《雲笈七籤》Vol. 101

Record of Yuanshi Tianwang

Yuanshi Tianwang (Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning) received the self-so origin. Before heaven and earth had formed, he congealed into form, was entrusted to a womb generated by emptiness, and was born in a boundless realm of empty space. At that time heaven and earth were not yet separated; the light of heaven was dim and distant, and the Great Void was vast and limitless. After more than seven thousand kalpas, the sky became clear, the Qi was pure and harmonious, and the two lights of sun and moon intertwined. Dark clouds and a purple canopy shone over his head, and thunder and lightning formed from the Six Qi guarded him. In the night he spontaneously emitted light, and divine radiance illuminated his palace chambers; his body gave off a wondrous fragrant vapor, and his heart-spirit rested in a realm of clouds and rosy light. He cultivated his bodily form on the banks of Dongbo, alone presiding over the rituals of the numinous talismans and warding off the mysterious ordinances descended from heaven; inner Qi sank into profound depths, and his heart-spirit silently contemplated subtle realms.

Suddenly he wandered in freedom, gazing in all directions and forgetting the way home. Riding jade wheels, jade carriages, and an azure chariot, driving dark dragons, his flying essence and Qi and flowing cloud Qi flashed like lightning. He came to the Void Palace, traveled east through the realm of azure waters and luxuriant forests, and rested in the Nine-Bend Chamber of Blue Clouds. Then he ascended the Golden Portal and was invested as the Jade Purity Purple Void High Supreme Primordial Sovereign, Supreme Great Dao Lord. He received golden slips and jade tablets and ordered his name and title to be reported to the Donghua Fangzhu Qing Palace.

At this time he was charged with governing billions of watery domains. The mysterious heavenly realm sent down Jade Flower Immortal Maidens and Golden Dawn Youths, three thousand of each; there were also flying dragons, venomous beasts, and giant serpents a thousand xun long, spreading their claws and striking at the sky, guarding the Jade Portal, arrayed in the broad courtyard with awe-inspiring heavenly majesty. Azure feather canopies, purple phoenix-patterned processional regalia, Golden True Jade Light, the Huoluo Seven Primordials Divine Tiger Supreme Talisman, and the Flowing Gold Fire Bell were all displayed together. The Primordial Sovereign resides in Jade Purity and governs the Perfected of the Supreme Sovereign High Emperor.

Record of Taishang Daojun

The Dongxuan (Cavern Mystery) Scripture of Original Conduct says: Taishang Daojun (Supreme Dao Lord) was on Fuluo Peak of Mount Tianyucha in Xina, seated beneath a seven-jeweled qian tree. He observed fasts and purity, dwelt alone in the empty mountain, and quieted his mind in contemplation. Immortals and Perfected rejoiced together; the profound pivot of heaven and earth was clear and spontaneous. He surveyed the transformations of the myriad things and bent down to harmonize with living beings.

At this time, the great sages and Most True Honored Deities of the ten directions came before his seat, burned incense, bowed, and then reported to the Dao Lord: “We do not know from which kalpa the Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) Dharma-gate was transmitted and has continued to the present. How many people in total has it saved and transformed, and have they all been fully saved? Also, in which kalpa was Zhuanlun Tianzun (Turning Wheel Heavenly Worthy) born? What were the circumstances when he encountered the True Text and obtained his present office as Taishang…”

The original text breaks off here.

How could attaining the Dao (the Way) and receiving deliverance be only like this? The Sovereign Teacher of the Dao and De (Virtue/Power)—the noble sovereign of Dao methods and virtuous conduct—is incomparably lofty and remote, difficult to reach. May you bestow instruction, explain the original traces and karmic causes, and expound the essential meaning, so that people of later ages may become enlightened.

The Dao declares (as the Daoist scriptures say): Heavenly Origin revolves; as the kalpas succeed one another, its fortunes change, now flourishing, now declining. Birth and death follow in unending cycles; after darkness, light returns. Lingbao (the scriptures and methods revered in Daoism) appears according to the world’s destiny and brings salvation to beings.

From the time Yuanshi (the Primordial Beginning) first opened the radiance until the first year of Chiming, there passed nine thousand nine hundred billion kalpas, and those saved were as numerous as dust and sand, impossible to count. Before Chiming, in the remote and profound depths, divine beings manifested in every kalpa in inconceivable ways. After Chiming, up to the first year of Shanghuang, those saved by the Great Dharma of the Ancestral Model (the tradition’s exemplary great Dao) were also exceedingly many; even if one exhausted a lifetime in recounting them, one could not finish. Now I can only give a rough account of the essentials of the orthodox Dao and point to the distant traces of those who attained the Dao. I shall for the time being reveal this to later generations, so that those who come after may grasp the wonder of the numinous writings.

