Louguan (a Daoist temple) and devoted himself to cultivating body and mind. His heart was spacious and clear. He often observed purification and recited scriptures, paying no attention to worldly concerns. He dressed simply and ate only enough to satisfy his hunger. He often bought incense and candles at the market and set them out at a ritual chamber, a quiet place for practice.

Once, after the incense in a box had burned out, an extraordinary fragrance suddenly filled the censer. The incense that had been lit was all made from precious aromatics. On another occasion, after he lit a lamp, its flame did not appear; instead, a divine light arose on its own and shone through the air. These were manifestations of the subtle principles of Daoist cultivation in response, and the protection of spirits at his side.

Yin Cheng once came upon an injured deer in the mountains. Its leg was hurt, and it had fallen, unable to move onward. Feeling compassion for its pain, he applied medicine to treat it. Later, while he was in the mountains, a sudden rainstorm caught him. His food was gone, and his clothes were thin; he was stranded in the forest. A herd of deer approached and settled close beside him. When he was hungry, he drank their milk; when he needed rest, he lay in their embrace. The herd stayed with him for many days and did not leave.

On another occasion, he lived in a small cave atop a sheer cliff. At night, a forest fire suddenly broke out, and thick smoke filled the valley, leaving him nowhere to flee. Just then, a group of monkeys came down with their arms linked, pulling one another along as they carried him to higher ground and helped him across the perilous terrain. These, too, were signs of protection bestowed by spirits.

After hearing about Yin Cheng, Qin Shi Huang repeatedly issued edicts summoning him to the palace to ask about the arts of nourishing life. In the thirtieth year of the First Emperor, Mao Meng, who had attained the Dao on Mount Hua, ascended to heaven in broad daylight and left behind a song. When the First Emperor heard of this, he became even more convinced of the existence of immortals. He sent envoys bearing gold and silk to express his sincerity. At the time, the First Emperor was planning to travel to Penglai and Yingzhou (legendary immortal islands in the sea), so he ordered the image of the Old Master to be turned toward the east. He also had another temple built south of the temple of the Perfected Ones to house the image, appointed twenty-seven Daoist priests, and granted thirty qing of incense fields and one hundred households as an estate. The edict said: “The Great Dao is vast and boundless, present everywhere. Though the Old Master traveled far to the west, on his return he still looked back toward the east. I am now preparing to travel to Penglai and Yingzhou, and hope the Old Master will manifest his presence…”

Emperor Gaozu of Han, Empress Lü, Emperor Hui, and Empress Dou, the mother of Emperor Jing, all sincerely honored him in turn. Whenever they summoned recluses, they would gather twenty-seven or twenty-eight people and assign each an additional attendant. They also increased the temple’s holdings to 150 households and appointed staff to manage, repair, and protect it. He was treated with great generosity, and people came in an unbroken stream to pray and pay their respects. His contemporaries revered him deeply, and those who rallied to him were as numerous as clouds.

Cheng found the crowds noisy and privately told his disciples, “My work of attaining immortality is not yet complete. My virtue and abilities are suited to this age, so I should make the mountains and forests my home and live as a recluse.” He therefore changed his name to Lin and took the courtesy name Xunxun, withdrawing from the world to live in the valleys. He dwelt in deep ravines, ate cypress needles, and rinsed his mouth with running water. He climbed treacherous paths and crossed decaying trees, roaming through forests and over mountain ridges. Gaunt and haggard, he searched everywhere for divine masters and endured every hardship. However long or perilous the journey, there was nowhere he would not go to seek them.

On Mount Taiyi, he found a sacred fungus growing against a sheer blue cliff. One night he saw a light shining there, so he gathered it and ate it. Before long, he could walk six or seven hundred li in a day. Later, in the mountains of Mount Emei, he met the immortal Lord Song, who taught him the Inner Writings of the Three Sovereigns and the secret methods of the Nine Elixirs. After Cheng practiced them, their effects were remarkable: he could seal off forests and command mountains, bring corpses back to life, and heal the sick.

Once, he cast a talisman into the water. The water surged backward for several paces, and the pounding waves immediately fell still. He used medicine to treat people who had suddenly died, and they all came back to life. Over several years, he summoned and called to account the spirits who received blood sacrifices. They came of their own accord, bound in ropes: some were put to death, while others pleaded for mercy and were released. Once, a fierce wind destroyed the houses in the forest, so he performed a rite to counter it. The wind lifted houses in other places, but his own home remained unharmed. On another occasion, he was on the road when a landslide broke trees and threatened to send him tumbling into a ravine. He used talismanic methods to seal it off, and the landslide stopped at once.

