《雲笈七籤》Vol. 68

The Most High’s Divine Elixir of Descending Birth from the Eight Effulgences, Four Stamens, Purple Nectar, and Five Pearls, also known as the Three Blossoms Flying Net Elixir, consists of one formula.

The reason the Most High Perfected One can survey all the heavens, enter the open purple sky, calmly observe the seven luminaries, and in the clear morning spirit-roam through the ten thousand directions is that such a one has mastered the essences of the four flying numinous fluids and the five-pearl divine elixir. They ride the three efflorescences, survey the eight directions, and harness the flying net to preserve their true nature; they divide the spirit body, transform the physical form, and roam freely in the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) realm.

When the langgan (a jade-like immortal tree) blooms, the Divine Elixir of Descending Birth is thereby refined. When one obtains the sublime oral instructions of the Nine Perfected, the gate of the Nine Yin opens. For long life, the key lies in mysterious contemplation; for attaining the Dao, the key lies in subtle cultivation. One should concentrate the Shen (spirit) in true Qi and settle the mind in the deep and subtle realm; in the Purple Chamber clarify the five spirits, causing the heart-spirit to mirror the blended Qi like a bright mirror. Let the moon’s radiance join with Jielin (the essence within the moon), and let sunlight penetrate Yuyi (the essence within the sun), so that numinous transformations shine forth clearly in the Nine Dawns (the heavenly realm).

Holding the congealed numinous fluid in hand, one can fly through the void; the Jade Scripture (immortal classic) chants amid luminous scenes, and the Dragon Flower shines in the realm of Fuxi. The subtle body speeds through the distant celestial river; heaven and earth seem in an instant to pivot and change; one’s movements are swift as lightning and thunder. Dwelling in deep water, one does not drown; treading on weapons, one is not harmed. When one wishes to close, ten thousand gates lock tight; when one wishes to open, accumulated obstructions all disperse. Whether sinking or ascending, there is no fixed direction; one may proceed according to the mind’s intention.

The numinous transformations of this divine elixir are vast and boundless: it can unite with the Heavenly Emperor and share radiance with the light of the Nine Yin. After one full dose, even after passing through the Three Luminaries (sun, moon, and stars), its radiance does not diminish.

Ingredient Names and Oral Instructions: The first ingredient is Crimson Mound Scarlet Child, seven liang (taels); the oral instruction says this is cinnabar produced in Ba and Yue. The second is Sun Soul of the Cinnabar Mountain, four jin (catties); the oral instruction says this is bright-colored realgar. The third is Moon Radiance of the Dark Terrace, three jin; the oral instruction says this is orpiment. The fourth is Jade Woman of Qingyao, five jin; the oral instruction says this is azurite. The fifth is Numinous Flower’s Deep Richness, three jin; the oral instruction says this is frankincense. The sixth is Dark Pearl of the Northern Emperor, one jin; the oral instruction says this is saltpeter. The seventh is Marquis Wen of the Purple Mound, five liang; the oral instruction says this is fine-quality purple fluorite.

The eighth ingredient is called “East Mulberry Youth” (Dong Sang Tongzi); use seven liang, and its oral formula corresponds to Qingmuxiang (Aristolochia root). The ninth ingredient is called “White Silk Flying Dragon” (Baisu Feilong); use eight liang, and it corresponds to white quartz. The tenth ingredient is called “Bright Jade Spirit Pearl” (Mingyu Shenzhu); use seven liang, and it corresponds to true amber (zhen gui), of which one must select the kind that can pick up mustard seeds. The eleventh ingredient is called “Five Essences Golden Sheep” (Wujing Jinyang); use five liang, and it corresponds to Yangqishi (actinolite). The twelfth ingredient is called “Rain-Flower Flying Petals” (Yuhua Feiying); use five liang, and it corresponds to the bright, lustrous variety of mica (yunmu). The thirteenth ingredient is called “Flowing Cinnabar White Paste” (Liudan Baigao); use nine liang, and it corresponds to powdered frost (fenshuang; calomel). The fourteenth ingredient is called “Tingjiong Dusheng”; use six liang, and it corresponds to jishexiang (chicken-tongue incense; clove). This spice is pungent. In the original text, the character zhe continues onto the next line and is part of the sentence.

The fifteenth ingredient is called “Biling Wenhou”; use five liang, and it corresponds to mineral black (shidai). The sixteenth ingredient is called “Daoxing Shengu”; use five liang, and it corresponds to Rong salt (rongyan). The seventeenth ingredient is called “White Tiger Shedding Teeth” (Baihu Tuochi); use four liang, and it corresponds to golden tooth stone (jinyashi). The eighteenth ingredient is called “Nine Spirits Yellow Youth” (Jiuling Huangtong); use three liang, and it corresponds to mineral sulfur (shi liuhuang). The nineteenth ingredient is called “Luxu Yisheng”; use five liang, and it corresponds to dragon bone (longgu); the best kind is the one that sticks to the tongue when licked.

The twentieth ingredient is called “Weiwen Zhongwang”; use six liang, and it corresponds to the yin bone from the brain region of a tiger skull. It should be crushed before use. The twenty-first ingredient is called “Chenming Hejing”; use four liang, and it corresponds to pearls from a mussel. Pierced ones may also be used, but select new ones. The twenty-second ingredient is called “Zhangyang Yuxuan”; use four liang, and it corresponds to white aconite (baifuzi). The twenty-third ingredient is called “Lüfu Shimu”; use five liang, and it corresponds to magnetite (cishi); magnetite that can suspend a needle may be used. The twenty-fourth ingredient is called “Zhongshan Yingzhi”; use seven liang, and it corresponds to Taiyi Yuliang; take the yellow portion.

The above twenty-four ingredients accord with the Qi of the twenty-four spirits and combine with the Jing-Qi (essence-qi) of the Nine Dawns and Nine Yin, condensing into a liquid and forming a radiance like the sun and moon. The ingredients should be pounded separately in sequence, beginning with cinnabar (dansha), each pounded four thousand times with a pestle. All medicinal materials must be selected for fineness and bright appearance.

The person pounding the medicine should be gentle and cautious and should speak little idle talk. First observe a fast and purification (zhaijie) for thirty days; only then pound the medicine. The ingredients should be stored separately in another place; the room must be kept clean, and clothing should also be neat. When compounding the medicine, three or four people may work together, with one heart and focused intention, operating in a quiet, secluded place. The rules of prohibition are the same as those during the fast.