I was bathed in the flowing fragrance of Zichen (the high heavenly realm) and am a descendant of the Emperor on High. I have passed through birth and death with the kalpas, generation after generation without cease, constantly encountering Lingbao and descending into the world together with it. After seven hundred billion kalpas, it happened that the kalpa of Qingdi (Green Emperor) ended and the nine Qi (vital energy) changed course. I then took conception in the womb of my mother of the Hong clan; my spirit coalesced in the Palace of the Jade Embryo (where immortals are conceived and formed), and I remained there for three thousand seven hundred years. When Chiming opened its epoch and the year was jiazi, I was born on Mount Fuluo in the Western Xina Jade Kingdom of Fudao-gaitian.

Again I descended into the world together with Lingbao. Because of the karmic causes and merits I had accumulated, Yuanshi Tianzun (Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning) bestowed on me the title “Taishang” (Supreme) and enfeoffed me as the Heavenly Emperor Lord of the Yuyue Nalin Changyu Terrace, ranked among the High Sages and governing the Jade Capital of Xuandu. This was truly because I honored and received the Great Dharma of Lingbao. From generation to generation without cease, I broadly saved heavenly and human beings and all sentient beings, succoring the world with a compassionate heart through countless kalpas. My merits and virtues are exceedingly great; my deeds and fame are recorded throughout billions of kalpas, and therefore I am now revered by the various Heavenly Worthies.

Record of the Shangqing High Sage, Supreme Great Dao Lord of the Jade Dawn

The Dongzhen Dadong Zhenjing says: The Shangqing High Sage, the Supreme Great Dao Lord, was congealed from the essences of the Two Dawns and the purple mist of the Nine Felicities. Jade radiance shone forth and golden light reflected; true Qi gathered and brought forth numinous excellence. The mysterious and wondrous Shen (spirit) and Qi coalesced and were lodged in his mother’s womb; there they were nurtured into form and became a human being. His personal name was □□, and his courtesy name was Shangkaiyuan. He was born only after his mother had carried him for three thousand seven hundred years.

In Xinatian, among the Danxuan cliffs of Fuluo Peak and Yucha Mountain, he received the register (the conferral of a Daoist register, signifying the corresponding divine office and qualification for cultivation), and also received a bestowed writ from the Purple Emperor. He ascended to the Jade Void and gazed afar at the panorama; he was ranked among the high immortals of Shangqing (Highest Clarity) and became the Most High Sage, Supreme Lord of the Great Dao of the Jade Dawn (Gaosheng Taishang Yuchen Da Daojun).

Da Daojun governed the Ruizhu Sun-Gate Lodge. There were seven tiers of radiant purple chambers, and three hundred thousand jade boys and three hundred thousand jade girls each served and guarded him. Then he waved his staff, ascended the Seven Gardens, and soared into the Nine Heavens; brandishing banners, he sped on the clouds and circled amid the mists of the eight directions. Looking up, he plucked the essence of sunlight; looking down, he gathered the moon’s precious pearl. He picked fine jade in the Crimson Forest and swallowed purple lotuses from the Mysterious River. He sat at ease in a spirit chariot and managed the documents of the Heavenly Emperor. The gods came to pay homage; the deities of the Five Virtues held talismanic mandates, while the Upper Perfection Heavenly Emperor Who Attends the Dawn (Shangzhen Shichen Tianhuang) cradled charts and books.

The Heavenly Emperor then raised his head toward the void and said: “If you wish to cultivate into a Zhenren (True Person), you should visualize the lord-spirit within the sun, driving dragons and riding phoenixes, riding the celestial clouds eastward to roam the Mulberry Forest, and then enter the palace gate of the Heavenly Emperor. If you wish to ascend to heaven, you should visualize the Lady within the moon driving ten flying dragons and riding my Flowing Bell Chariot westward to pay homage at the Six Ridges, and then proceed to the hall of the Heavenly Emperor. By concentrating the mind and spirit and revolving your thoughts, you may ascend to court the Jade Emperor. Auspicious clouds gather, and the mind and spirit unfurl; treading upon light and radiance, the body becomes bright; dispersing the coagulated Jing and Qi, you reach straight to the clouds. The two sovereigns ride together in one chariot, soaring beyond the edge of heaven.”

