《純陽呂真人藥石製》

This scripture records the herbal formulas for alchemy as documented by Lü Dongbin (the Pure Yang Immortal Lü), presented in poetic form describing twelve plants with miraculous properties. Each herb bears two names: a celestial designation (such as "Heavenly Treasure Dragon Sprout") and a common name (like "red celery"). These ingredients are primarily used for elixir refinement, capable of transforming metals into pliable states ("rendering stubborn copper soft as cotton") or prolonging life. Here is the detailed interpretation:

1. Heavenly Treasure Dragon Sprout (Red Celery)

Ranked foremost among alchemical herbs, it manifests the divine power to "transform falsity into truth" when encountered by destined individuals. It subdues the Five Metals and Eight Minerals (various metallic ores), softening hard copper until it resembles cotton.

2. Precious Cinnabar Dragon Sprout (Mulberry Leaf)

Growing in fields, though cultivated by farmers as ordinary mulberry leaves, mortals remain unaware of its celestial efficacy—accessible only to immortals. It similarly softens copper and iron.

3. Paired-Joint Dragon Sprout (Motherwort)

A wild plant that, through refining, can be processed into frost-like substance. Beyond metallurgical applications, even crows consuming it gain extended longevity.

4. Flavorful Pear Dragon Sprout (Wild Pear)

Thriving on high slopes, its ripe form requires treatment with rice vinegar. It fixes mercury (a crucial material in ancient alchemy), demanding meticulous handling by practitioners.

5. Dual-Qi Dragon Sprout (Mountain Lotus)

Found by watercourses, it embodies the harmonized properties of fire and water. Combined with sulfur and mercury, it refines into treasures; masters may obtain flawless jade-like elixirs.

6. Five-Phoenix Dragon Sprout (Fern)

Growing in mountain streams, optimal for harvest during mid-autumn. Its shape resembles phoenix wings and tails.

7. Celestial Blade Dragon Sprout (Acorus)

Emerges sword-like in form, best gathered in April. Paired with realgar, its effects surpass gold.

8. Earthly Brocade Dragon Sprout (Clover)

Bears red flowers with coin-round leaves. It subdues realgar for medicinal use, granting life extension when ingested.

9. Brocade-Lock Dragon Sprout (Teasel)

Deceptively ordinary yet imbued with divine power. Processes saltpeter into treasures, excelling in the transformation of copper and iron.

10. Sweet Dew Dragon Sprout (Licorice)

Grows solitary, revered by the Yellow Emperor as "State Elder." Its root serves as a primary ingredient, subduing arsenic until it gleams like silver snow.

11. Golden Beauty Dragon Sprout (Dock)

Purple-stemmed with red roots, its leaves are harvested in winter. The refined frost powder fixes copper and silver.

12. Bird-Seeking Dragon Sprout (Wild Cherry)

Clings to cliffs, its leaves resembling newborn fawns. Requires specialized methods for collection and preservation.

(Note: "Subduing and refining" (伏制) denotes the taming and processing of substances; "transmutation" (点化) refers to the alchemical art of altering material properties.)

This scripture describes twelve types of spiritual herbs called "Dragon Sprouts" transmitted by Lü Dongbin (the Pure Yang Immortal), along with their alchemical preparation methods. Each herb corresponds to specific refining properties, which I'll explain in detail:

1. Golden Thread Dragon Sprout (Cuscuta chinensis): Resembling golden threads hanging from branches, harvested in the seventh lunar month and decocted in water, it can subdue sulfur to create spiritual medicine. Consuming it for a hundred days grants the ability of weightless flight.

2. Carefree Dragon Sprout (Hemerocallis fulva): Though an ordinary herb called "carefree," growing by courtyard railings, common people don't understand its immortal applications. It actually assists seekers in reaching the Penglai paradise.

3. Shattered Flame Dragon Sprout (House-protecting herb): Suitable for small courtyards. Adepts use it to process sal ammoniac (a mineral medicine), and when combined with white bronze and iron, it instantly relieves coughs.

