《雲笈七籤》Vol. 69

In the early years of Tianyuan, I traveled from Mount Heng to Huanglong and stayed at an inn. Suddenly, among the mountain rocks and caves, I encountered a realized Daoist who transmitted to me the essential instructions on Ling Sha (spiritual cinnabar). He told me: "I received these oral instructions from Lord Xu Xian. The Lord passed them to Celestial Master Wu, who in turn transmitted them to Master Ding of the same prefecture. The instructions you have now obtained are those handed down from Master Ding."

The fundamental oral instructions on cinnabar are mysterious and profound, truly not easy to fathom all at once. Those who delight in cultivating the Dao and aspire to immortality, if they do not investigate its source, will sink into the mundane world. Since ancient times, the words in immortal scriptures have mostly been hidden and obscure, not openly revealed to the world. I have always felt regret about this, so I now write the "Ling Sha Seven Returns" chapter and the "Golden Elixir Record of Instructions," and provide prefaces and discussions for them.

The treatise says: Cinnabar (vermilion, the mineral used in ancient alchemy) is the ultimate essence of solar Qi and the true body of metal and fire. It connects with the eight minerals and resonates with the twenty-four solar terms. "Dan" (elixir) is the name given to metal when acted upon by fire; "gong" (mercury), then, is what metal's water is called after it has separated away. The elixir receives yang essence until the fire phase is complete; when mercury leaves its original substance, its form becomes incomplete. Therefore, cinnabar is formed from the congealed essence of metal and fire, containing the true Qi of the mysterious, primal, clear and correct. It is the root of returning elixir (a term for refining medicinal elixirs) and the source of the great medicine; when virtue accords with it, the ten thousand things are generated therefrom; if one loses its original substance, it becomes profoundly unfathomable.

The scriptures say: "The yang essence is bright and blazing; obtaining it allows the hun and po souls to return." Therefore, consuming yang essence brings longevity; consuming yin po brings death, becoming a ghost. Cinnabar is the orthodox source of yang Qi, belonging to the jurisdiction of the Red Emperor (the fire deity of the south), situated in the due position of fire in the south.

There are several kinds of cinnabar, and the Qi they receive differs; only three are suitable as superior medicines: the superior is bright cinnabar, the middling is white horse-tooth cinnabar, and the inferior is purple spirit cinnabar. The rest—stream cinnabar and various mixed cinnabar—are all unsuitable as superior medicines or for consumption. If one takes one liang of bright cinnabar, its efficacy equals that of white horse...

Cinnabar is divided into four types; their grades differ, and their efficacies also differ. Four liang of White Horse Tooth Cinnabar is equivalent to one liang of Purple Spirit Cinnabar; eight liang of Stream Cinnabar or Earth Cinnabar is required to equal one liang of Bright Light Cinnabar.

Someone asked: These are all cinnabar, all formed by receiving the sun’s Jing-Qi; why do types such as Stream Cinnabar and Earth Cinnabar vary in strength?

The reply: Bright Light Cinnabar is condensed from the sun’s clear, penetrating, pure, and correct Jing-Qi; it is red, and its radiance is bright, hence it is called Bright Light Cinnabar. White Horse Tooth Cinnabar is condensed from the Taiyin’s calm, limpid, gentle, and yielding Jing-Qi; its color is pure white, its luster brilliant, like mica, hence it is called White Horse Tooth Cinnabar. Purple Spirit Cinnabar is condensed from the numinous Qi of mountains and marshes; its color is red-purple. Stream Cinnabar, Earth Cinnabar, and other miscellaneous cinnabars are condensed from turbid, obstructed, impure Qi; they are mixed and dim, lacking refined radiance, and therefore are not suitable as superior medicine.

For example, one catty of Bright Light Cinnabar, after subduing refinement, yields fourteen liang; after fire-subduing and bellows smelting, it yields seven liang of supreme treasure. One catty of White Horse Tooth Cinnabar, after subduing refinement, yields twelve liang; after fire-subduing and bellows smelting, it yields six liang of supreme treasure. One catty of Purple Spirit Cinnabar, after subduing refinement, yields ten liang; after fire-subduing and bellows smelting, it yields six liang of supreme treasure. One catty of miscellaneous cinnabar such as Stream Cinnabar and Earth Cinnabar, after subduing refinement, yields only six or seven liang; after fire-subduing and bellows smelting, it yields only one or two liang of supreme treasure. From this it can be known that the Qi received by Stream Cinnabar and Earth Cinnabar is not clear but stagnant, turbid, and mixed. People of high intelligence and worth should first select the cinnabar, and then carefully regulate the fire regimen and observe the transformations, so as to refine what is called the “Seven Returns and Seven Reversions.”

Among metals and minerals, there is none more numinous, more sagely, or more luminous than cinnabar. Carrying one liang on one’s person can still ward off evil demons; how much more so when, after subduing refinement, it is ingested into the five viscera?

“Seven Returns and Seven Reversions” are different names but in fact refer to one thing: “return” means cinnabar transforming into gold; “reversion” means gold reverting to cinnabar. The scriptures say: “Return to my homeland, return to my constant state; ingest it, and in broad daylight you may have audience with the Jade Emperor.” Someone also asked: “Does the so-called Seven Returns mean that cinnabar belongs to Fire, and after being refined by fire it transforms into gold, and therefore is figuratively called ‘seven returns’?” The discussant replied: In the number of Fire, seven is the completion number; refining it seven times is meant to correspond to the culminating stage of the yang nine number. The so-called seven transformations mean refining cinnabar to the fire-subdued state.

After silver is refined, it is again transformed into sand; through subduing fire and refining with bellows, it is made into yellow-flower silver—this is the second return. This yellow-flower silver is again transformed into sand; through subduing fire and refining with bellows, it is made into blue-gold sand—this is the third return. The blue gold is again transformed into sand; through subduing fire and refining with bellows, it is made into yellow gold—this is the fourth return. The yellow gold is again transformed into red sand; through subduing fire and refining with bellows, it is made into red gold—this is the fifth return. The red gold is again transformed into sand; through subduing fire and refining with bellows, it is made into crimson gold—this is the sixth return. The crimson gold is again transformed into sand; through subduing fire and refining with bellows, it is made into purple gold—this is the seventh return. Purple gold is gold refined from numinous sand; it contains abundant yang Jing (essence) and true primordial Qi (vital energy). This purple gold is again transformed into sand and fired according to the fire regimen of one full cycle, until it is thoroughly penetrated within and without and its radiance shines through; thus the Purple Gold Return Elixir is completed.