Dayou Heaven is the Purple Palace among the Nine Heavens; Xiaoyou Heaven is the foremost of the Thirty-Six Heavens of Qingxu (Pure Void). The main text continues:

The Most High Sage, Supreme Lord of the Great Dao, first rode the first chariot of luminous radiance, driving eight-pure purple clouds and commanding the Qi of the subtle and faint. Together with the Azure Emperor, whose name is Lu Fengzi, he traveled east to Yuyue Nalin Changyutai Heaven, paid homage to the Supreme Lord of the Void Emperor of the Purple Dao of Yuqing, and received the Hidden Talisman of the Great Dawn of Nine Radiances (a secretly transmitted Daoist talisman).

The Supreme Lord of the Great Dao then rode the second chariot of luminous radiance, driving seven-pure crimson clouds and commanding the Qi of central subtlety. Together with the Red Emperor, whose name is Ding Wuyan, he traveled south to Gaotao Lizhong Longluo Heaven, paid homage to the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao, Void Emperor of the Winged Sun of Yuqing, and received the Hidden Talisman of the Primordial Dawn of Observing the Spirit.

The Supreme Lord of the Great Dao then rode the third chariot of luminous radiance, driving six-pure red clouds and commanding the Qi of Taiwei. Together with the White Emperor, whose name is Qu Yuanshi, he traveled west to Biluo Kongge Yuli Heaven, paid homage to the High Primordial Lord, Void Emperor of the Beginning of Changyang of Yuqing, and received the Hidden Talisman of the Nine Extremes of the Assembled Dawn.

The Supreme Lord of the Great Dao then rode the fourth chariot of luminous radiance, driving five-pure blue-green clouds and commanding the Qi of mysterious subtlety. Together with the Black Emperor, whose name is Qi Yuanxuan, he traveled north to Koumo Tanlou...

In the Yi Heaven, the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao (Taishang Daojun) rode a Five Radiance Carriage, drawn by four strata of pale yellow cloud-qi. Leading the High God Shiwei, Jiekongzi, and others, he set out toward the northeast. They arrived at the Heaven of Fudao Gaihua Fuluo and paid respects to the Jade Clarity Lord of Cavern Purity, the Void Sovereign of Great Brightness, from whom he received the Hidden Talisman of Mysterious Radiance and Morning Peace (a secret talisman).

In the Fuluo Heaven, the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao rode a Six Radiance Carriage, drawn by three strata of pale green cloud-qi. Leading the Central God Lingwei, Bingjuwen, and others, he set out toward the southeast. They arrived at the Heaven of Beiweiye Qu Chumo and paid respects to the Jade Clarity Lord of the Great Empyrean, the Void Sovereign of Original Beginning, from whom he received the Hidden Talisman of United Radiance and Morning Mandate.

In the Chumo Heaven, the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao rode a Seven Radiance Carriage, drawn by two strata of pale purple cloud-qi. Leading the Lower Emperor Lord Xuanwei, Hongfuzi, and others, he set out toward the southwest. They arrived at the Heaven of Chongrong Yuyu Lisha and paid respects to the Jade Clarity Lord of Golden Spirit, the Void Sovereign of the Seven Contemplations and No-Birth, from whom he received the Hidden Talisman of Uniform Radiance and Morning Mystery.

In the Lisha Heaven, the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao rode an Eight Radiance Carriage, drawn by one stratum of pale numinous cloud. Leading the Perfected Emperor Dongwei, Xichengshu, and others, he set out toward the northwest. They arrived at the Danlücha Treasure Wheel Dharma Heaven and paid respects to the Jade Clarity Lord of Still Radiance, the Void Sovereign of the Eight Contemplations and High Origin, from whom he received the Hidden Talisman of Highest Dragon Smoke.

Afterward, the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao again rode the Cavern Radiance Jade Carriage, drawn by grand auroral purple smoke and the radiance of mysterious light. Leading the Inner Emperor of the Nine Minutiae, Shen Mingxian, the Nine Mysteries of the Supreme Sovereign, and the various perfected immortal kings of the Nine Heavens, he ascended together toward the Mifanluo Terrace. Rising above the celestial river and far removed from the dusty world, it was located in the capital of Flying Origin and Cloud Roots. They arrived at the upper heaven of Jade Clarity and paid respects to the Jade Clarity Purple Radiance Supreme Jade Emperor, the Luminous High Great Dao Lord, from whom he received the Hidden Talisman of the Supreme Dao Lord of High Clarity, the Great Void, and the Limitless.

