《黃帝九鼎神丹經訣》Vol. 15

This passage primarily discusses the miraculous alchemical properties and medicinal value of shiliuhuang (sulfur), along with its sources and varieties.

Regarding sulfur's alchemical efficacy: Sulfur can transform metals such as gold, silver, copper, and iron, making it frequently used in alchemical texts. When burned, it emits purple smoke and produces yellowish-white substances, serving as crucial material in alchemical practices. It can also solidify mercury, which ancient practitioners called "huangnansha" (yellow sand). When combined with saltpeter, it dissolves into liquid—a method recorded in the Thirty-Six Aqueous Solutions Scripture. The specific procedure involves crushing sulfur into a bamboo tube, thinning the outer bamboo layer, then burying it in horse manure for twenty days until it transforms into sulfur water, which is then used to soak elixirs as "sulfur solution."

Detailed alchemical method: Select high-quality cinnabar (zhusha), soak and refine it with wine before grinding it into powder. Then immerse the elixir in the sulfur solution within a bronze vessel, simmering gently over low heat—preferably using a water bath. After seven or eight days, the color changes; by ten days it forms mud-like pellets, shaped to the size of phoenix tree seeds. Consume three pellets daily, gradually increasing to forty. Long-term ingestion can make the body light enough to ascend and become immortal—all due to sulfur's potency.

Medicinal applications: Sulfur is warm in nature, sour in taste, and toxic. It treats gynecological parasites, hemorrhoids, blood stasis, stiff tendons and bones, baldness, abdominal masses, pathogenic qi stagnation, cough with counterflow qi, cold feet with weakness, nosebleeds, malignant sores, genital ulcers, while also stopping bleeding and killing scabies mites. Folk remedies particularly excel in using it for weak legs and stubborn cold syndromes.

Regarding shiliudan (sulfur elixir): This is sulfur's essence—a variety distinct from ordinary sulfur, often found on cliffs and riverbanks. The moist type can be formed into pills for ingestion, while the hard variety is taken as powder. This red mineral belongs to the 120 types of "stone zhi" (fungus-like minerals). Though recorded by name, genuine specimens are rare and constitute superior immortal medicine. All Five Sacred Mountains produce it, with Mount Ji yielding the most. Legend says Xu You achieved longevity by consuming it, hence his indifference to wealth and refusal of Emperor Yao's abdication offer.

Sulfur's origins: Primarily sourced from Muyang Valley in the East Sea, Mount Tai, and Hexi Mountain, formed from alum stone juices. The East Sea belongs to Xuzhou, while Mount Ji also produces sulfur.

This passage discusses the characteristics, collection methods, and refining techniques of several alchemical ingredients:

Regarding Kunlun Yellow (a yellow mineral), it is sourced from Funan and Linyi (modern-day Vietnam), with the deep yellow variety being of the highest quality. Commonly used in folk medicine to treat weak legs and feet or stubborn cold syndromes, it is inferior to specimens from Xuzhou and Mount Ji when used for refining the Great Elixir (Dadan). The southern regions lack alum stone (fanshi), making it unclear why this substance is referred to as "alum stone liquid" here.

The method for refining sulfur into longevity medicine: According to the Ninefold Cyclic Lead Elixir (Jiuzhuan Qiandan) method created by the Immortal Lord of Nine Heavens (Jiuxiao Jun), cinnabar, realgar, orpiment, and sulfur should each be ground into powder. Take five liang of each ingredient, soak in five sheng of fine wine, and simmer over hot water. The wine must be added gradually rather than all at once. An alternative method involves crushing the ingredients to the size of soybeans, soaking them in vinegar within bamboo tubes, and boiling for three days and nights. Water may be added during the process, though this yields inferior results compared to the wine method.

Concerning Zengqing (a blue-green mineral): This ranks as a supreme-grade immortal medicine. Long-term consumption lightens the body and prevents aging, while also possessing the ability to transmute copper, iron, and lead into gold. With a sour taste and slightly cold nature, it is non-toxic and treats eye pain, excessive tearing, wind-damp impediment pain. It unblocks joints and the nine orifices, dissolves masses and stagnation, nourishes the liver and gallbladder, expels cold and reduces fever, kills parasites, cures headaches and brain chill, relieves restlessness, and replenishes deficiency damage.

The finest Zengqing comes from Sichuan valleys and Yuexi (modern Xichang, Sichuan), with worm-cast-like or coptis-shaped specimens having smooth texture being most prized. Its color surpasses Kongqing (another blue mineral) in purity. Specimens from Yuzhou outperform those from Ezhou, while other regional varieties are inferior. Daoist scriptures hold Zengqing in high regard, though Tao Hongjing noted its rarity. Its metal-transmuting method matches that of Kongqing.