He lived for more than 340 years. In the sixth lunar month of the first year of the Shiyuan era, the year Yǐwèi, Emperor Taiwei dispatched an immortal official to descend and receive him. The official gave him immortal writings and invested him with the title Perfected One of Taiwei. From then on, he roamed freely through the Nine Heavens.

Wang Tan

Wang Cai, the Perfected One of the Yellow Court, whose courtesy name was Yangbo, was from Taiyuan. His bearing was extraordinary, and his spirit was clear and radiant, luminous as clouds and rosy mists. He understood the mysterious Way and probed deeply into the source of the Dao. Under the Han, he served as a Gentleman Attendant-in-Ordinary. When Empress Lü held power, Wang Tan withdrew from the world and lived in seclusion on Mount Nan, residing at Louguan, a Daoist monastery. His regular practice was to pay homage to the Primordial Beginning, cultivate the methods of the inner storehouse, and exhale the stale while inhaling the fresh.

After Emperor Wen ascended the throne, he admired Wang Tan’s character and bearing, treated him with courtesy, and honored him as a recluse. At the time Wang Tan was thirty-six years old, and he often recited the “Five…”.

Master Zhao, the Immortal, often said, “However much you write, if it cannot make you known, it has little to do with you. Virtue is the foundation of cultivating the Dao.” He therefore gave generously of his wealth, helped those in need, and kept the people in his thoughts.

An immortal once disguised himself as a madman, dressed in rags and begging from place to place. He kept asking people for things and was never satisfied, even after receiving something. Master Zhao gladly helped him, never doubting him or finding his behavior strange. Later, Master Zhao told him in private, “I was testing you. You are someone who can be taught.” He then passed on the Formula for Internal Cultivation of the Yellow Court—a method for inner cultivation and refinement—and a recipe for Alisma pills. The man followed the instructions, taking the pills and practicing for several months. Before long, he felt strange changes in both body and mind.

He went to the Southern Mountain to gather herbs, and later lived at Louguan. After that, he met the Jade Maiden of Great Origin and Zidu of the Western Numen, and learned the way of concealing one’s presence and altering one’s form. From then on, he could change his shape and transform into different appearances, shifting in countless ways in an instant. Sometimes he stood among the trees; sometimes he sat on a stone beside a spring. He could take the form of water or fire, or become a bird or beast. Yet even when someone examined his original appearance, he looked no different from an ordinary person as he talked and laughed.

Later, he took Sima Jizhu as his teacher and learned divine arts of unfathomable transformation. He would walk alongside others, then suddenly disperse his body into clouds and mist. At times he stood upright on level ground and, in an instant, became a towering mountain. Onlookers were terrified, though his face still seemed to be where it had been before.

He lived to the age of ninety-one. In the first month of the year wuwu, the sixth year of Emperor Wu of Han’s Yuanshuo era, the Golden Mother of the Western Numen sent an immortal official to receive him. The official bestowed documents on him, appointed him Perfected Man of the Supreme Ultimate, and ordered him to serve at the Palace of Great Existence.

Li Yi

Li Yi, an immortal official of the Western Mountain, became a disciple of Perfected Man Wang Tan. After attaining the Dao, he departed as an immortal. He later transmitted the Dao to the Old Man of the Riverbank and taught him the five thousand words of the Dao De Jing. He probed deeply into the mysteries of the “Valley Spirit” and the “Mysterious Female.” He also met an extraordinary person, learned the principles of the Yi, and came to understand Heaven and Earth, Yin-Yang, and the transformations of creation.

Thus he could investigate what was hidden and subtle, and comprehend the far-reaching Dao. His Virtue accorded with Heaven and Earth, and he could respond to the auspicious and inauspicious transformations of ghosts and spirits. When he sat in stillness, he seemed as motionless as a corpse, yet signs of spiritual vitality appeared. In deep silence, his voice rang out like thunder. When his spirit stirred, he followed the course of Heaven. He ascended to Heaven, rode the mists, and wandered through the boundless realm.

One day, his merit was complete and his cultivation of the Dao perfected. His wondrous Virtue reached the heavenly court. The Celestial Emperor bestowed documents on him and appointed him Immortal Official of the Western Mountain.