Arrayed Records of the Lord of the Three Heavens

The Shangqing Perfected, Grand Marshal and Long-Life Dharma Master who oversees all affairs of the immortal realms, had charge of the Lord of the Three Heavens. The Lord of the Three Heavens had the surname Baicheng, given name Xusheng, and courtesy name Zhigao; he was a man of the Zhonghuang era. He was born when the Year Star was moving into the eastern quadrant, beneath a cypress grove on Zhongshan in the Northern Waters. He was named Xusheng because his mother conceived him in response to the radiance of the sun.

At nine, he sought the way of longevity; at fourteen, together with Young Lord Xigui, Juling Boyin, he took Master Huanggu as his teacher. Master Huanggu was able to achieve immortality, practiced purity and stillness and Wuwei (non-action), and did not...

To practice this Daoist art, one must store Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy), turn awareness inward, concentrate Shen (spirit), contemplate the true Dao within emptiness and stillness, and settle the breath, seeking long life without death.

Five hundred years later, he met three figures: the Golden Immortal Shigong, Mr. Ningshi, and the Huangye Youth. They transmitted the method of fetal essence: retaining transformations within the womb, cultivating the primordial spirit inside the womb, and explaining how the higher methods untie bonds and knots. Later, he ascended Mount Canglang of the Great Emperor and drank the Purple Bright Mushroom Liquid in the Double Jade Cave of the Cavern Terrace. He then met the Shangqing Master Wanshi and received methods for riding flight and mounting emptiness, for employing the eight Qi and the Jinglong stride—a way of ascending and flying by means of breath and stepping—as well as methods for returning to the womb, guarding the white, and transcending.

Guangchengzi also transmitted scripture methods for refining cloud-roots in the cinnabar-azure jade furnace and for causing softness and hardness to transform, along with methods such as Flying Smoke, Raising Frost, Sinking Snow, and Floating Sun-Vermilion. Later, he met the Shiyuan Youth and the Fengche Youth, received the registers of the Emperor of Emptiness—Daoist name-registers or talismans granted to cultivators—together with immortal taboos and true precepts, and studied methods for transforming one into ten thousand and dissolving the form.

Thereafter, he met the Yuqing Wenshi Dongwang Jinhui Immortal Lord, known as the Two Jade Emperor Dao Lords. These two Dao Lords told him the methods for closing the womb and quieting the breath, inwardly protecting the hundred spirits, opening the Cloud Chamber, and firmly guarding the Three Truths. Later, he visited the two Jade Emperor Lords again and asked about the Dao of the Cloud Chamber and the oral instructions of the Three Truths.

The two Jade Emperor Lords said: “The Three Truths are the emperor-lords within your own body and the original true spirits of the hundred spirits. If you can make the assisting deities each guard their proper positions, the Three Sovereigns be peaceful, Taiyi guard the fetal origin, and the Five Elders support Jing and Qi, then: one dwells in the Dantian (energy center), overseeing destiny and protecting life; one dwells in the Crimson Palace, the heart palace, irrigating and nourishing the body with purple Qi; and one dwells in the Dongfang, the spirit chamber in the brain. When the luminous Jing and Qi of these three merge, one can transform, separate, and unite, and communicate with the true spirits.

“The Mingtang, Cloud Palace, Purple Door, Jade Gate, Yellow Watchtower, Golden Chamber, Cinnabar City, and Vermilion Window are all the dwellings of Emperor One within the body and the treasure chambers of the Three Truths. If the cultivator causes the scenes within the Cloud Chamber to merge with his own spirits, he can connect upward to Kunlun and look down upon the clear abyss. The cloud canopy towers high, forests and bamboo are green, the seven spirits circulate, and the seven gates are deep and secluded; within the golden gate and jade casket are preserved five registers of talismanic records. The Young Lord rests within, while divine power draws from without; when Baiyuan and original Qi blend into one, one can coalesce into form, summon yang Qi, and attract yin Qi. Shangdi and Siming each protect the life they govern. These principles are subtle and difficult to speak of; only immortals transmit them.”

He asked again: “What are the methods of summoning yang and calling yin, of exiting and entering without fixed place, and the principle by which Qi brings about wondrous transformations?”

The two Jade Emperor Lords replied: “What is called summoning yang is the function of the Three Qi’s exiting and entering; what is called calling yin is the function of the Six Ding’s coming and going. If one can obtain what the Three Qi generate…”

Yang Qi transforms into a dragon chariot, and Yin Qi becomes the Jade Maiden; they soar up and down in the air, whirling and dancing without any fixed direction. Where Qi is, Shen arises along with it: when Shen is present, Qi condenses into form; when Shen departs, Qi disperses. The Qi spoken of here is the upright Qi of the Twenty-Four Shen—that is, the Twenty-Four Qi. Qi can generate Shen, and Shen can also generate Qi. When Qi disperses, it becomes clouds and mist; when it gathers, it becomes form. When manifested, it is immortal transformation; when withdrawn, it is Zhenyi (True Unity). Upward it congeals into the Three Primes (Sanyuan); downward it transforms to give birth to the myriad things. At rest it becomes the body of signs; in motion it becomes the Shen of signs.