Once all the ingredients have been pounded, place them into the cauldron in order: first cinnabar (dansha), then realgar (xionghuang), next orpiment (cihuang), then kongqing (azurite), and finally Taiyi yuliang. Taiyi yuliang must be placed on top of all the other ingredients. After all twenty-four medicinal ingredients have been placed, gently press them with a small willow spatula so that they adhere closely to one another. Then pour five jin of mercury over the ingredients.

After these steps are completed, slowly cover them with the upper earthen cauldron. Seal the joint of the cauldrons with yellow lead-oxide mud (huangdan ni), then use oyster-shell mud—mud made from oyster shells—to seal the outside of the joint to a width of one cun. Leave it in a shady place to dry for ten days, then take it out and inspect it; apply another layer of mud. After that, seal the outer upper and lower parts and all four sides with oyster-shell mud, with the mud layer six fen thick.

One should also prepare in advance “Liuyi mud” (Liuyi ni, Six-One Mud), used to seal and coat the earthen cauldrons, and apply it both inside and outside the cauldrons. Its method of preparation is: take left-turning oyster shells from the Eastern Sea, Rong salt (rongyan), yellow lead oxide (huangdan), talc (huashi), red halloysite (chishizhi), and earthworm earth—six materials in total, in equal amounts. Pound them and sift through fine silk gauze; then blend with strongly sour bitter wine aged one hundred days. After blending, pound again twenty thousand times, and Liuyi mud is ready. Use it to gradually apply thin layers to the inside and outside of the two earthen cauldrons, and dry them in the sun. After the mud layer has dried hard, add more mud layer by layer, until both inside and outside are each one and a half cun thick.

After the mud sealing of the earthen cauldrons is complete, one must also estimate the amount needed and separately prepare enough Liuyi mud. Whenever making the mud, blend it with bitter wine; when Rong salt is unavailable, coarse salt from Hedong may be used as a substitute. One may also first take two jin of fine salt from the Eastern Sea, put it into one hu of bitter wine, stir it evenly, filter off the dregs, and then use it to blend the Liuyi mud. The quantities here may serve as a reference standard.

Next, build a room forty chi long, facing south, with the door at the eastern end and gauze windows on the south side. Build a stove in the center of the room, with openings left on all four sides. In the center of the stove set up a large four-legged iron stand, used to hold the medicinal earthen cauldron. The vertical spacing and height of the stand should be adjusted according to actual conditions so that it is stable. Place the medicinal earthen cauldron properly on the iron stand, and below it make a fire with good chaff, with the flames about one chi from the cauldron. Regulate the heat at all times; do not let it burn too fiercely.

After burning like this for a full eighteen days, move the fire closer so that it is one cun from the bottom of the cauldron, and burn for another five days. After five days, adjust the fire so that it is level with the bottom of the cauldron, and continue burning for twenty-seven days. After twenty-seven days, adjust the fire to half the height of the cauldron’s belly, and burn for another thirty days.

After the furnace fire is withdrawn, place the medicinal substance in the cauldron two cun below the upper cauldron and continue refining for twenty-four days. When the refining is complete, let the medicine cool for seven days, then slowly open it and inspect. The flower of Eight Radiances and Four Stamens (the essence that appears after the elixir is refined) will all adhere to the upper cauldron. Brush it down with the feathers of a three-year-old white rooster and store it in a sealed vessel made of gold or silver.

These elixir flowers should display colors like auspicious clouds; fifty-eight kinds of Qi flow and reflect one another, mysterious as colored clouds, with dense, radiant purple light that is difficult to describe. It is named “Eight Radiances Four Stamens Five Pearls Descending Spirit Elixir.” On the early morning of the first day of the second or eighth month, face the direction of Tai Sui and bow twice, then take one liang with water flowing from the east. After taking it, the light of the Nine Dawns will appear above your head, a jade flower will manifest on your face, and its radiance will fly and reflect, enabling you to perceive all under heaven. If you hold your breath, you can immediately summon the cloud chariot of the Three Primes. Saliva falling to the ground will transform into the light of the sun and moon; whistle to the left, and immortals will appear; whistle to the right, and the Eight Radiances will merge and become true. Thereupon you can soar into the sky, go to the Purple Void, enter and exit Jade Clarity, and rest and feast in the divine chamber.

If the elixir flowers have not been fully refined, you may follow the previous method to seal it with mud and make it airtight again, then continue firing the cauldron belly for sixty days; it is said that there is no failure. Let it cool for another seven days and then open it, using the same method as before.

Take one hu of already refined hemp fat, add three liang of Four Stamens Flower, place it in a copper vessel, and gently decoct it with charcoal fire beneath the vessel for three days; the medicine is then completed and is named “Four Stamens Purple Paste.” Take one ge daily; it is said that one may share the longevity of heaven and earth, transform one’s body, ride the void and travel, and arrive wherever the mind directs. One may also smear Four Stamens Purple Flower on the palms and nails and look closely in a mirror; then one can see things ten thousand li away, and whatever one wishes to see will manifest according to the mind. One can also mirror future scenes, as well as the fates of life and death, rise and decline.

This elixir has eight other names: Eight Radiances Elixir, Four Stamens Purple Flower, Taiwei Purple Jade Fat, Five Pearls Flower Elixir, Descending Birth Dawn Flower, Three Flowers Upper Elixir, Supreme Flying Net, and Nine Dawns Upper Elixir.

Method for Refining Hemp Fat

Take five hu of clear water, one hu of hemp fat, and scallion white and Chinese scallion white each two jin. Combine these four and decoct until one hu remains, and Purple Stamen Fat is made. The fire should be started in a quiet place, and the copper vessel covered with a wooden lid… (the original text ends here)

During refining, do not let dense smoke escape. The refined “yu” may also be taken on its own, in order to seek longevity and extended life.

When refining the Eight Radiances Divine Elixir (Bajing Shendan) over a chaff fire, after the prescribed number of days has elapsed, do not open the furnace-cauldron at once; instead, continue applying heat according to the original method. The later days of heating are handled in sequence in the same way as before. After all the refining is complete, let it cool for seven days before opening the furnace-cauldron. The vapor from the ingredients will transform into five bright-moon pearls. Suspend them face upward above, wrap them in crimson curtains, and send them off with clear water; crimson cloud-qi will then appear and cover them as they ascend to Shangqing (Highest Clarity). Wearing these five pearls, one can illuminate the world, with a radiance equal to the sun and moon. This elixir is called “Five Pearls of Crimson Generation” (Wuzhu Jiangsheng); for ascent to Shangqing, the firepower used must be doubled.