Those who take this elixir are said to be able to unite body and spirit and rise lightly into the air. People commonly mistake mineral sulfur for the “essence of the sun” and mix it with mercury to refine through seven returns. In fact, sulfur bears the Qi of isolated yang and one-sided mineral nature, and mercury also deviates from the Qi of primal harmony; if both are biased, how can they be refined into a pure treasure? I have personally seen many people in the world refining elixirs, yet none has ever succeeded—probably because mistaken teachings have been passed down from generation to generation and have spread to later ages. I am deeply grieved by this.

For example, it is said that taking one liang of the fire-subdued cinnabar of the first return eliminates all diseases; taking two liang makes the beard and hair black; taking three liang makes the complexion rosy and lustrous; taking four liang prolongs life and increases longevity. The cinnabar of the second return, taken one liang, harmonizes the body and clarifies the spirit, restoring youth. The cinnabar of the third return, taken one liang, makes one empty, still, and detached, forgetting worldly feelings and bringing mind and spirit into accord with the ultimate essence. The cinnabar of the fourth return, taken one liang, makes the spirit bright and clear, penetrating within and without. The cinnabar of the fifth return, taken one liang, makes the body luminous, its light filling a room, so that water cannot drown one and fire cannot burn one. The cinnabar of the sixth return, taken one liang, makes one unaffected by the transformations of creation, so that even ghosts and spirits cannot detect one. The cinnabar of the seventh return, taken one liang, lets one transcend and ascend beyond the nine heavens, roaming freely between heaven and earth. If one then takes the nine elixirs, one may go to the Golden Portal and be enrolled among the ranks of the Perfected.

From this it can be known that the effects of cinnabar are manifestly visible. Since ancient times, lofty immortals have sometimes expounded its meaning and sometimes concealed their traces, all using cryptic words to deeply conceal its intent; those who delight in Daoist arts…

Such people yearn single-mindedly for ascent to immortality, yet have not investigated the root of the cultivation Dao. I consider that I have grasped its profound meaning, and I have often wished to use it to aid the world and help others, so that the grace of the great Dao may spread to all and everyone may together return to the mysterious and wondrous realm.

Thereupon I wrote seven sections of Ling Sha (Numinous Cinnabar) and two chapters of the Golden Elixir, and expounded the sequence of fire phases in alchemical refining and the categories, quantities, and grades of medicinal substances. I have set these out in the later chapters and transmit them to worthy and enlightened people. When sincere gentlemen obtain them, they should treasure and preserve them, and they may enjoy boundless blessings and longevity. If they are carelessly divulged, disaster will reach one’s nine generations of ancestors. Do not take these words as empty and thereby slight the great Dao. Be sure to be cautious; do not copy them at will. If you wish to apply them, carefully distinguish the wise from the foolish before deciding to transmit them.

First Section: Returning Cinnabar

The Benjing (Original Scripture) says: Cinnabar is the sovereign of the ten thousand spirits, the root of creation, and the foundation of divine clarity. It dwells in the realm of clear mystery and governs all spirits. Through refining and transmutation, it can shed its original form; after stillness and stabilization, it can congeal into form. Because it can transform, it is called the “Azure Dragon”; if its form is like a flying bird soaring, it is also called the “Vermilion Bird.”

Superior-grade cinnabar is produced in the stone caves of the Chen and Jin regions and has several colors. Medium-grade is produced in the Jiao and Gui regions and also has different varieties. Inferior-grade is produced in the Heng and Shao regions and is likewise divided into several kinds. The varieties of cinnabar differ from place to place because the Qi they receive differs in purity and turbidity; their forms and substances vary, and the true and false are not the same. When cinnabar receives upright Qi and resonates with metals and stones, after ingestion it can penetrate the mysterious principle and accord with the true Dao, making one a superior immortal. If it has received biased and perverse Qi, ingesting it can still bring longevity and keep one in the human world.

Among the superior grades, “Guangming Cinnabar” (Bright Cinnabar) is produced among the mountains and stones of Chen and Jin, growing on beds of white tooth-like stone. Usually twelve pieces form one cluster, colored like an unopened red lotus and bright as sunlight. Some stone beds consist of nine, seven, five, three, or one piece. Those formed of twelve or nine pieces are the most numinous; those of seven or five pieces are next.

At the center of each stone bed is a large pearl weighing more than ten liang, called the “Lord”; around it are smaller cinnabar pearls weighing eight or nine liang, some below six or seven liang, called “ministers,” encircling the center as if paying court. Around the stone bed of the large pearl there are often one or two dou of miscellaneous cinnabar embracing the vermilion stone bed and jade seat. Among the miscellaneous cinnabar outside the stone bed, if one selects cinnabar shaped like a lotus-flower head that still shines through when placed in red silk at night, it also belongs to the superior grade.

There is another kind of white cinnabar, shaped like a horse’s tooth and bearing a white floating luster, called “White Horse-Tooth Cinnabar,” which also belongs to the superior grade. There is also a cinnabar like mica flakes with a white luster...

The white horse-tooth cinnabar and similar varieties belong to the middle grade. It is round and elongated, like a bamboo shoot, and when formed is red-purple.

Among purple spirit cinnabar (a kind of cinnabar), those that are white, flaky, angular, and give off a blue-green luster are the upper grade; purple spirit cinnabar that grows in interlacing fashion like cassia trees and is produced in the Gui region—whether naturally grown in the ore bed or obtained by breaking it out of rock—is all lower grade.

If obtained from rock and shaped like a hibiscus flower head, with bright luster, it is also ranked as upper grade. Granular pieces, three or four together weighing one jin, translucent and shining within, belong to the middle grade; those in fragmented form, bright and transparent, belong to the lower grade. The purple cinnabar produced around Mount Heng and Shaozhou is mostly obtained by breaking it out of rock; it shows a red glow and also belongs to the lower grade.

If stream cinnabar forms into granules and is translucent within, after subduing and refining (refining cinnabar through fire regimen and similar methods) and then ingesting it, it can also bring about the effect of long life and remaining in the world, but it still cannot be considered an upper immortal. Earth cinnabar grows in earthen cavities, while stream cinnabar is nourished in stream water; because they are mixed with earth and stone, they are not suitable to be listed among superior medicines or used as an ingested medicinal substance.