Therefore, practitioners constantly blend the transformations of the Twenty-Four Shen with those of the True Person of Three and Five, condensing them into the Qi of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) and combining them to become the Imperial Lord—this is one’s own original Shen. Human beings receive life from the Heavenly Hun (Tianhun); the Heavenly Hun combines with the Original Spirit (Yuanling) and is formed. The Heavenly Hun is the root of life, and the Original Spirit is the embryo foundation of life. The two flow together in Taiyi and penetrate the Three Daos. Shen and Qi accumulate in the Jade Palace; numinous fluid fills the Mysterious Mansion; fluids spread through the Earthly Gate and nourish the Cave Chamber. Radiance like sun and moon illumines the heavenly horizon, and the Five Shen join with the Original Father (Yuanfu). The Original Father governs the movement of Qi, causing it to spread to the Imperial Pole (Diji); the Mysterious Mother (Xuanmu) governs the transformations of Jing, causing Jing to gather in the Dark Origin (Youyuan).

Therefore, the Lord of Destiny (Siming) receives the talisman to protect the bodily form and support the original Shen; Gongzi guards within; Taokang maintains the Hun and Po; Wuying accompanies on the left, and Baiyuan guides on the right. Shen and Qi move like clouds and rain, spreading through all the passes and apertures of the body.

Later, the two Jade Emperors transmitted the thirty-nine chapters of the Xusheng Dadong Zhenjing (Great Cavern Perfected Scripture of Sudden Generation) and the Way of Returning Wind and Merging with the Imperial One. After cutting off old ties and establishing vows and covenants, the recipients were able to become Shangqing (Highest Clarity) Perfected Persons, with the title “Grand Marshal of All Immortals and Long-Life Dharma Master.” He oversees the Lords of the Three Heavens, governs the Langfeng Jade Terrace of the Taixuan Capital, controls the registers of immortals who study the Dao, and also governs the human and divine beings of the Three Heavens. The myriad immortals receive their duties at the Jade Terrace, while the Five Emperors hold audience at the Numinous Pavilion (Lingxuan).

Record of Lord Qingling Shilao

The Dongxuan Benxing Jing (Scripture of Original Conduct of the Cavern Mystery) says: The Emperor Lord Qingling Shilao of Anbao Hualin in the East once, during the time when white Qi circulated and the Metal Kalpa held sway, was temporarily born in the heaven of Yuyue Jinying Yuntai Nalin. Xilou Wuliang Yuguo and Haoming Xuanyue both belonged to this heavenly realm; his name was Yuanqing. There he extensively cultivated merit and virtue, never once slackening. His achievements and fame reached up to the Zhuling Fire Palace, and his name was recorded on red slips. When the immortal Dao was about to be perfected, he encountered many colorful maidens in the kingdom; Yuanqing therefore entrusted his body to the world and let his thoughts scatter…

The Lingmo—the kind of demon that disturbs cultivators—lifted her clouded eyes, and the Vermilion Palace (the celestial palace) removed her immortal registration. She thus fell from her station and passed through three kalpas. Later, when the fire kalpa changed her fate, at the time of Yuanqing, she again received qi and was reborn, lodging in the womb of the Hong family. Because in her former life she had been lustful, Heaven caused her to be reborn as a woman.

In the first year of Zhuling, the year being Bingwu, she was born in the region of Danhuo Mountain in the kingdom of Dantong Longluowei Tian Dongming Yu. She changed her surname to Hong and was named Natai. At fourteen, she revered the Dao and its teachings and sincerely yearned for the way of immortals. She often bought fragrant oil and lit lamps to illuminate dark places, and she performed many good deeds. The heavens all praised her and entered her name in Shangqing (Highest Clarity).

The Primordial Lady of Purple Emptiness, Upper Spirit of the South Pole (Nanji Shangling Zixu Yuanjun), transformed into a servant and descended to the mortal world to teach her. Seeing that Natai was chaste and upright, with lofty aspirations, she returned to the Danhuo Mountain area and bestowed on her a text, the Lingbao Red Book: Southern True Text. From then on Natai cultivated even more diligently. But she reflected that in this life she was a woman, living in the inner chambers, and felt she had no opportunity to attain the Dao. She therefore kept purificatory fasts and held to the precepts, hoping to be reborn as a man. Her single-hearted sincerity reached far and finally moved the highest Perfected.