4. White Snow Dragon Sprout (Psilostrophe cooperi): With snow-white flowers and blue-green leaves, its fierce nature can subdue realgar. Immortals frequently use this wild herb in alchemy - ingestion enables ascension to celestial grottoes.

5. Heartless Dragon Sprout (Pinellia ternata): Its curled leaves unfurl into round shapes. Just three leaves can refine into great medicine, and when combined with the Dan Yang method (an alchemical technique), produces silver sand.

6. Another Golden Thread Dragon Sprout (Cuscuta japonica): When processed in fields, it manifests golden hues known only to experts. Capable of controlling mercury, it's particularly valued in immortal elixirs.

7. Deer Velvet Dragon Sprout (Isatis tinctoria): Thrives on dry land with fleshy leaves. When frost-treated using special methods, it can subdue cinnabar and arsenic.

8. Jade Vase Dragon Sprout (Radish): Its bulbous root resembles a jade vase, naturally compatible with cinnabar. Hollowed radishes filled with cinnabar create miraculous alchemical preparations.

9. Jade Blossom Dragon Sprout (Willow catkins): Fluttering along riverbanks in late third month, collected and refined at precise seasons - even immortals praise this exceptional material.

10. Hanging Bean Dragon Sprout (Gleditsia sinensis): Suspended like swords in air, Daoist adepts recognize its great utility. It controls sal ammoniac and resists fire nature, successful preparations can even transform stubborn copper.

11. Golden Essence Dragon Sprout (Euphorbia pekinensis): Golden tender leaves cling to tree trunks with deep roots. Gathered at mid-spring's second month when potency peaks, it stabilizes alchemical mercury.

12. Five-Leaf Dragon Sprout (Portulaca oleracea): With red skin, black seeds, green leaves, white stems and yellow flowers corresponding to the Five Phases, it's used to refine cinnabar.

These records reflect characteristics of Daoist Waidan (external alchemy involving minerals and herbs), where each herb corresponds to specific alchemical functions and temporal considerations. Importantly, mentioned substances like arsenic and mercury are highly toxic - ancient ingestion methods carried significant risks.

This scripture records twelve types of "Dragon Sprout" herbs and their alchemical preparation methods as transmitted by Lü Dongbin (the Pure Yang Immortal). Each herb possesses unique medicinal properties and alchemical efficacy:

1. Floating Dragon Sprout (Duckweed):

This rootless aquatic plant grows in ponds during the fifth lunar month. When collected and shade-dried, it can refine miraculous elixirs capable of transforming cinnabar (an alchemical ingredient) into life-extending Golden Elixirs (Jindan).

2. Summit-Penetrating Dragon Sprout (Eriocaulon):

Snow-white in appearance, this wild herb grows in clusters resembling lotus flowers in abandoned fields. When combined with cinnabar during alchemical processes, it turns goose-yellow—a treasured material among Daoist practitioners.

3. Earth-Bone Dragon Sprout (Wolfberry):

Its vermilion fruits resemble cinnabar beads, while its leaves unfold like cloud fragments. Roots are gathered in autumn-winter, leaves in spring-summer, and red fruits in autumn. After refinement, it transforms cinnabar into silvery-white substance.

4. Earth-Nail Dragon Sprout (Plantago Seeds):

Growing on single stems without visible roots, its alchemical preparation can transmute mercury into precious elixirs—a mystical effect beyond ordinary comprehension.

5. Wood-Ear Dragon Sprout (Gnaphalium):

This tree-growing fungus shaped like ears can transform eight types of minerals into elixirs. When combined with realgar, it produces golden-colored compounds.

6. Earth-Disk Dragon Sprout (Lotus Leaves):

These blue-green circular leaves floating on water surfaces can convert arsenic into spiritually potent silvery-white elixirs.

7. Ten-Thousand-Fathom Dragon Sprout (Usnea):

Draping from pine trees like dragon whiskers, its refinement with cinnabar allegedly enables ordinary birds to metamorphose into phoenix forms.

8. Purple-Blossom Dragon Sprout (Cirsium):

With violet flowers and green stems, when collected at midsummer and sun-dried, it stabilizes mercury-arsenic compounds into non-volatile elixirs.