After the Five Pearls are refined, do not open the furnace-cauldron immediately either; continue applying heat according to the previous method. When the heating is finished, let it cool for twenty-two days before opening. The five bright-moon pearls will then transform into a Three-Flower Flying-Steel Dragon. After the furnace is opened, it grows in a blur, emits divine light, exhales radiance and breath, and raises cloud-qi; this is the so-called Hidden Dragon. Riding it forth, one can reach the Palace of the Nine Dawns. Therefore the Gaoshang Jing says: “If you ride the Hidden Dragon, you can be with Heaven, without end.”

The so-called doubling of firepower means: the first heating is one day, the next should be two days, the next four days, and thereafter eight days and sixteen days in sequence. Each time it increases by this multiple.

Method for preparing tiger brain: take one jin of Ma Xian Chuanxiong, pound it finely into powder, then mix six liang of tiger brain evenly with the powder, form it into cakes, and dry them in the shade. After they are dry, pound them again and take six liang for use; throw the remainder into east-flowing water. Shade-dried tiger brain remains usable for three years; it need not necessarily be fresh, and well-dried material will do. When drying, keep it in a silk bag to avoid dust.

If Xunlu incense (frankincense) has already congealed into gum, it often has much dust and dirt at first; wash and refine it with hot water to remove the dirt, then select the glossy, impurity-free portion for use.

Take ten jin of tin, put it in an iron pot and heat it for half a day, then add one zhu of Four-Stamen Purple Flower (Sirui Zihua) and stir for a moment; Weirui Gold will then be made. It is purple, and whether it can bend and stretch depends on the user; this refers to its state just after it is made. Add two zhu and Purple-Stamen Jade will be made; add three zhu and Xuanli Green-Scenery Jade will be made.

Take the residue of the Eight Radiances Elixir, pound it thirty thousand times, and take one pill the size of a small bean each day. It is said that in this way the body will emit a jade-like luster, one’s lifespan will equal that of the Nine Dawns, and the fragrance of the body will reach thirty li away; burn one pill…

After taking one elixir pill the size of a small bean, it is said to drive out all diseases, malign Qi, ghosts and specters, and inauspicious things, while its fragrance does not disperse for ten days. Take one pill the size of a millet grain, hold it in the mouth and then spit it out; it is said that one can then transform at will, conceal one’s body and hide one’s shadow, and travel anywhere under heaven. When one wishes to stop, one need only swallow the pill, and the transformation ceases.

If a person has been dead for less than three days, taking one pill the size of a large bean is said to bring immediate revival. When taking the medicine, one should click the teeth, place the pill in the mouth, and then swallow it with water; additionally, take one pill and place it over the heart to stabilize the hun and po souls, whereupon the souls will return of themselves and the limbs will become warm and supple again.

Take ten jin of lead and heat it in an iron vessel; throw in two pills the size of egg yolks and stir briefly, and it is said to be transmuted into gold. Add three more pills, and it can be refined into purple gold. Wearing one pill, it is said, causes the spirits of the mountains and seas to come and pay homage; smearing one pill on doors and windows frees the whole household from illness and drives away ghosts and specters. Taking one pill daily for a full hundred days is said to make the countenance like that of a young maiden; after three years, the face becomes like that of an infant. Drop one pill the size of a small bean into water, and it is said dragons and fish will float to the surface and the water will boil; drop one pill the size of a large bean into fire, and it is said the firelight will remain for about a day.

Scriptures such as the Shangqing Gaosheng Zhonghuang Laojun Dongzhen Jinxuan Jiuyin Jiuyang Zhenyu Jing, the Taishang Yuyi Jielin Zhang, and the Bajing Shendan Wen are all engraved at the Donghua Immortal Terrace and are not revealed to the world. Unless a person already has a register among the immortals from a former life and possesses an immortal destiny, they cannot hear of or see these scriptures.

When transmitting these scriptures, one must transmit them face to face within a fast and purification regimen, visualize the deities, and carefully confirm that the recipient can truly be entrusted; only then may one establish a covenant and swear an oath not to disclose them. When transmitting the “Dijun Jiuyin Jue,” a bundle of green silk is used as the covenant token; when transmitting the “Taishang Yuyi Wen,” one establishes the covenant with twenty-four feet of crimson silk, an oath to the deities of the sun; when transmitting the “Taishang Jielin Zhang,” one establishes the covenant with twenty-four feet of blue-green silk, an oath to the deities of the moon’s radiance; when transmitting the “Bajing Dan Jing,” one establishes the covenant with three pairs of gold rings, an oath to the Way of Perfect Transformation of the Impermanence Youth.

Now, with these four covenant tokens as evidence, invoking the Nine Dawns as witness, and pointing to the sun and moon as surety, one must never disclose them, must take heaven and earth as one’s heart, and must maintain fasts and purifications. If one does not respect and keep faith with the covenant, one will oneself become a lower ghost, and one’s parents for seven generations will be punished amid water and fire. According to the scriptural regulations, the master who transmits the scriptures and methods should distribute the covenant tokens in charity, using them to relieve the urgent hardships of the poor and sick, to aid those starving among mountains and rivers, and to manage and provide for public affairs of worship to the deities…

If the Scripture Master (Jingshi, a teacher who transmits scriptures and methods of cultivation) privately appropriates what he has received for his own support and greedily seeks profit, then the Scripture Master’s ancestors of seven generations will long be tortured in hell, and he himself will be plunged into wind and fire, enduring extreme suffering.

If disciples and the Scripture Master treat one another with sincerity and affection, they can see the root of cultivating the Dao. When Dao and De are deep, there is no barrier between the human world and ghosts and spirits; when master and disciple are fundamentally close, the hun and po souls will naturally be at peace. If one reveres the beginning but slights the end, and cannot always maintain De, how can one’s lifespan be long, and how can the way of the immortals be attained? Only with one who truly grasps its essential purport can one discuss the root and branches of seeking the Dao.

The Ninefold Return Golden Elixir, Chapter Two

Chapter One: Six Sections

Upper Attestation Grade: Preface to the Chapter on Embracing the Origin

The so-called huandan (returned elixir) is formed from the Jing of nine yang; after descending, it is received by twenty-four Zhenren (Perfected Beings). True water and true fire contain each other within and without, nurturing and transforming the five Shen; the five Shen circulate the Qi mechanism, Qi accumulates into cinnabar, and cinnabar accumulates into elixir. When Qi accumulates to its utmost, it is called the “Great Return Elixir of Purple Splendor and Red Bloom.”