At that time, Yuanshi Tianzun (the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning) was sitting beneath the withered mulberry trees of the long forest at Langbi Stream and Fuyao Hill, with many Perfected Ones seated in attendance. One day, Natai saw five-colored purple light bending into her fasting hall. She had an inner realization and also felt that this was extraordinary, so she went out, climbed onto the wall, and gazed in all directions. Suddenly she saw beneath the mulberry grove in the east a radiance so brilliant it was hard to describe. It was several hundred li from where she lived, separated by Yanggu and the vast sea, and hard to reach.

Joyful and stirred but unable to go there, she joined her palms and bowed from afar, announced her name, and said: “Natai’s karmic conditions from former lives are shallow, and so I was born a woman. I have resolved to aspire to immortals and the lofty Dao, yet the great Dao is subtle and difficult to seek. Day and night I long for it, hoping to be saved and reborn as a man. Many years have passed and still there has been no response; I often fear that in this life I cannot escape birth and death or fulfill my wish. Although today I have met with this opportunity, I am blocked by the heavenly river and have no way to present myself. I now vow to throw my body into the jade-green sea and give up my life, hoping that my body and soul may quickly be reborn, so that I may again establish merit; I vow that within ten thousand kalpas I may see the truth of the Dao.”

Having spoken, she sprang from the wall, hurled herself into the air, resolved to die, and fell into the deep abyss of the vast sea. Yet she did not fall into the sea. Instead, the Water Emperor Spirit King caught her with five-colored flying dragons, receiving her female body. In the blink of an eye, she had already…

(Continued from the preceding text.) He cultivated the Dao in Xuanzhong and attained the Dao. Transforming into a male form, he rode a dragon and drove the clouds, flying before the Daolord. Thereupon Yuanshi Tianzun ordered the Immortal Capital to confer on him an imperial title and had him receive the command to assist Lingbao during the Fire Kalpa. According to what is recorded in the Qingdi Yupian (Jade Chapters of the Green Emperor), he assisted for seven hundred years. When the Fire Kalpa came to an end and the green qi began to circulate, he entered extinction together with Yuanshi Tianzun. In the first year of Kaiguang, at Mifanluo Terrace, Xiaojue Liaoqiu, the Capital of Feiyuan Yungen, the Ruins of Cangxia Jiuyun, and other places, he again received a title from Yuanshi Tianzun and was called “Emperor Lord Anbao Hualin Qingling Shilao.”

Record of Lord Danling Zhenlao

The Dongxuan Benxing Jing records: Lord Danling Zhenlao of Fanbao Changyang in the South, whose original surname was Zheng and courtesy name Ren’an, was a descendant of Dayan. He was born in the Chiming Heaven of the Chanli World. At birth, three-colored cloud qi wrapped around his body, and a Vermilion Bird spread its wings to shelter him. He could speak after three days and knew his former lives and destiny. By twelve, his countenance already had a radiance like gold and jade, so he abandoned worldly life and traveled far among the mountains and forests.

In the Hanling Cave Palace he met Master Xuanhe, who transmitted to him the Ren’an Lingbao Red Book, the Five Qi Xuantian Black Emperor True Writ, and the Ten Precepts of the Highest Grade of Wisdom, and then departed. Ren’an thereafter upheld the precepts, fasted for long periods, performed good deeds widely, and distributed treasures to the poor; he even took food from his own mouth to feed birds. Because of these good deeds, his fame reached the heavenly realm.

Later, in the country of Xina, Ren’an encountered a great flood. The waters reached the sky, and the common people drifted about in suffering. He sailed a boat over the floodwaters, recited the precept text and the Black Emperor True Writ, and cast the True Writ into the water. The floodwaters immediately parted, revealing a hundred qing of open ground. Birds and beasts, river deer and deer, tigers, leopards, and lions all came to take refuge with him, and they were at peace with one another.

At that time, the king and a hundred attendants climbed a tower to escape the water, but they were still submerged by the flood, and it looked as though they could not escape. Seeing that the king was about to sink, Ren’an sailed over and gave the king the True Writ he carried. After the king reverently received and upheld it, the flood immediately receded, and everyone escaped. Afterwards, the True Writ flew into the clouds and disappeared.

Having lost the True Writ, Ren’an’s immortal rank was lowered by one grade; his lifespan had also reached its end, so he resigned himself to fate and died in the Beirong Mountains. His remains lay exposed in the wild for more than thirty years, yet the body did not decay; it remained bright and fresh, no different from when he was alive, resting beneath the Changlin forest of Beirong.