9. Fragrant-Wood Dragon Sprout (Toona Sinensis):

This evergreen tree thrives in secluded areas. Roots and leaves gathered in early summer can whiten arsenic and reportedly transform iron into copper—a legendary "metal transmutation" effect.

10. Golden-Stamen Dragon Sprout (Chrysanthemum):

Possessing unique rhizomes, its Double Ninth Festival blooms can refine sulfur to treat intractable cold syndromes.

11. Black-Bean Dragon Sprout (Black Soybean):

These special bean sprouts from high mountains preserve cinnabar-refined elixirs with mirror-like luster and exceptional stability.

12. Round-Leaf Dragon Sprout (Epimedium):

(Original text incomplete—described as a round-leafed spiritual herb)

These records exemplify characteristic features of Daoist external alchemy (Waidan)—the art of preparing longevity elixirs through mineral and herbal refinement. Each herb corresponds to specific mineral transformations and medicinal functions.

This scripture records twelve precious medicinal herbs known as "Dragon Sprouts," each with unique properties for alchemical preparation and metal transmutation:

1. Cyperus Dragon Sprout (Nutgrass): Its root, called Green Attendant, grows by streams. It neutralizes arsenic toxicity; when prepared as medicinal liquor, it aids in attaining immortality.

2. Arisaema Dragon Sprout (Cobra Lily): With chive-like flower spikes and red roots, it subdues realgar. When refined, it becomes a great medicine that transforms iron into copper.

3. Peculiar Blossom Dragon Sprout (Peony): Harvested during Grain Rain when its roots and leaves bloom together. Produces silvery-white medicinal liquor, considered supreme for transmutation.

4. Dragon Treasure Dragon Sprout (Tree Peony): Develops crimson buds during Grain Rain with dazzling flowers. When refined yields luminous powder frost; masters of this art gain access to celestial registers.

5. Eternal Azure Dragon Sprout (Pine): Grows on perilous mountain heights with phoenix-tail foliage. Its prepared elixir transforms mercury with everlasting effects.

6. Lateral Cypress Dragon Sprout (Cypress): Thrives in shaded mountain valleys, distinguished among myriad leaves. Bears ageless fruits that tame arsenic, turning it into silver.

7. Golden Splendor Dragon Sprout (Mallow): Blazes golden in spring blossoms. When perfected into great medicine, it manifests divine powers - a secret immortal formula.

8. Purple Gold Dragon Sprout (Pokeweed): Purple roots with white leaves. Controls volatile metals, instantly stabilizing sulfur.

9. Earth Gall Dragon Sprout (Dodder): Purple flowers and blue-green leaves growing in fields. Subdues arsenic powder into sulfur (text fragmentary).

10. Twining Vine Dragon Sprout (Honeyvine): 11. Pure Earth Dragon Sprout (Broomweed): Naturally grows near dwellings. Harmonizes with solar and lunar essences, specifically subduing cinnabar.

12. Dao-Born Dragon Sprout (Bamboo Grass): Delicate leaves with red flowers along paths. Transforms arsenic into medicinal liquor, softening hard copper like cotton.

These herbs require seasonal harvesting and specialized Daoist "subjugation methods" (fu zhi) - techniques of taming and refinement - to manifest their miraculous powers of metal transmutation and elixir preparation. The text reflects Waidan (external alchemy) practices that combine mineral and botanical elements.

This scripture describes various plants with special properties (collectively called "Dragon Sprouts") and their miraculous functions in alchemical practices. Here is the vernacular interpretation:

Pine Moss (Immortal Robe Dragon Sprout)

Grows exceptionally tall in high places, gathered by Daoist practitioners from deep mountains. It can subdue volatile mineral medicines and mercury, and also control toxic sulfur.

Spinach (Red Claw Dragon Sprout)

Withstands extreme heat and cold but is damaged by strong winds. It can transform arsenic into jade-like harmlessness and is collected by immortals for use in elixir chambers.