The methods for refining the Great Return Elixir are all transmitted from master to disciple through oral instructions. Wondrous scriptures are hidden in cave palaces, and golden slips are secretly stored in the immortal capital. Ancient immortals, fearing that the source of Daoist methods might be cut off, expounded hidden writings and riddles and left them in the world. Thus later intelligent and learned people searched widely and explored hidden depths, spending much time and labor, yet never able to comprehend; gradually they fell into delusion, and in a blink their bodies rotted, their consciousness scattered, and their corpses became demonic specters—truly lamentable.

However, what the operation of the Great Dao relies on is single-minded sincerity. To master the efficacy of transformation and penetration, one ultimately cannot depart from refining mercury. The essentials of refining mercury are fully recorded in two chapters. The two chapters are divided into nine grades: the upper three grades discuss extracting cinnabar to obtain mercury, refining mercury and adding gold, and refining gold to compound the medicine, with the content appearing in seven sections; the middle three grades set forth five kinds of metals and minerals, and discuss the subjugation and control of the Four Yellows and the transformations of yang gold; the lower three grades discuss harmonizing the Great Elixir, the furnace and cauldron and fire timing, and the keys to forming the elixir and verifying the true. All these are listed in the two chapters of nine grades.

Grade One: Extracting Cinnabar and Bringing Out Mercury

The Great Cavern Precious Scripture of Stabilizing the True (Dadong Zhenzhen Baojing) and other scriptures all secretly discuss true lead and true mercury. The so-called true mercury is the mercury extracted from high-grade bright cinnabar; after extraction, it must further be combined with the method of inner water and fire. Although it is called “true,” one jin of bright cinnabar contains fourteen liang of mercury.

The method for extracting mercury is as follows: first take tough-fibered bamboo (jin bamboo) and make a bamboo tube, keeping three nodes where the joints are tight; open a hole about the size of a pellet on the tube, and in the middle node open another small hole, about the size of a chopstick tip…

At the place where the mercury (that is, quicksilver) flows out, first lay two layers of thick wax paper on the partition in the middle of the tube. Next, take cinnabar (vermilion, whose main component is mercuric sulfide), grind it into a fine powder, put it into the tube, and tie the mouth of the tube tightly with hemp rope. After steaming it for one day, wrap the body of the tube with yellow mud, with the mud layer about three cun thick; then bury the tube in the earth so that the mouth of the tube is level with the ground. The earth around the tube must be packed firm, so that no gas can leak out.

After that, pile firewood on top of the tube and burn it for some time, until the force of the fire penetrates the upper section of the tube. The mercury will then flow into the lower section, with almost no loss. If, when the fire weakens, the mercury has not yet fully flowed out, the remaining mercury is still relatively heavy and also has a blackish-purple color; continue burning it by the previous method until all the mercury has flowed out. The quantity should be sufficient, meeting the standard required for “Red Horse-Tooth Purple Spirit Sand.” Mercury can also be extracted by the same method. Other methods of flying refinement and extraction involve greater loss, while extraction by tube is the most exquisite; the remaining methods are separately listed in the upper grade of this chapter.

Section Two: Refining Mercury, Adding Metal, and Producing Sand

Cinnabar of the same kind, even after the mercury has been extracted from it, cannot be directly taken and added into a metal alloy to be transformed into sand; otherwise the sand ultimately cannot be refined. The discussion in the preceding seven sections is not yet complete, so here I supplement the secret of “throwing in metal to transform into sand”; its content is classified under the Mercury Refining Formula.

After repeated refining, mercury has absorbed the inner Qi of water and fire; when it meets its original metal, the two combine and will produce sand. The Mercury Refining Formula says: take one jin of mercury and three liang of mineral sulfur; first pound the sulfur and grind it into powder, put it into a porcelain bowl. Heat the bottom of the bowl with a gentle fire, while continuously adding the mercury and grinding rapidly, until it becomes green sand. Then put the green sand into a porcelain bottle that holds one sheng; seal the outside of the bottle tightly with yellow mud, with the mud layer about two fen thick; then cover it tightly and seal it firmly, and place it in a furnace.

Use one jin of charcoal to heat it slowly around the bottle for three days. After three days, refine it with gentle fire and fierce fire: take ten jin of charcoal, divide it into two portions of five jin each, and burn the bottle in succession. If a blue-green flame suddenly emerges, immediately seal and coat it with thin mud; do not let the flame continue to come out. After the charcoal has burned out, let it cool for three days before opening. The mercury will then transform into purple sand, without the slightest loss.

Take this purple sand and one jin of black lead, put them together into a cauldron, and melt them. When the lead has become liquid, then throw the finely ground purple sand into the lead liquid. After stopping the fire, immediately stir-fry quickly, so that the two mix into sand; then grind them finely in the cauldron, cover with salt about two fen thick, and cover tightly again… The original text is incomplete at this point.

Following the previous method, after sealing and fixing the medicinal ingredients, refine them with martial fire for half a day; the spiritual mercury will then separate out, and its amount will not err in the slightest. Thereafter, following the sequence of the Seven Chapters, repeatedly add the materials and refine-transform them, and one can then compound gold and refine it into sand.

In the second reverse refining, when refining the sand described in the chapter “Refining Precious Sand,” the mercury is treated twice: on two occasions add stone sulfur and burn-refine it to form sand; then on two occasions add black lead, extract-refine the sand back into mercury, add gold material, and continue refining-transform it into sand.

In the third reverse refining, when refining Flower Sand, the mercury must be burn-refined three times and then extract-refined back into mercury. In the fourth reverse refining, when refining Wondrous Sand, the mercury must be burn-refined four times and then extract-refined. In the fifth reverse refining, when transforming it into Spiritual Sand, the mercury must be burn-refined five times and then extract-refined. In the sixth reverse refining, when refining Divine Sand, the mercury must also be burn-refined six times and then extract-refined. In the seventh reverse refining, when transforming it into Mysterious True Crimson Cloud Sand, the mercury is still handled according to the previous method: on seven occasions add stone sulfur and burn it into purple sand, then use black lead to extract-refine it, causing it to return to spiritual mercury.