The refining method for Zengqing: Soak in premium wine within copper vessels, sealing tightly with paper. While sharing similar properties with Kongqing, government storeroys during that period only stocked Kongqing. Presently, the primary sources are Shixing, Yuzhou, and Ezhou.

This passage primarily discusses several ancient methods for refining medicinal elixirs, along with the efficacy and origins of kongqing (a mineral medicinal substance). I'll explain it in several sections:

Regarding the refinement method for zengqing (a type of copper ore): First, it must be sun-dried for seven days; if sunlight is unavailable, it should be baked dry over fire. After drying, it should be ground into extremely fine powder using porcelain or jade pestles, then mixed with strong vinegar to achieve optimal moisture content. The zengqing is then placed in a thick silk bag and soaked in a porcelain vat. For every ten liang of zengqing, use one sheng of vinegar, suspending the medicine bag in the vinegar vat and changing the vinegar every ten days. The entire process takes one hundred days, consuming one dou of vinegar. Note that the medicine bag must not touch the bottom of the vat.

Other refinement methods include: One technique involves separately soaking zengqing and jinjing (possibly a metallic essence) in porcelain vessels, pounding them into medicinal powder before steeping in "sanzhuan zuowei" (likely a special vinegar) for two hundred days. Another method treats zengqing similarly to sulfur refinement—crushing it into soybean-sized pieces, adding vinegar, and boiling in bamboo tubes for three days and nights. A third approach involves grinding it into fine powder and boiling with "sanzhuan zuowei," using five dou of vinegar per jin of zengqing, simmering over low heat until the vinegar evaporates.

Concerning the refinement of cishi (magnetite): The method resembles that for zengqing, being part of the "Ninefold Refined Lead Elixir Method" (a neidan technique) by Lord Jiuxiao, though its efficacy is inferior to the aforementioned methods for refining jinjing and zengqing.

Efficacy of kongqing: Long-term consumption can make the body light and vigorous, prolong life, preserve memory, and assist in achieving Daoist immortality. Shennong (the Divine Farmer) claimed it could transform copper, iron, and lead into gold. Its primary effects resemble zengqing's but with slight differences: sweet-sour flavor, extremely cold nature, non-toxic; treats glaucoma, deafness; improves eyesight, unblocks the nine orifices, activates blood circulation, nourishes the shen (spirit) and supplements the liver; cures red painful eyes, cataracts, and tearing; also promotes diuresis, lactation, joint mobility, and dissolves internal masses.

Origins of kongqing: Mainly produced in Yizhou (modern Sichuan) valleys and Yuexi (modern Xichang, Sichuan), with the most vibrant and deep-colored specimens currently coming from Tongguan (modern Tongchuan, Shaanxi). Shixing (modern Shaoguan, Guangdong) produces inferior quality compared to Yizhou. Liangzhou's Xiping (modern Xining, Qinghai) also yields this mineral.

Mountains producing kongqing (malachite ore) are numerous, but only those stones that are perfectly round, solid as iron beads, and free from hollow cavities are worth collecting. These ores are deeply embedded in earth and rock, allowing for continuous mining. Now that the Emperor's virtue spreads widely, inspiring resonance throughout creation, abundant deposits are found in Weizhou, Jianzhou, Xuanzhou, and Zizhou. Among these, Xuanzhou produces the finest quality, while Weizhou yields larger chunks with deeper coloration but no cavities.

The method for refining kongqing into longevity elixirs: First pound the ore into powder using the same technique as refining zengqing (another mineral medicine). Soak it completely in wine for one hundred days, then sun-dry and pound again. Mix with vinegar and repeat the drying process ten times. The general procedure resembles zengqing refinement. For creating jiangfan (red vitriol), simply process kongqing once through this method without the initial wine soaking.

Concerning shilu (green mineral pigment): Modern grand elixirs (high-level alchemical preparations) don't require this material, though the Taiyi Shenjing minor elixir formula mentions that if zengqing is unavailable, one may substitute Kunlun shilu ground into fine sand instead. According to the Materia Medica, shilu often coexists with kongqing and was traditionally called luqing. Its properties are sour and cold, being non-toxic with primary effects of supplementing qi, treating liver disorders, stopping nosebleeds and diarrhea. Mined from shaded mountain caves, it appears bluish-white. Painters use it as green pigment, calling it biqing (jade green) while referring to kongqing as lüqing (verdigris). When substituting shilu for zengqing in medicine, one must extract its essence through water levigation (a mineral purification technique) — only three liang of refined product can be obtained from ten liang of raw material. Its refinement method matches kongqing's, but it's only suitable for minor elixirs (common alchemical preparations). Grand elixirs require specified ingredients without substitution.