Later, the king went out hunting and set fire to the mountain. Flames closed in from all sides and came to within ... of him.

Within a hundred paces of the numinous corpse, no fire could be kindled. No wild beast—river deer, deer, tigers, leopards, and the like—failed to be drawn to it and come to look. Above the numinous corpse were three-colored rays and dense clouds and mist; birds and beasts encircled it on all sides. The king then cut firewood, piled it around the body, and set it ablaze.

At that moment the numinous corpse rose from the fire and transformed into an adult, seated atop blue-green smoke, pointing toward the void, his body radiant with five-colored light. More than three hundred immortal youths and jade maidens attended on either side, arriving in solemn majesty. All the birds and beasts that had been drawn to the numinous corpse were likewise delivered in the fire.

Ren’an, in the second year of Chiming, a bingwu year, at Qiemo Tanlou, on Mount Dongliao within the Yi Heaven, changed his surname to Dongfu and his given name to Jiyan; he was granted the title “Nandan Fanbao Changyang Danling Zhenlao Di”—that is, Danling Laojun, the Old Lord of the Elixir Spirit.

Record of the Central Yellow Lord Lao

The Dongzhen Jiuzhen Zhongjing (Dongzhen Scripture of the Nine Perfected, Central Classic) says: The Central Yellow Lord Lao was a disciple of the Supreme Lord, the Heavenly Emperor of Taiwei, and was first born in the second year of Hunhuang. At seven he already understood the essentials of longevity and the methods of celestial immortals. He admired lofty and distant principles, single-mindedly received the true and mysterious Dao, quietly visualized the spirits, settled his mind in the source of divine brightness, freed himself from the bonds of ornate complexity, and returned to the realm of plain naturalness. Thereupon the Supreme One transmitted to him the secret formulas of the Nine Perfected and the secret sayings of the Eight Ways. When his cultivation was accomplished, he was granted immortal writings and became Taiji Zhenren, the Perfected of the Supreme Ultimate.

Record of the August Lord Lao of the Golden Gate and White Spirit

The Dongxuan Benxing Jing (Dongxuan Scripture of Original Deeds) says: The August Lord Lao of the Golden Gate and White Spirit of the West, possessor of the Seven Treasures, was originally the son of a spirit phoenix. The spirit phoenix descended from the Haluo Heaven and was born into the Weiluo Heavenly Paradise World, where it was adopted by the king of Weiluo. The king had an eldest daughter named Peiying, who loved the spirit phoenix very much and often played with it. The phoenix often brushed the girl’s face with its wings. Twelve years later the girl suddenly became pregnant. After three months the king found this strange, so he cut off the phoenix’s head and buried it in Changlin Mound.

Later the girl gave birth to a female infant who could speak as soon as she touched the ground: “I am the phoenix’s child, destined to be a celestial consort.” The king then named her Huangfei, Royal Consort. Only three days after her birth, a flock of phoenixes came to congratulate her and presented her with Xuanbu (Mysterious Nourishment), Yushuang (Jade Frost), Hongquan (Vast Spring), Qushui (Curved Water), and Balian Zhiying (Eight-Refined Mushroom Essence). At eight, Huangfei was firm of will and solemn in conduct, her talents and virtue surpassing ordinary people. In the morning she paid homage to the sun, in the evening she bowed to the moon, dwelling within the layered palace...

The royal consort laid out a sumptuous meal in the palace, yet found it tasteless. Heaven sent down heavy snow that did not stop for a full year; the snow reached ten zhang deep, and the birds and beasts all starved to death. The princess longed for the Spirit Phoenix, and the Spirit Phoenix came to roam. Delighted by it, the princess drove her carriage into the Long Grove Mound. She sang:

“O Spirit Phoenix, profound and hidden, you return in an unbroken stream; my longing is long, yet it never comes to fulfillment. Through ten thousand kalpas, I do not know when you will fly here.”

At that moment, the Spirit Phoenix that the king had killed suddenly came back to life; it rose up vigorously, embraced the princess, and flew up with her straight into the clouds. The princess now receives scriptures above Jingxiao and has become the Shangyuan Jun of the South Pole, constantly riding a nine-colored phoenix. In former lives through ten thousand kalpas, she had always practiced the Lingbao Dao (the Way of the Numinous Treasure); thus she was moved to have the Spirit Phoenix descend, and later she was enfeoffed as the Yuanjun of the South Pole. The imperial consort’s merits were profound and far-reaching, moving the heavenly true deities and hosts to descend.