Each burning-refining uses three liang of stone sulfur; for extract-refining back into mercury, one jin of black lead is used. The fire regimen for each round of burning-refining and extract-refining is controlled according to the methods described above. After repeated burning-refining, extract-refining, and transformation, the mercury can absorb the Jing and Qi of water and fire within them; this also accords with the numerical pattern of the Seven Chapters. In this way, the three luminous qi of water, fire, and metal naturally receive Jing and Qi, intermingle with one another, and finally transform into a spiritual entity, reaching the realm of realizing the Real.

Cultivating Gold and Compounding Medicinal Ingredients, Part Three

The soul of Yang Origin, stirred by yin qi, lies hidden and forms the po; this is called Dui Metal. After Dui Metal has formed, it manifests a yin nature and substance while also containing yang Jing. Gradually remove the stagnant qi within it, so that spiritual mercury, through repeated firing and refining, continually gains luster, turns from turbidity to clarity and purity, and ultimately restores the pure yang body. In cultivating this gold and compounding the medicinal ingredients, what is sought is the true and purely refined; one must make its spiritual nature penetrate through the Seven Chapters.

Rock salt receives the Jing and Qi of Kun and Kan and the qi of extreme yin, and condenses into form. Its shape is square and regular, with edges and corners, like flaky stone; its color is white, resembling salt grains, and its taste is milder than salt. It can suppress yang Jing and dissolve the toxicity of fire-stone; its potency is comparable to stone sulfur. Through transformative refining, it can also bring forth metal Jing, remove coarse and stagnant substances, and cause them to rise upward. In the refining process of the Seven Chapters, rock salt is used as an auxiliary substance.

Horse-Tooth Xiao is likewise a stone-like substance condensed from the Jing of extreme yin, produced in Sichuan. It can also suppress yang Jing and dissolve the qi of fire-stone. But when used alone to suppress, its potency is somewhat weak; if used together with rock salt, the force of yin toxicity becomes very strong.

Beiting sand (Beiting sha), a mineral used in Daoist Waidan (external alchemy), receives the Qi of yin stone and contains within it the essence of yang poison; it can dissolve the properties of metals refined from the five minerals. It can both bring things to completion and ruin them, and its power is similar to that of sulfur. It can remove filth and foster yang Qi, with quite pronounced effects. Good-quality Beiting sand is naturally pale red, bright and transparent, and is the superior grade. The Beiting sand used in the Qipian (Seven Chapters) serves as a “messenger” to guide the essence of yang metal and break yin po. When used together with Daming sand, red salt, and sulfur, its refining and transformative effects are most wondrous, as if surpassing natural creation.

Qilin jie is produced in Xihu (the ancient name for the western regions), receives the Qi of Yinghuo (the ancient name for Mars), and is formed by the condensation of the yin Qi of yang stone. It is purple-red and shaped like weathered stone. It can also supplement yang Jing and dispel stagnant yin Qi; when used in refining, it likewise has great efficacy. When true Qilin jie is placed in fire, it exudes a red juice, and the flames do not easily alter its original color; only what shows this behavior is pure, genuine Qilin jie.

Stone gall (Shidan, an ancient mineral drug) is produced in Mount Song and Puzhou. It receives the extraordinary Qi of numinous stone and is shaped like a pipa. Its nature is free-flowing, and its Jing can influence the Eight Minerals and liquefy the five metals; when yang Qi meets it, it purely returns to the Central Palace (a Waidan term for the center or core position). To distinguish true from false, one may smear it on copper or iron and heat it with fire; if its color resembles red gold, it can be used to subdue metals, and its refining and transformative effects are especially marked. One may also fill a copper vessel with water and drop in a little stone gall; if the water turns clear blue-green and remains unchanged after several days, it is genuine.

Chiming sand, though it receives yang Jing and is nourished by yang Qi, resembles amber in appearance and peach gum in texture; its nature is mild, yet it can dissolve yang metal and remove yin stagnation. If refined together with sulfur and red salt, the yang Jing gradually increases in radiance. The Qipian uses it to regulate and govern pure yang Qi, causing it to return to the original source; its efficacy is great.

Red salt (that is, Rong salt) is produced in the Western Rong and is formed by the condensation of the Qi of native water and earth. The local water and earth originally possess a yellow-red Qi, so the salt also takes on this color. Red salt tastes slightly milder than rock salt, but it has the function of refining and subduing yang Jing, enabling it to increase in brightness and reveal its radiance. When used together with sulfur, its refining effect can reunite hun and po, refine po Qi and add luster, and it can also subdue the “Four Yellows” (a Waidan term for four yellow minerals), stabilizing substances so that they ultimately return to Wuji (Wu and Ji, the central earth of the Five Phases). To identify the original nature of red salt, place it in fire: if it flows with red juice and, after congealing, its color becomes even more vivid, then it is red salt of pure and genuine nature.

Sulfur originally comes from the region of southern Persia. It receives the pure yang fire Jing, and its Jing and Qi condense to take form. Its nature is penetrating and flowing, yet it contains a fierce toxicity. Among medicinal substances it is called the “general.” It is said to break pathogenic Qi and restore healthy Qi, transform turbidity into clarity, uphold yang Jing, dissolve yin and transform the hun-soul, and set the original Qi in motion. Its effects depend mainly on refining.

When sulfur meets lead metal, the Jing and Qi of the lead metal scatter and its po-soul Qi declines. Sulfur with a slightly bluish luster has stronger medicinal power; the coagulated yellow kind is next; the reddish-yellow kind is weaker. In compounding and refining the Great Elixir and in fu-refining and digestion, one must select sulfur of strong medicinal power and observe the original Qi in order to distinguish the level of its potency. After that it must still pass through the compounding and refining process described in the seven chapters, causing the substance to transform into metal and generate cinnabar sand; only when the sand gradually becomes clear and bright will its numinous efficacy appear among the Nine Elixirs.

Middle Three Grades: On the Natures of the Five Metals (Fourth)

Each of the five metals receives the yin Jing of the spirits of one of the five directions and combines with the different Qi of mountains, rivers, marshes, and earth, condensing to take form.

Iron receives the yin Jing of the Ding position in the south and takes form; it is hard in substance, and ingesting it damages the lungs.

Copper receives the yin Jing of the Yi position in the east; its Qi condenses and takes form. Its nature is rigid and violent, and ingesting it damages the kidneys.

Silver receives the yin Jing and Qi of the Xin position in the west and takes form. Its nature is rigid and violent, and ingesting it damages the liver.