Green Artemisia/Golden Hook/Sour Jujube (Immortal Palm Dragon Sprout)

Grows by cold pond caverns, harvested in early summer. Unknown to most, it controls sulfur—consumption turns white hair black and reverses aging.

Scallion (Silver Hair Dragon Sprout)

With garlic-like roots that completely neutralize arsenic, preventing sublimation. This immortal medicine unknown to mortals subdues both arsenic and calomel.

Chives (Immortal Strength Dragon Sprout)

Subdues "Danyang" (a certain elixir), turning it silver. Connects to the immortal bones, with leaves particularly effective for treating emaciation.

Wintergreen (Longevity Dragon Sprout)

Evergreen by green waters year-round. Controls sulfur like jade and can transform copper and iron.

Rehmannia (Three Yellows Dragon Sprout)

Grows wild by streams, comprehending the mysteries of the "Three Yellows." When sulfur is subdued, its efficacy becomes fireproof.

Trumpet Creeper (Tree-Clasping Dragon Sprout)

Perennial roots climb trees in summer. Collected in July as medicinal treasure, it transforms mercury essence into silver.

Houseleek (Abode-Life Dragon Sprout)

Grows neither on earth nor mountains but in roof tiles. Alchemists place it in furnaces to naturally desiccate mercury.

Selfheal (Frost-Resistant Dragon Sprout)

Lush in spring but withers in summer. Its extracted juice miraculously turns mercury essence into dry sand.

Mulberry Shoots (Mulberry Shoot Dragon Sprout)

Felled in early spring, burned to ash and boiled into frost. Makes sulfur burn crimson while preventing mercury sublimation.

Yellow Grass (Central Dragon Sprout)

This rare sprout hides among mulberry trees. Used by heating in a crucible (gan pot) before mixing.

These descriptions primarily reflect how ancient Daoists observed nature to find plants with unique medicinal properties for alchemical practice. Each plant was believed to possess the magical ability to control specific minerals or transform substances, embodying the Daoist cultivation concept of "plants having spiritual communion with the divine."

This scripture transmits the essential alchemical techniques taught by Lü Dongbin (the Pure Yang Immortal Lü), primarily explaining how to refine elixirs using various medicinal herbs collectively called "dragon sprouts." Here is the plain explanation:

[Herb Processing Chapter]

1. Mercury processed with earth-fumigated herbs (a specific medicinal plant) will not volatilize when boiled.

[Seven Dragon Sprout Herbs]

1. Mystic Sphere Dragon Sprout (eggplant): Its spherical fruit can subdue sulfur and transform stubborn copper into snow-white elixirs with lasting effects.

2. Censer Dragon Sprout (perilla): Its yellow-green leaves growing by water can tame minerals like sulfur, embodying an immortal's secret alchemical method.

3. Azure Dragon Sprout (kudzu vine): Its spring-grown vines resembling dragon heads refine minerals into superior elixirs and thicken mercury.

4. Earth Ginseng Dragon Sprout (anemarrhena): When pounded with fritillaria and arisaema, mixed with vinegar, and calcined in the crucible, it yields silver-like elixirs.

5. Purple-Backed Dragon Sprout (jewel leaf): Its rare purple foliage neutralizes cinnabar and desiccates mercury.

6. Celestial Flame Dragon Sprout (lotus): Red lotuses harvested in June from water can subdue mercury into silver.

[Refinement Essentials]

1. When roasting herbs, preserve their medicinal properties by removing smoke while retaining their essence (Jing).

2. Slowly refining five catties over mild heat may seem simple but embodies profound celestial methods.

3. Herb gathering must follow seasonal timing; roots, leaves, stems, and fruits have distinct uses—misapplication risks danger.

4. All seventy-two dragon sprouts become treasures when collected timely, transmuting ordinary materials into true elixirs.

5. This Daoist art, bestowed by heaven, serves to aid the world and benefit humanity.

(Note: "Subduing" refers to taming the properties of minerals; "Eight Minerals" denotes cinnabar, realgar, and six other alchemical minerals; "mercury" is liquid quicksilver.)