During the Shangyuan era, in the Gengshen year, at noon on the seventh day of the seventh month, Yuanshi Tianzun (the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning) summoned all the true ones beneath the Qianhua tree on Phoenix-Qilin Mound in the Jade Kingdom of Weiluo. As the true ones sat in attendance, a sun disk round as a bright mirror suddenly appeared in the chamber where the imperial consort lived, hanging before her eyes. From within the mirror the imperial consort saw the great celestial true deities gathered together beneath the Long Grove, where a room blazed with radiant light.

She ascended the Tongyang Terrace and gazed far to the west. There she saw purple clouds surging over Phoenix-Born Mound, with divine radiance blazing brilliantly—a scene beyond words. That place was about five hundred paces from the imperial consort’s dwelling, but she was inside the palace and, constrained by her female body, could not go there. In a moment, a divine phoenix suddenly flew over and alighted on the terrace. The imperial consort said to it, “In the west there is the Dao; my whole heart yearns for it, but I am grieved that I have no opportunity. I wonder whether the divine phoenix might briefly carry me there to pay my respects?”

The divine phoenix immediately spread its wings, let the imperial consort sit upon them, and carried her straight to the assembled deities. Yuanshi Tianzun pointed to the golden terrace and said, “Xiwangmu (the Queen Mother of the West) is your teacher; you may bow to her.” The imperial consort kowtowed and reported, “I earnestly beg the honored deities to show me special compassion, so that my withered and decayed body may be renewed.”

Having spoken, Xiwangmu conferred on her the title of Jade Consort of the Western Spirit and ordered the Nine-Light Spirit Youth to uncover the frost-silk wrapping and take out a copy of the Lingbao Red Book: True Text of the White Emperor, which she transmitted to her. For three hundred years after receiving the title, it happened that the Qing Kalpa changed its cycle; only after that did the imperial consort again take conception in the womb of Lady Li. Beneath a plum tree in the secluded valley of Golden Ridge in the Jade Kingdom of Xina, she carried the pregnancy for three years…

Subsequently, he transformed and was born as a man, changed his surname to Shangjin and his personal name to Richang. In the first year of the Kaiguang era (the year Shangjia), the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) bestowed on him the honorific title “Western Imperial Old Lord of the Bright Spirit of the Seven-Treasure Golden Gate.”

Record of the Five-Numinous Mysterious Old Lord

The Dongxuan Benxing Jing (Scripture of Original Conduct from the Cavern Mystery) records: the Five-Numinous Mysterious Old Lord of the northern heaven Dongyin Shuodan Yujue originally had the surname Hao and the courtesy name Fuming. He was a descendant of the Mysterious Emperor and of the lineage of Taiqing (Great Clarity), and was born in the Shiqing Heaven within the Yuanfu Qixian world.

From the age of twelve he loved pure and quiet seclusion, placing his mind and spirit among mountains and waters. He often stayed away from home, sometimes returning only once every ten days. At that time the world suffered famine; the common people were hungry, the starving dead lay everywhere, and hardly anyone remained in the whole country. At the foot of Dijing Mountain, Fuming found a patch of juxheng (a plant traditionally used as food) and picked it himself to give to the poor and starving. He made many trips back and forth each day and saved several thousand people who were on the verge of death. The juxheng grew again after being picked and was not exhausted even after three years. Others went looking for him but did not know where he lived.

He labored excessively, his body grew steadily emaciated, and he had no time to care for himself. In the end, exhausted and unable to continue, he died at the foot of the mountain. The Nine Heavens recorded his merits, entered them in the golden register (the record of immortal merits), wrote his name in the jade roster (the register of immortals), and sent his soul and spirit to the Zhuling Palace. Later, the Heavenly Emperor sent a great golden-winged bird, which often spread its wings to shelter his corpse. For seven hundred years the corpse did not decay.

Later, when the water kalpa came and floods spread, the corpse drifted into a boundless abyss. After the flood receded, Fuming’s corpse came to rest at Beiwei Xieyuan. At first he dwelt silently at Beilong Xuanqiu in the heavenly kingdom of Yudan. Forty years later, a mountain fire spread and flames burned his corpse; refined in the fire, he then rose and transformed into a Zhenren (Perfected), his body covered with five-colored clouds.

In the first year of the Kaiming era, at Beilong Xuanqiu, he changed his surname to Jie and his personal name to Linghui. The Primordial Heavenly King (Yuanshi Tianwang) bestowed on him the honorific title “Linghui Dongyin Shuodan Yujue Five-Numinous Mysterious Old Lord.”