Lead and tin both receive the Qi of the Ren and Gui positions in the north: tin receives the Jing of the Ren position, while lead receives the Qi of the Gui position. Yin Qi terminates at Gui, so what lead receives is the Jing of extremely abundant yin Qi. Lead and tin are viscous and stagnant in nature, with relatively heavy yin toxicity; ingesting them damages the heart and stomach.

Gold receives the yin po-soul of the Ji position in the central palace. Its nature is hard and rigid, and ingesting it damages the intestines and injures the muscles.

Most of the five metals above carry yin toxicity. Long-term ingestion damages the muscles, corrupts the bones, and shortens lifespan. People of the world wish to seek long life but do not understand the natures of the five metals, and so arbitrarily take lead and stone-derived metals and refine them repeatedly. Lead and stone-derived metals all receive the yin turbid Qi of the spirits of the five directions and condense to take form; they are heavy in substance. Even if they encounter the four “yellow” drugs and can change their form, their inherent yin toxicity will still not become light, numinous, and ascending. Even if they are refined into an elixir, ingesting it will still damage the five viscera—this is their original nature. To act thus is to go against the fundamental principle; wishing to seek immortality by ingesting elixirs, one instead departs farther from the Dao (the Way).

Subduing the Four Yellows (Fifth)

The so-called “Four Yellows” are realgar, orpiment, arsenic, and sulfur. The natures of these substances all belong to Wu Earth of the central palace...

Chapter Six: The Transformations of Yang Metal

Each kind of mineral contains the poison of yang fire, which can damage the metal Qi (vital energy) corresponding to the five viscera. If one can subdue them individually and remove the fire poison, they can change their form and transform the nature of the five metals. If one can control them so that they no longer manifest a fire color, without altering their original primal nature, and make their “sweat” circulate, then the work of transformation can be exerted: copper and silver can be made into yellow gold. If, after the fire color is subdued, they turn white and melt and flow like qingfen (a white refined substance), then all five metals can be transformed into white silver.

The Four Yellows (Sihuang, four sulfur-bearing minerals) each transform the five metals according to their own nature: realgar can transform iron, orpiment can transform tin, arsenic yellow can transform copper, and sulfur can transform silver and turn it into mercury. The Four Yellows also have the power to transform the five metals in reverse: making iron into copper, copper into silver, and silver into gold, transforming layer by layer. Among them, sulfur has the greatest power; it can increase yang Qi and supplement Jing (essence) and Qi, causing turbid matter to return to purity, and is therefore called the general of the seventy-two stones (a class of minerals in alchemy).

When the Four Yellows encounter red salt, dapengsha, and shidan, they are subdued and recover their original nature, no longer changing color; if they encounter rock salt, maya xiao, and shidan, they are also subdued by fire, change their nature, and turn into a white color like qingfen. Therefore, when the Dadong Baojing · Zheng Jun Xiuzhen Neizhuan (The Great Cavern Treasure Scripture: Master Zheng’s Inner Biography of Cultivating Perfection) discusses the secret methods for subduing the seventy-two stones, it says that in every case one should treat them with embryonic substances containing primal Qi: take equal parts of yellow earth, then together with lead powder and shinao (a material used to subdue minerals) make a cauldron vessel and refine them. This is because yellow earth is similar in nature to the Four Yellows, lead can dissolve fire poison, and shinao can subdue the poison of minerals. In the Xiuzhen Zhuan, the methods for transforming various minerals are complex in both wording and principle and cannot be listed one by one; here I only briefly explain the general principle by which the Four Yellows subdue the five metals and set it down in the grade rankings.

Yang metal is formed by receiving the essence of yang Qi. The Five Spirits (five kinds of spirit Qi) exhale talismanic Qi and gather their breath; lodging in form, they become cinnabar (dansha). Cinnabar is externally wrapped by the eight stones and internally contains metal essence. Metal essence first receives Qi at the Jia position and takes form at the Bing position; as if born from the womb, it appears at the Ren position, congeals hun and po and completes at the Geng position, and finally adds radiance and returns to the Wu position. Here the stem-branch positions are used to explain the ascent and descent of Yin-Yang and their transformations, each returning to its own kind.

For example, lead stone and the five metals all receive the yin Qi of the Five Spirits; after their Qi congeals, they also separately form five kinds of bodily form. Their substance is hard and stubborn, their nature heavy and stagnant. Mercury (gong), by contrast, receives the yang spiritual Qi of the Five Spirits; Jing, Qi, and talismanic Qi merge into one body, and therefore it can rise lightly and fly, undergo mysterious transformations, and also resonate with the ten thousand spirits. Mercury originally resides in...

Cinnabar (a common mineral drug in Daoist alchemy) first forms in the south; after transformation it becomes the nature of Ren Water, and water then manifests. Its form takes shape in the north, subdues the hun and po souls, and becomes Geng Metal, which corresponds to the white metal of the west. After refining its form, it turns into the green metal of the Jia position in the east; when Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) increase to the Wuxu position, it becomes the yellow gold of the central palace.

Cinnabar changes its form and substance, returns to the Li position (corresponding to the south and fire), and its efficacy is completed through nine cycles. Yang Metal thereby shifts and transforms, exerting the function of transforming the myriad things; form and substance also transform accordingly, combining into the body of the five directions. Thereafter it receives the transformations of heaven and earth, harmonizes Yin-Yang, transcends the Three Primes (the three primal qi or levels spoken of in Daoism), sheds form and substance, and returns to original truth. This is called Huandan (Returned Elixir).

Chapter Two: Three Sections

Account of Cinnabar in the Lower Three Grades

In refining the great elixir, one must first accumulate yang essence and cause it to transform into purple gold, then continuously circulate and transform it, so that the Five Shen (spirits corresponding to the Five Phases) dissolve form and shed material nature, becoming light, numinous, and penetrating. This process relies on “true water” and firepower, proceeding according to the number nine times nine until the count is exhausted. The true water mentioned here contains a fire nature and refers to black lead and mineral sulfur. Lead belongs to the Ren-Gui Water of the north, while sulfur’s nature is endowed from the Bing-Ding Fire of the south. True lead refers to lead that contains primal Qi, has been smelted from ore, and has not yet undergone repeated extraction and refining.

Chapter Seven: Blending and Harmonizing

Take one jin of true lead and fifteen liang of purple gold refined from Fanxuan Zhen Jiangxia sand. Melt the two materials separately in a pot into liquid, then combine them; after removing from the fire, quickly stir-fry them until they become fine sand. Add five liang of sulfur; place the three materials in a bowl and grind them thoroughly for one day; then transfer them into a cauldron and refine with fire. Perform six cycles in total, and with each cycle add cauldron fire from the yang furnace. For the specific fire timing, see the Fire Timing Chapter.