Cinnabar that grows naturally in the ore bed is the highest grade of cinnabar. If one can obtain the “Sovereign Lord Cinnabar” (the most precious kind of cinnabar in the ore) from the center of the ore bed, take one piece, subdue and refine it, and ingest it, so that the medicinal power enters the five viscera, its efficacy will manifest: one’s name is recorded on the upper elixir terrace, upright qi endures, and one transcends worldly burdens. If one continues to take it through the seven returns and nine reversions (the repeated refining and nourishing stages in elixir methods), one will naturally refine and transform the bodily hun-po, eliminate corpse qi, gladden the spirit, purify the body, and completely dissolve yin qi; ultimately the body becomes light and ascends, becoming a high perfected flying immortal.

Therefore, the true essence of yang qi descends and congeals, forming a full and rounded luster, without slanting or heterodox impurities. Any cinnabar that has been subdued and refined, is shaped like a hibiscus flower head, and is rounded, glowing, and translucent is a medicine taken by upper-grade immortals. What the classics call “cinnabar” is natural returning elixir; worldly people do not understand its root.

The jade-seat cinnabar (a form found in cinnabar ore beds) is known to everyone; the golden seat and heavenly seat, however, belong to the Supreme Purple Dragon Mysterious Flower Elixir and are not something ordinary worldly people can see. Jade-seat cinnabar is what people in the ordinary world who aspire to cultivate can become immortal by means of, after accumulating meritorious practice and cultivating and ingesting it. Golden-seat cinnabar requires a person with immortal bones from former lives, who is pure and still, empty of mind, and refines the spirit while dwelling hidden among mountain crags; only then will immortals gather and eat it, and thereafter one feathered-transforms and ascends, flying up to the distant pure realm. Heavenly-seat cinnabar is gathered and eaten by heavenly immortals and true officials in heaven; it is not a medicine used by lower immortals.

After jade-seat cinnabar absorbs the clear essence of yang spirit for six thousand years, it transforms into the golden seat. Within the Yellow Hall of the golden seat there are...

The five pieces grow layer by layer; each piece has four sides, and on the four sides are altogether forty-five small beads encircling the golden seat. After sixteen thousand years, they transform into the Heavenly Seat. The Heavenly Seat is also called “Zuobi.” Within it nine pieces grow layer by layer; on the four sides are altogether seventy-two pieces encircling and enclosing it.

It floats in the vast Taixu (the vast void) and is constantly guarded by the deity Taiyi. On the day of Shangyuan (Upper Prime), Zhen officials (celestial divine officials) descend to the lower world to gather from this mountain; the mountain suddenly emits a great radiance, illuminating the entire mountain as if by firelight. The Zhen officials collect the Heavenly Seat Sand within it. People of the world cannot obtain or gather it.

Therefore, the essence of cinnabar is deeply stored and not revealed. Wise and enlightened people who are devoted to cultivation and hope to become light-bodied and fly aloft must carefully distinguish the quality of medicinal substances; only then can they adjust the fire timing and harmonize Yin-Yang, so that the medicine, through refining, naturally accords with the High Perfected (high-ranking Zhenren and immortal Perfected).

Methods of Yin-Yang Subjugation and Fire Timing for Flying and Settling

The scripture says: “Yang Jing is fire; Yin Jing is water.” Yin and Yang subdue each other, and water and fire contend. From this one knows that ice and charcoal cannot occupy the same place; the victory or defeat of things ultimately always reaches a fixed conclusion.

Cinnabar belongs to Yang Jing, so it needs to be subdued with Yin-natured medicines. The so-called Yin subjugation refers to medicines such as water, rock salt, horse-tooth saltpeter, Huangying, and Huashi.

For example, for one jin of Yuzuo Guangming sand, use six liang of rock salt and two liang each of Huangying and Huashi to refine it. For one jin of Guangming sand grown outside the seat, use four liang each of rock salt and horse-tooth saltpeter, and one liang of Huangying and Huashi. For one jin of White Horse-Tooth sand, use two liang each of rock salt and horse-tooth saltpeter, and three fen each of Huangying and Huashi. For one jin of Purple Spirit sand, use two liang each of rock salt and horse-tooth saltpeter, and three fen each of Huangying and Huashi. For stream-earth and other miscellaneous sands, whose medicinal power is weaker, for each jin one may use two liang each of rock salt and horse-tooth saltpeter to refine them.

Grind the rock salt and the Huangying and Huashi to be used into a fine powder, place them in a pot, and warm them over gentle fire (a weaker fire) for one day so that the medicines melt into liquid; afterward add horse-tooth saltpeter and heat further until it turns red. First melt the sand and salt into liquid, then add the medicines prepared above.

The larger pieces of Guangming sand should first be broken up to the size of river beans, then placed in an earthen cauldron (a vessel made of clay). First put in rock salt, then horse-tooth saltpeter, add water, and boil with gentle and martial fire (stronger fire) day and night without interruption for thirty days; the fire must not be broken. When the time is complete, wash and clarify, remove the sand, and place it in a ding; then perform flying and settling (a refining method that uses fire timing to make the medicine rise and settle) according to Yin-Yang fire timing. The ding’s capacity can hold one sheng…

There are five kinds of cauldron: the first is the gold cauldron, the second the silver cauldron, the third the copper cauldron, the fourth the iron cauldron, and the fifth the upper cauldron. The earth cauldron refers to a cauldron used to support and hold objects. The cinnabar is placed in the cauldron, and feifu (flying and settling) is carried out according to Yin-Yang fire timing—repeatedly refining the medicine with different fire methods so that it transforms and settles.

The feifu method says: five days make one hou, and three hou make one qi; using eight qi and twenty-four hou, a total of one hundred twenty days, the cinnabar settles and becomes fixed, and the fire timing is complete. The feifu method for each hou is as follows: of the five days, four use the fire of the Kan trigram and one uses the fire of the Li trigram. The Kan trigram means boiling with water for four days; the Li trigram means fly-refining with yang fire for one day.

At the very beginning, when using yang fire, place seven liang of charcoal beneath the cauldron. The charcoal must be thoroughly burned through, and its amount must not be increased or decreased. Each time a turn is completed, add one liang of charcoal for fly-refining. After the increase has reached the fifth turn, black qi and mercury frost suddenly fly out. Collect the mercury frost and place it with half a qian of drummed rock salt (processed rock salt) in a bowl; grind it gently with a jade pestle until the mercury is completely incorporated. Then, following the previous method, put the medicine back into the cauldron and continue feifu according to the Kan and Li fire timing.