The great elixir is first transformed by heaven and then nurtured and refined by humans, gradually accumulating the Qi of true yang. Within, the elixir contains water and fire; without, it joins with the Three Luminaries (the light of sun, moon, and stars in Daoism) and the Five Shen. Through combined steaming and refining, it sometimes becomes light and buoyant, sometimes transforms into blazing radiance, until finally the elixir is completed. It then returns to the south, clear and stable, as if sitting at ease in the Purple Micro Hall (a heavenly palace in Daoism). This too is the process by which inner and outer fire timing circulate, resonate with and transform each other, and finally the Great Huandan is refined.

Chapter Eight: Furnace, Cauldron, and Fire Timing

The furnace and cauldron used for refining the great elixir must also be made according to the principles of heaven, earth, humanity, and the Five Shen. The cauldron should use twenty-four liang of medium gold refined seven times, corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms. Of this, sixteen liang are cast into a round cauldron with a capacity of nine ge; another eight liang are made into the cauldron lid. The cauldron body uses sixteen liang of gold, one jin in total; the cauldron’s capacity is nine ge…

The cauldron and its lid together should weigh twenty-four liang: the lid weighs eight liang, corresponding to the eight seasonal nodes, and the cauldron weighs sixteen liang; the two together make twenty-four liang, in accord with the great number twenty-four. Then place the prepared purple-gold sand (a mineral raw material used in alchemy) into the cauldron, seal it tightly and securely so that yang qi cannot leak out, and put the cauldron into the furnace for refining.

The oral instructions for refining are as follows: choose a wushen day within the jiachen decade, take clean earth from the shen direction in the southwest, and first build an earthen altar. The altar is eight cun high and two chi four cun wide. On the altar build a furnace; the furnace is two chi four cun high and divided into three levels, symbolizing the Three Terraces (the three levels of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity). The upper level is nine cun high and is the “Heaven Pass,” symbolizing the nine orifices and the Nine Stars. The middle level is one chi high and is the “Human Pass,” with twelve gates, symbolizing the twelve earthly branches; each gate must be fitted with its door leaves. The lower level is five cun high and is the “Earth Pass,” with eight passages, symbolizing the eight winds. The inner diameter of the furnace must be one chi two cun. Then place the cauldron into the furnace, suspended two cun above, supported below by an earthen platform. The platform is also two cun high, and its size matches the cauldron. Then regulate the fire according to the method and refine.

The oral instructions for the fire regimen are: the use of fire must also follow the transformations of yin-yang and symbolize the twenty-four solar terms and seventy-two seasonal periods. Five days make one hou, three hou make one qi, and two qi make one month; the seventy-two hou correspond to the twenty-four qi, that is, twelve months. When the twelve months complete one cycle and the movement of yin-yang reaches fullness, the elixir is accomplished.

When starting the fire, choose the midnight jiazi hour of a jiazi day in the eleventh month and begin using fire from the Zi gate. For five days use three liang of charcoal; three liang of prepared charcoal must be maintained in the furnace at all times, with no increase or decrease. Then open the Chou gate and kindle the fire for five days, using four liang of charcoal; then open the Yin gate and apply fire for five days, using five liang of charcoal; then open the Mao, Chen, and Si gates, burning for five days each, with charcoal amounts successively six, seven, and eight liang. These six gates are yang gates; the fire and charcoal must be set firmly in place, symbolizing the initial activation of yang qi.

After this comes the Wu gate, burned for five days with nine liang of charcoal; then, in order, open the Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai gates, burning each for five days, with charcoal amounts successively eight, seven, six, and five liang....

Four liang of charcoal are used. For the fire of these six gates, the charcoal must all be laid horizontally, and the arrangement of the charcoal also symbolizes Yin-Yang.

The firing schedule operates according to the twelve shichen (double-hours): fire is started at the Zi Gate and proceeds in sequence to the Hai Gate, passing through the twelve shichen gates to complete one cycle.

Calculating it, the furnace uses a total of seventy-two liang of charcoal, corresponding to the number of the seventy-two hou. In this way it forms one round of “Four Images, twelve hou, sixty days.” Two months make one turn; at that time open it for inspection, add two liang of sulphur, place it together with the purple-gold sand in a bowl, grind it with a jade pestle for half a day, then put it into the ding vessel, close it, and seal it firmly with luting. Thereafter, continue according to the previous method, circulating fire for five days at each gate.

The oral formula for circulating fire is: beginning at the zi hour of a jiazi day, start the fire at the Zi Gate using five liang of charcoal; the Chou Gate uses six liang, the Yin Gate seven liang, the Mao Gate eight liang, the Chen Gate nine liang, and the Si Gate ten liang. At the Wu Gate the amount of charcoal is reduced back to nine liang; the Wei Gate uses eight liang, the Shen Gate seven liang, the You Gate six liang, the Xu Gate five liang, and the Hai Gate four liang.

This is the method of circulating fire for the second turn. Circulating fire for five days at each gate counts as one hou; passing through the twelve gates in sequence makes twelve hou in total, amounting to sixty days. The charcoal totals eighty-four liang, of which the twelve liang added in the furnace correspond to the number of the twelve solar nodes. At this point the furnace fire stops; open it for inspection: the color inside is like brownish earth, with golden stars glittering within it.

Then add another two liang of sulphur, grind it together with the sand once more, and again place it into the ding vessel and seal it firmly. Next, continue to circulate fire according to the previous method, passing in sequence through the twelve gates, with five days at each gate counting as one hou.

This time, again start the fire at the Zi Gate and circulate fire for five days using seven liang of charcoal; in the furnace one must always maintain seven liang of prepared charcoal, without increase or decrease. The Chou Gate is fired for five days using eight liang; then the Yin Gate for five days using nine liang; the Mao Gate for five days using ten liang; the Chen Gate for five days using eleven liang; the Si Gate for five days using twelve liang. At the Wu Gate the amount of charcoal is reduced back to eleven liang; the Wei Gate is fired for five days using ten liang; the Shen Gate for five days is reduced to nine liang; the You Gate for five days is reduced to eight liang; the Xu Gate for five days is reduced to seven liang; finally, the Hai Gate is fired for five days, and the amount of charcoal is reduced to six liang.

The original text breaks off at “the tenth,” and no subsequent text is seen.

Both sets of fire gates must be supplied with charcoal in the prescribed amounts and rotated through in sequence. In the second round, the amount of charcoal in the furnace is increased by twenty-four liang; matching the number of the twenty-four solar terms, after all twelve gates have been completed in turn, a total of sixty days is required. After the furnace has cooled, open it and inspect: if the color of the cinnabar has turned slightly purple, add another two liang of sulfur, take out the cinnabar and grind it so that it is thoroughly mixed with the sulfur, then put it back into the cauldron and seal it firmly. After that, continue by the original method, burning each gate for five days, again beginning at the zi hour of a jiazi day and starting the fire at the Zi gate.

Burn the Zi gate for five days, using nine liang of charcoal; then open the Chou gate and burn it for five days, using ten liang; the Yin gate uses eleven liang, the Mao gate twelve liang, the Chen gate thirteen liang, and the Si gate fourteen liang. When the Wu gate is reached, begin reducing the charcoal gate by gate: the Wu gate uses thirteen liang, the Wei gate twelve liang, the Shen gate eleven liang, the You gate ten liang, the Xu gate nine liang, and the Hai gate eight liang. When the twelve gates have thus been completed in turn, the total charcoal in the furnace is one hundred thirty-two liang.

Next carry out the third round, again increasing the charcoal by twenty-four liang. When the firing regimen is complete and the furnace has cooled, open it and inspect. If the color of the cinnabar gradually changes to a golden purple and its luster sparkles like stars, add another two liang of sulfur. Take out the cinnabar, place it in a bowl, grind and mix it thoroughly with the sulfur, then put it back into the cauldron and seal it tightly. Check all parts of the cauldron, above and below, to ensure there are no gaps or air leaks. Then, still following the method described above, circulate the fire through the gates one by one, again beginning at the zi hour of a jiazi day: first open the Zi gate and burn it for five days, using eleven liang of charcoal; the Chou gate for five days, using twelve liang; the Yin gate thirteen liang; the Mao gate fourteen liang; the Chen gate fifteen liang; the Si gate sixteen liang. After the Wu gate is reached, begin reducing the charcoal gate by gate: burn the Wu gate for five days, using fifteen liang of charcoal.

In the second round of fire operation, begin at the Wei gate, burning for five days at each gate: at the Wei gate use fourteen liang of charcoal; at the Shen gate, thirteen liang; at the You gate, twelve liang; at the Xu gate, eleven liang; at the Hai gate, ten liang. Thereafter start from the Zi gate and conduct the fire through the twelve gates in order until ending at the Hai gate, using a total of 156 liang of charcoal. The charcoal fire burns continuously in the furnace, encircling the cauldron. At the sixtieth count, for the fourth revolution add another twenty-four liang of charcoal.

At this time, purple Qi coils around the outside of the cauldron in the furnace, appearing like mist. After the furnace cools, open the cauldron and one will see the golden-sand-colored substance transformed into a purple-glowing elixir. Red speckles flicker within the elixir, as if about to stir gently. Then take two liang of mineral sulfur, place it in a bowl, grind it carefully for half a day, and then put it back into the cauldron, sealing it tightly. Thereafter, according to the fire regimen, perform one more cycle of martial fire.

Beginning on a jiazi day at the jiazi hour, start the fire operation from the Zi gate, burning five days at each gate: at the Zi gate use seventeen liang of charcoal; at the Chou gate, eighteen liang; at the Yin gate, nineteen liang; at the Mao gate, twenty liang; at the Chen gate, twenty-one liang; at the Si gate, twenty-two liang. At the Wu gate reduce the charcoal, using twenty-one liang. Then at the Wei gate, twenty liang; at the Shen gate, nineteen liang; at the You gate, eighteen liang; at the Xu gate, seventeen liang; and finally at the Hai gate, sixteen liang. In this way, conducting martial fire from the Zi gate through to the end at the Hai gate uses a total of 228 liang of charcoal; for the fifth revolution in the furnace, add another seventy-two liang of charcoal to correspond to the seventy-two pentads (hou).

At this time, purple Qi rises within the cauldron in the furnace, as if reaching the sky; the sun and moon seem to lose their radiance, and mountains and rivers seem to tremble—this is the sign that the elixir has been successfully refined. After stopping the furnace, take out the cauldron and place it on an incense altar to cool, then open it and inspect: the elixir’s color is bright and vivid, as if it lightly rises and escapes material form, like nine tiers of lotus blossoms joined above and below the cauldron lid. Within five days, its form does not change in the slightest. There are still residual ashes inside the cauldron.

A single elixir pill weighing twenty-four liang and purple-gold in color: taking only a sesame-seed-sized portion of it can subdue one jin of mercury and transform the five minerals and five metals entirely into precious treasures. Afterward, the elixir furnace is moved to three cave-residences, where each is guarded and its corresponding function is completed. When the work is fully accomplished, one returns to the true Dao and completely sheds the mortal fetus, like a cicada casting off its shell. Such is the power of the returning elixir (huandan), which is extraordinarily precious.

Chapter Nine: Completion of the Elixir and Return to Perfection

Immortals too have different grades. Although all return to the true Dao, the realms attained through cultivation are not the same. The effects of sevenfold-returned cinnabar (qifan dansha), cinnabar refined seven times, are quite pronounced; after taking it one may also become a high-ranking immortal, but one has not yet realized the true immortal realm. This is because the body still has a substantial, obstructive form and cannot lightly transform and escape; the five spirits (wushen) remain tied to the physical form and still belong to the state of “True Water” (zhenshui).

People in the world therefore smelt and cast it with fire. Once the ninefold-returned elixir (jiuhuan dan) is completed, however, one can drift and transform, completely escaping tangible substance; luminous and perfect, one’s Qi and radiance soar straight to the clouds, and one changes along with whatever external thing one encounters, no longer hindered. Even if ten thousand bellows and leather bags fiercely calcine it, it cannot be melted; its essence-light only becomes brighter. One who takes this elixir can feather-transform and ascend, becoming a supreme Perfected (zhenren).

Thus, by accumulating Jing and Qi one becomes an immortal, and from immortal one becomes Perfected; one then transcends the realm of ultimate yang, coexists enduringly with heaven and earth, rides the clouds and mist, governs the myriad spirits, commands the assembled immortals, and with lofty majesty ascends to the Purple Palace (zi que). For this reason one is called Perfected.

Yet heaven and earth do not begrudge yang essence, nor do they diminish the beings of the world; beings sink and transmute, and only the Perfected can endure forever.