After the twelfth turn, add two liang of charcoal per turn, and make half a fen of drummed rock salt into powder and spread it over the surface of the medicine. About two liang of mercury frost fly out in the cauldron; collect this layer of frost. The frost appears light, floating, and lustrous, and the color of the medicine in the cauldron gradually turns yellow-purple. Collect the frost and mercury, grind them thoroughly in a bowl with one qian of rock salt, then put them back into the cauldron and continue feifu according to the previous fire timing.

When settling-refinement reaches the eighteenth turn, increase the charcoal by three liang; the color of the medicine is about to turn red. After the twentieth turn, add four liang of charcoal per turn. At this time the mercury frost that flies out is only less than half a liang; the frost is hard, like flakes of blue-gold, yellow-white and lustrous. Grind it with rock salt in a bowl, then put it back into the cauldron for feifu. At the twenty-fourth turn, the cinnabar’s fire timing is sufficient, and the settling fire is complete. At this point the cinnabar is red and remarkably bright.

After the cinnabar has been fire-settled, it must still be wrapped in salt flowers and then tightly sealed with yellow earth mud. It is placed in a yang furnace and “white-burned” with martial fire for thirty days. After removal, the cinnabar is put into a light bamboo tube, sealed well, and buried deep in a cold spring for thirty days. Then it is washed and ground: the light floating portion is separated out for ingestion, while the heavy portion is drum-refined into golden juice.

After the upper-grade bright cinnabar has been fire-settled, its color is crimson red; when it is washed and allowed to settle, at the bottom can be seen golden-star cinnabar, six …

After two kinds of cinnabar are calcined, the first turns bright red; after washing and clarifying, beneath it there are four liang of gold-star sand. The second is pale purplish-red; after washing and clarifying, beneath it there are also three liang of gold-star sand. There is another kind of sand whose color resembles mixed stream soil; after calcination, even if it turns red, it has no luster, and beneath it there is no gold-star sand.

The high immortals of antiquity all refined and ingested true cinnabar, and by this cultivated the Great Dao. The highest grade, Luminous Cinnabar, is true cinnabar. Those who understand the difference should pay attention to gathering its essence, for only then can it be used to refine the Returned Elixir (huandan).

After cinnabar has undergone fire-subduing (fuhuo), it is taken out from a cold spring and can then be melted, smelted, and cast so that the true treasure appears. The method of melting, smelting, and casting is this: for every one liang of fire-subdued cinnabar, add half a liang of salt flowers. First place the salt flowers at the bottom of the pot, then put the subdued cinnabar into the pot. When both pot and sand are heated red-hot, begin blowing the bellows for one thousand strokes. After that, a golden fluid will flow out; the book calls it “white silver.” On its surface hazy yellow patterns will also appear, moist, bright, and most lovely. This is called the treasure of supreme truth between Heaven and Earth.

If one wishes to make it into an elixir for ingestion, take one liang, divide it into three hundred sixty pills, and form them with jujube flesh. Take one pill each day. Before taking this cinnabar, one must fast and purify for seven days. Then, at dawn, facing east, devoutly invoke the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), Perfected Lord Ziwei, Perfected Man Taiyi, the former masters, the immortal officials, and the spirits of water and fire, praying that after taking this Numinous Cinnabar Elixir, the five viscera may be at peace, and body and spirit long preserved intact, in accord with supreme truth. After reciting the incantation, bow in worship seven times, then take the medicine.

After taking cinnabar, do not eat foods with foul odors or that have been stored for a long time, and do not eat meats of the raw-blood kind; especially, one must not look at things associated with birth, death, and impurity. The scriptures say: “Yang essence loves purity; the yin corpse loves defilement.” Therefore one should constantly keep the mind empty, still, and peaceful, wash the body clean, and thereby nourish the true Qi of the yang spirit. In this way the mind and spirit become harmonious and the body pure, and ultimately one may hope to become an immortal.

Part Two: The Second Return, Precious Sand

The Original Scripture (Benjing) says: Only by refining the true can one unite with the hidden wonder; only by refining the wondrous can one unite with the supremely numinous; only by refining the numinous can one unite with the supreme spirit. When one reaches the realm of supreme spirit, one can unite with the supreme Dao. United with the Dao, one can ascend to Jade Clarity and become a high immortal.

Refining cinnabar to obtain the treasure is the medicine of supreme truth; transforming the treasure and refining it into sand is a numinous elixir capable of swift accomplishment.

The Formula for Transforming Treasure into Elixir says: take four liang of silver from cinnabar (vermilion) and forge it into a small pot; place it in a one-sheng oil-ceramic bottle. The treasure pot should be the size of the bottle’s bottom.

First take one liang of Beiting sand, one liang of rock salt, and one fen of qilixie (dragon’s blood resin). Mix the three ingredients and grind them fine, blend them with bitter wine (vinegar) into a paste, smear it around the treasure pot, and let it dry. Then mix yellow earth into mud and wrap the treasure pot in it, with the mud layer one cun and two fen thick. Next heat it in a chaff fire for twenty-one days, then burn it with a strong white-charcoal fire for three days. Remove the mud layer, take out the treasure pot, and place it in the bottle.

Put true mercury (mercury believed to be extracted from natural cinnabar) into the bottle. One must use true mercury drawn from cinnabar of the same original color; it is said that things of the same kind resonate with its qi, causing cinnabar to be continuously generated. This “mother-child” refining method was kept secret and not transmitted in the true scriptures of the high immortals, for fear that ordinary people would learn of it.

After the true mercury is placed in the bottle, immediately add five ge of water, and frequently replenish the water so that the amount in the bottle always remains five ge, neither more nor less. Use gentle fire (weaker fire) to nourish and refine it for seven days; afterward seal the bottle mouth tightly, then use fierce fire (stronger fire) to force-refine it for three days. At this point, red-yellow cinnabar will surge onto the treasure pot. Remove this cinnabar, then add mercury according to the previous method, keeping exactly eight liang of mercury in the bottle at all times, without increase or decrease; continue the earlier sequence of gentle-fire and fierce-fire nourishing and force-refining until cinnabar forms and is then removed.

It is said that for every four liang of treasure material, one jin of cinnabar can be collected. When the treasure material has dried out, become scorched and brittle, and its essence is exhausted and wholly transformed into cinnabar, only two liang of blue-black ash per portion remains in the bottle. The cinnabar produced is, following the method in the preceding section, put into a medicinal preparation and boiled for thirty days; afterward it is washed and taken out, placed in a ding cauldron, and refined with yang fire (an alchemical term denoting the appropriate firing regimen) to make it fly and be subdued. Five days count as one firing period; when a full hundred days are completed, the cinnabar is considered fire-subdued. The firing regimen and the amount of charcoal to add all follow the preceding section; every five days constitutes one firing period. After the cinnabar has been fire-subdued, it need not be wrapped in salt and calcined again.

The method of “melting and blowing” (ronggu) also follows the method in the preceding section, using salt as a flux to make the molten metal flow. This one jin of treasure cinnabar, after refinement, yields fifteen liang of fire-subdued substance; after further melting and blowing, it is said to yield thirteen liang of yellow-flower silver. Its color is bright yellow, its surface luster emerges, its texture is moist and glossy, and it is yellow inside and out; hence it is called “yellow-flower silver.”

If one wishes to ingest this cinnabar, or place it in a cold spring to draw out its fire…

Process the ingredients by the “Du Han Quan” (Poison-Cold Spring) method: bury them in earth for thirty days; after removing them, wash and grind them, then make pills with jujube flesh. Each liang of medicinal powder makes three hundred and sixty pills. Every morning, face east and sincerely take one pill. After taking this Baosha Dan (Precious Sand Elixir, a refined elixir), thoughts naturally become calm, Shen and Qi become clear, turbid Qi cannot intrude, and the mind and will are not disturbed; one then gradually ascends to the realm of immortals.

Chapter on the Third Return: Yingsha

The original scripture says: with long accumulation and cultivation, Ying Qi naturally joins with true Jing; when true Jing is transformed, the divine elixir can be refined. Therefore it is called “refining the true to bring forth Hua”: true Hua, the essence transformed from true Jing, communicates and responds with it, and transforms into Golden Ying Xuansha (a kind of sand medicine in elixir methods).

The method for refining the white gold in Baosha into Yingsha is as follows: take four liang of yellow-flower silver from Baosha (a name for an alchemical material here) and beat it into a pot-shaped vessel, comparable in size to the bottom of the bottle described in the previous chapter. Take one liang each of Puzhou stone gall, rock salt, and naosha (sal ammoniac); grind the three together with bitter wine (vinegar) into a paste, and smear it on the four sides of the vessel until the paste is used up. When it is dry, make a mud ball of yellow clay and wrap the vessel in it, then heat it in chaff fire for two sevens (fourteen) days. After that, remove the yellow clay and heat it with strong white charcoal fire for seven days.

Take out the vessel and, following the method in the previous chapter, place it in a Tongyou bottle (oil-permeating bottle); add four liang of true mercury (mercury used in alchemy) and five ge of clear water, and warm-nourish it with gentle fire for fourteen days. Then add another four liang of mercury and continue warm-nourishing with gentle fire for seven days. When the medicinal substance in the vessel is dry and congealed, seal it tightly, then force-refine it with fierce fire for one day. The sand medicine will surge up above the precious pot, appearing red-yellow and brightly lustrous.

After collecting the sand medicine, continue adding mercury; when the accumulated sand medicine reaches one jin, the amount is sufficient. Then place the sand medicine into a ding (cauldron) and, according to the fire regimen described in the previous chapter, perform Feifu (sublimation and condensation by heating), with every five days constituting one turn. In each turn, the first two days use the Kan trigram method, that is, boiling in water; the last three days use the Li trigram method, that is, refining by sublimation with yang fire. When first using yang fire, use seven liang of charcoal; after each turn is completed, increase the amount of charcoal by two liang.

After seven turns, mercury frost (a frost-like substance refined from mercury) will fly out, about two liang, yellow with a reddish tinge and flashing with purple light, adhering beneath the lid of the ding. Collect the frost into a bowl, take one qian of Puzhou stone gall, mix it with the sand medicine using bitter wine, then use a jade pestle to grind it gently and thoroughly so that they blend together.

Place the medicine into the cauldron and let it undergo eighteen successive stages of flying refinement and subduing refinement within the cauldron. After a full ninety days, take out the Yingsha (flower-sand) contained in it.

After the subduing fire (fuhuo) is completed, one must ensure that the medicine leaves no residue whatsoever; only then may it be melted and cast. The method is still as stated in the preceding chapter: form flowers from salt, then activate them with a medicinal guide, and the precious liquid will flow down. This liquid is clear and bright, lustrous and moist; it is called Blue Gold (Qingjin). Blue Gold is the result of Yang Jing (essence) gradually becoming manifest: it proceeds from Dui and appears in Zhen, while Kun Qi returns to the position of Li. This describes the process by which Yang Jing transforms and circulates, passing through each stage until it reaches its endpoint.

If one wishes to ingest this Yingsha, for each liang of Yingsha first combine half a liang of emblic myrobalan and two liang of raw licorice; decoct them to obtain a juice, place the mixture in a silver vessel, and cook it for two-seven days, that is, fourteen days. Then clarify the medicinal liquid, remove the Yingsha, place it in a clean, dry green bamboo tube, and bury it deep in the earth for thirty days. After taking it out, mix it evenly with jujube flesh and make it into pills; divide each liang of Yingsha into three hundred and sixty pills. Every morning at dawn, face east, bow, and report to the supreme sage immortal officials of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing); then take this Ying Elixir. According to the scripture, after taking it one naturally is no longer troubled by desires, does not eat meat, fish, or blood foods, sits upright in a clean quiet chamber, with spirit and Qi peaceful and the body light and vigorous, sufficient to become a companion of the Perfected.

The Fourth Return: Wondrous Sand

The scripture says: The Qian body (symbolizing Yang) is bright like the sun; the Li Jing (the essence and Qi represented by the Li trigram) gradually becomes manifest; the Gen snow (the Yin Qi represented by the Gen trigram) is light and distinct, and the Yin Po disperses. The essence-liquid of Blue Gold responds to mercury, and thus sand is generated; sand and Ying Qi depend on one another and gather together, becoming Wondrous Sand; therefore it is called Wondrous Transformed Sand.

The method for refining Wondrous Transformed Sand is as follows: take four liang of Blue Gold and hammer it anew into the shape of a pot. Take half a liang of red salt, half a liang of mineral sulfur, half a liang of Dapeng sand, one liang of Beiting sand, and one liang of Puzhou stone gall—five medicines in all—grind them with bitter wine (the ancient term for an acidic liquid such as vinegar) into a paste, and smear it on the four sides of the Blue Gold pot. Bake it over a charcoal fire, gradually increasing the heat, until the medicinal paste is completely dry.

Afterward, following the method in the preceding chapter, wrap it in yellow mud formed into a ball, then burn it in a chaff fire for fourteen days; next remove the yellow mud and heat it fiercely with white charcoal for seven days. After the firing is complete, take out the pot, place it in a bottle according to the preceding method, add four liang of mercury and five ge of clear water—the amounts must not be increased or decreased—and warm-cultivate it over fire for fourteen days. Then add another four liang of mercury and continue warming it for seven days. When it has dried and solidified, seal it firmly with mud and force-refine it with fierce fire for one day; Wondrous Sand will then emerge, about four liang. After collecting it, add another four liang of mercury and, still following the previous text, warm-cultivate it with gentle fire so that it continues to generate sand.

Take one full jin of the collected sand and place it in the cauldron. Master the fire regimen according to the method described in the preceding chapter, and carry out flying refining and subdued refining. Every five days counts as one turn; within this, two days employ the fire of the Kan trigram, that is, three days of boiling and refining with water; when employing the fire of the Li trigram, use yang fire for flying refining. Both the flying and subdued fire regimens follow the method in the Ying Sha Chapter, and the amount of charcoal should be increased or decreased as needed.

After sixteen fire phases, totaling eighty days, the fire-subduing of the wondrous sand is complete, and it displays a luster like a golden star, crystalline and bright, with dazzling red light. This is an extremely pure and wondrous cinnabar. If one wishes to melt and cast it, one must still use salt flower as a medium to guide the golden liquid to flow out, and then it can be refined into yellow gold. After the gold congeals, it is yellow, pure white and bright, with a dazzling luster.

It has already reached the Kun form (a Yin-natured form), and the Li essence (Yang essence) also gradually appears. Therefore the scripture says: “Return from Yin to Yang, return from turbidity to clarity.” This is the teaching that yang qi, after transformational refining, unites with the true wondrous Dao and thereby naturally attains the immortal realm.

If it is to be ingested, for each liang of cinnabar one must first prepare half a liang of emblic myrobalan, one liang of raw licorice, and one liang of purple fluorite; decoct them in a precious vessel to obtain the medicinal juice, then boil and refine the cinnabar for fourteen days. After that, place it in a green tube made of light bamboo and bury it beside a cold spring for thirty days. After taking it out, blend it with jujube flesh into pills; divide each liang into three hundred sixty pills. Each morning at dawn, face east and take one pill. The scripture says that after taking this wondrous sand, one will gradually gain penetrating thought, the qi of turbidity and stagnation will disperse, body and mind will become empty, still, clear, and bright, one will unite with the Dao of supreme truth, naturally ascend to the Jade Capital (the Daoist wonderland), and gain audience at the Golden Palace (the celestial palace). If Dao aspirants can obtain the secret formula of Embracing the Origin and Refining the True, then the matter of becoming immortal is not far away.

Chapter Five: Refining Spirit Sand

The Original Scripture says: Yang De broadly bestows its efficacy, and light follows and moves, causing the primordial Jing to circulate. The primordial Jing flows, spreads, and transforms, becoming Ying Sand; Ying Sand then transforms into wondrous sand; the wondrous qi, through transformational refining, can generate the ten thousand spirits. Thus one may know that the Dao of the mysterious and wondrous and of the mysterious sage undergoes layer upon layer of transformation, continually increasing light, and resonates with true essence, spontaneously producing numinous and wondrous changes.

The so-called Spirit Sand is the gold within the previously refined wondrous sand, which then responds to mercury and generates sand. It glows with red light, brilliant like a golden star, and has a clear, numinous crimson color; therefore it is called “Spirit Sand.”

The method for refining Spirit Sand is: take eight liang of the gold from the sand and forge it into a round cauldron capable of holding four ge; then take two liang of gold to make the cauldron lid. First place into the cauldron stone…

After sulfur, red salt, Beiting Dapeng, and other medicinal ingredients are mixed, they are ground with bitter wine (vinegar) into a paste and smeared on the inside and outside of the cauldron and its lid; the body of the cauldron is then wrapped with yellow earth and mud. Next, it is heated over a gentle fire for a long time, and the fire is gradually intensified; after cooling, the cauldron body is again sealed and wrapped with mud and placed in the furnace.

Then true mercury (zhen gong, an alchemical term referring to mercury) is placed in the golden cauldron, water is added, and it is heated as described in the text. After some time, more true mercury is added and heating continues; once the mouth of the cauldron is sealed, the fire is intensified, and the text says that red “Lingsha (numinous sand)” will form inside the cauldron. After the Lingsha is removed, more true mercury is added, and heating and collection of the sandy product are repeated until the total reaches the amount stated in the text. The author says that the metal in the golden cauldron will lose its luster and become brittle through this process, while its original essence combines with the mercury and transforms into Lingsha.

The text also explains that “true mercury” should be obtained from different kinds of cinnabar: whichever kind of cinnabar is used as the medicinal starter (yaotou), the mercury from it is taken for continued refining; if mercury obtained from stream-earth cinnabar is used, it is called the “miscellaneous category” (zalei). The final sentence of the original is incomplete, and the meaning breaks off at “their qi and color ultimately do not match...”

This passage records the practice in ancient Waidan (external alchemy) of refining Lingsha with mercury and cinnabar. The cauldron, sealing mud, gentle fire, and fierce fire are all terms for alchemical apparatus and fire regimen; because it involves mercury and heating operations, it is severely toxic and dangerous, and the above content is only for the interpretation of ancient texts.

One catty of bright-light cinnabar (guangming sha), after mercury is extracted, yields fourteen liang, white and bright in color. This cinnabar has a free-flowing texture and is top-grade bright-light cinnabar; the “stone Qi” it contains amounts to only two liang. One catty of white horse-tooth cinnabar (baima ya sha), after mercury extraction, yields twelve liang and contains four liang of stone Qi; one catty of purple spirit cinnabar (ziling sha) yields ten liang after extraction and contains six liang of stone Qi; one catty of top-color translucent cinnabar (shangse tongming sha) yields only seven liang of mercury after extraction and contains nine liang of stone Qi.

“Stone Qi” refers to the Qi-nature of the empty voids within firestone. After the mercury is drawn out, the remaining stone embryo is only about one liang of bluish-white ash. The earlier Chapter on Precious Sand (Baosha pian) briefly discussed the secret method for true mercury (zhen gong), but did not explain it in detail. The mercury-extraction procedure described here belongs to the superior method spoken of in the preceding chapter of the Golden Elixir (Jindan).

From the golden cauldron, thirty liang of numinous cinnabar (ling sha) are extracted. When the quantity is sufficient, one no longer uses the yin-boiling method; instead, as described in the preceding section, one carries out flying and subduing (feifu) according to a Yin-Yang fire regimen. Five days make one hou (firing period): one day uses the fire of the Kan trigram, which belongs to water boiling; the other four days use the fire of the Li trigram, namely yang-fire flying refinement. At the beginning of the yang fire, nine liang of charcoal are used; thereafter, with each turn, two liang are added. After the fifth turn, three liang are added with each turn. In this way, about three liang of frost bearing five-colored golden light will fly out.

Place the flown-out frost together with the cinnabar in a bowl; add half a fen of Puzhou stone gall and one fen of yellow alum, then grind thoroughly for half a day with bitter wine (vinegar). Afterwards, following the previous method, put it into the cauldron and continue flying and subduing according to the fire regimen of the Kan and Li trigrams. After fourteen hou—seventy days in all—the frost and cinnabar may be considered refined to the subdued-fire (fuhuo) state. “Subdued fire” means that the ingredient, after refining, has reached a stable condition.

After the cinnabar has been subdued by fire, its golden color shines brilliantly, its hue like pomegranate flowers, its radiance splendid as the sun and moon. The scripture says that poisonous dragons, snakes, spirits, and ghosts, upon seeing it, all hide themselves prone on the ground and dare not raise their heads; for this reason it is called supremely numinous and extraordinary. Yet this cinnabar is very difficult to smelt and cast. If one wishes to melt and refine it, one must, in a clean place, make a furnace and cauldron from pure earth and avoid all filth and debris. Put salt flowers, numinous cinnabar, and the like into the cauldron and smelt them with bellows; only after two thousand blasts of the bellows will it melt. When the golden liquid flows out and congeals, it is fresh, bright, and lustrous, and is called “red gold.”

The scripture explains that red gold is the Qi of the yin soul (yin po) completely transformed and refined away, while the Jing of true yang appears and emits light; this is the true gold of the yang spirit. If one wishes to ingest it, then according to the method in the preceding section, one uses emblic myrobalan (yuganzi) and raw licorice (sheng gancao).

Boil purple quartz to obtain its juice, place it in a precious vessel, and cook it for fourteen days; the fire regimen and quantities follow those stated in the preceding chapter. After cooking, put it into a bamboo tube, seal the opening firmly, and bury it underground for thirty days. When it is taken out, blend it with jujube flesh into pills, each the size of a hemp seed, making three hundred and sixty pills in all.

Each morning, first purify body and mind, face east, and report to the Supreme Lords of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), Junzhen, the immortal officials, and other deities; then bow in obeisance and take the medicine. In this way one can make the mind and spirit clear and penetrating, thoroughly perceive inside and outside, cause the body to emit red light, and unite with the Dao of Ultimate Truth.

The Sixth Return: Shensha (Divine Sand)

The scripture says: When the wondrous reaches its utmost, it becomes spiritually responsive; becoming spiritually responsive, it communicates with the divine. When spirit unites with the Dao, the Dao becomes complete. Once the Dao is complete, mysterious true Qi descends, and one can ascend to Jade Clarity (Yuqing) and become a high-ranking immortal.

What is called Shensha is formed when the nine spirits condense Jing and Qi, and the precious wind coagulates mysterious wondrous essence. It radiates splendor, displays a dark-yellow hue, and shines brightly; hence it is called “divine sand.”

The method for refining Shensha is as follows: take the Lingsha (numinous sand) prepared earlier. Using nine liang of red gold, cast a precious cauldron with a capacity of about five ge; then take three liang of red gold and make a cauldron lid. First place into the cauldron one liang each of sulfur, Dapeng sand, red salt, and Beiting sand—four medicinal substances in total—grind them with bitter wine into a paste, and coat the inside of the cauldron and around the lid evenly. After the paste dries, cover the cauldron with its lid, then wrap it in yellow earth mud about two fen thick. Thereafter, following the method in the preceding text, warm-nourish it with gentle fire for fourteen days, then heat it intensely with vigorous fire for seven days, until the medicine and the flame become equally red.

Next, remove the yellow mud and use sweet-earth mud to seal and wrap the body of the cauldron, about three fen thick. Place the cauldron in the furnace, add six liang of true mercury, then add three ge of water, slowly adding water so that it does not boil dry. First warm-nourish with gentle fire for seven days, then add three liang of true mercury and warm-nourish with gentle fire for three days. After the cauldron cools, seal it firmly again so that it is airtight and does not leak; then heat it intensely with vigorous fire for two days and nights, and the medicine inside the cauldron will completely transform into red-glowing Shensha. After collecting the Shensha, add another eight liang of true mercury; following the previous method, warm-nourish with gentle fire for seven days, then heat intensely with vigorous fire for two days, and the medicine will also transform into Shensha. After collecting it, add another seven liang of true mercury, and again warm-nourish with gentle fire and heat intensely with vigorous fire to produce Shensha.

As soon as the sand is seen to form, collect it, then add five liang of mercury, warm-nourish it with civil fire, and then use martial fire to drive out the sand. After collecting it, add three liang of mercury and follow the previous method, using civil fire and martial fire in sequence to warm-nourish and force-refine. When the spirit sand (shen sha) collected before and after reaches thirty-two liang in total, one may stop.

Place this sand into a treasure tripod, add four liang of mineral sulfur and two liang of Puzhou stone gallbladder, grind thoroughly in a bowl for half a day, then put it into a precious gold tripod and use yang fire to fly-refine and subdue-refine. The “yang fire” mentioned here is the fire of the pure Li trigram; for subdue-refining according to the fire regimen, five days make one period. When first kindling the fire, use nine liang of charcoal; after each completed turn, increase the charcoal by two liang. After each turn, take out the sand, grind it thoroughly in the bowl, and return it to the tripod for fly-refining and subdue-refining. After the sixth turn, increase the charcoal by three liang each turn.

If red golden frost flies out, fresh bright red and dazzling in luster, collect it into the bowl, mix it with the sand, add one fen of Puzhou stone gallbladder and bitter wine, grind thoroughly for half a day, then return it to the tripod and fly-refine and subdue-refine according to the fire regimen. After twelve turns, sixty days in total, the spirit sand is fully refined. The fully refined spirit sand has a vivid color, contains radiance, and has a luminous purple sheen beyond description.

If one has mastered the method of melting and casting, then follow exactly the practice in the preceding Ling Sand Chapter: blend salt flowers and refine with a bellows, and a precious liquid will flow out, congealing into red gold whose essence-light is like fire. Therefore it is called “Li-Si Metal,” and it is said to possess a divine and extraordinary nature. The “spirit sand” spoken of here can also be taken: divide the sand into three hundred sixty pills, blending it with jujube flesh to form pills. The method of taking them is exactly as in the previous chapter. After taking this Numinous Treasure divine elixir, one will naturally obtain extraordinary power; one’s bones will be light and strong, the body will be luminous, and one will be able to enter the true realm and become an upper immortal.

Seventh Return: The Xuanzhen Jiangxia Sand Chapter

The Benjing (Original Scripture) says: when the Numinous Treasure receives the heavenly movement, it responds and manifests the wondrous; when spirit and Qi settle and return to the true realm, and Jing and Qi continuously accumulate, dark frost and crimson snow naturally arise, causing them to rise and flow. Reaching the state of free circulation, one becomes a high true numinous immortal.

The so-called “Xuanzhen Jiangxia Sand” is the sand produced by placing the red gold from the spirit sand into a treasure tripod and nourish-refining mercury. This sand has a purple-cloud color, bears red radiance, and sparkles with five colors; therefore it is called “Xuanzhen Jiangxia Sand” (Dark-True Crimson Cloud Sand).

Method for transforming treasure and generating sand: take one jin of precious gold from the spirit sand in the previous chapter, cast it into a round tripod with a capacity of about seven ge; then take five liang of precious gold to make the tripod cover…

First, place four liang of sulfur, two liang of red salt, two liang of Beiting sand, and one liang of Dapeng sand into the ding—four medicinal substances in total. Mix and grind them with bitter wine (vinegar) into a paste, then apply it inside the ding until the medicine is used up. After the paste dries, cover with the ding lid, then wrap it with yellow earth mixed into mud to a thickness of about one inch. Following the method in the earlier "Shensha Chapter," cultivate with gentle fire for fourteen days, then refine with fierce fire for seven days. After cooling, remove the yellow mud, switch to sweet earth mixed into mud, and wrap it around the outer wall of the ding for one circumference, about two and a half fen thick.

Next, place the ding in the furnace, add twelve liang of true mercury and three ge of water into the ding; do not let the inside dry out. Add water slowly, then cover the ding lid properly. Cultivate with gentle fire for seven days; during this time, the top of the ding must remain warm, using the sensation of warmth when touched by hand as the standard for the fire. After seven days, wait until the medicine inside the ding is dry and sealed, then gradually increase the fire to force-refine for three days. Open the ding to check; the mercury has completely transformed into crimson-cloud mysterious sand. At this point, do not remove the sand; continue to add nine liang of mercury, and still follow the aforementioned gentle and fierce fire standards and durations for cultivation and forced refinement. When the term is complete, open the ding, and the mercury has again all transformed into sand. Then add six liang of mercury into the ding, seal it, and refine according to the gentle and fierce fire standards; when the term is complete, open the ding, and it has all transformed into sand as well.

Then add five liang of mercury; first cultivate with gentle fire for seven days, then force-refine with fierce fire for one day, and it is complete. The refined sand is purple-red, radiating five-colored cloud light; left in the ding, it totals thirty-two liang, without the slightest loss.

Remove the sand and place it in a bowl, add seven liang of sulfur, and grind finely with a jade pestle for one day; then put it back into this ding called the "Divine Sand Crimson Gold Treasure Ding," seal the opening tightly, and refine with pure yang fire. Seven days constitute one rotation; at that time, open the ding and take out the sand, add one ge of bitter wine, grind thoroughly, then put it back into the ding, and flying-refine and hidden-refine for seven days, counted as one hou. For the first firing, use thirteen liang of charcoal; thereafter, add one liang of charcoal per rotation; by the third rotation, change to adding two liang of charcoal per rotation. Refining to this point, on the ding lid will fly out pairs of five-colored, light and bright crimson-cloud frost, appearing continuously, shaped like wheat grains; it should be collected.

Put it together with the sand into a bowl, add half a liang of Puzhou stone gall and two ge of bitter wine, grind thoroughly, then put it back into the ding for flying-refinement and hidden-refinement, for a total of seven rotations, opening to check each rotation.

Grind stone gall (chalcanthite) together with bitter wine (vinegar) into a mixture, then place it in a cauldron and seal it well. Refine it in this way for seven cycles, forty-nine days in all. When the fire-subduing process of the sandy substance is complete, apply martial fire for one day. Each day use twenty jin of charcoal, divided into four places for forced burning.

Then open the cauldron and inspect it. Inside, the Xuanzhen jiangxia sand—the purple elixir substance refined from cinnabar—has vivid colors and interlacing radiance; its rosy glow is brilliant, as if it could illuminate the sun and moon. It may truly be called a substance of supreme spirituality, the sand-elixir of utmost yang and mysterious origin. According to the secret formula for smelting and casting Xuanzhen, blend it with salt flowers and draw it forth so that the precious liquid flows out and congeals; it will then emit a purple light and is called “Jiangxia Purple Gold.”

If one wishes to take it, mix it with jujube flesh and form pills. Divide each liang of the medicinal material into three hundred and sixty pills, and take one pill each morning facing east. It is said that after taking this cinnabar elixir, it quickly unites with the bodily form, making one light and able to ascend, riding a flying dragon beyond the ten heavens and the eight extremities—how free and unfettered!

A single pill of this Xuanzhen cinnabar sand, placed on one jin each of mercury, lead, tin, copper, and iron, can immediately transform them into purple burnished gold, with a luster beyond description.

Following the principle of establishing teachings through the divine way, and out of compassion, I pity the wise and enlightened people of the world; therefore I have composed seven treatises and two chapters. This chapter originally comes from the wondrous formula for refining truth recorded in the hidden text of the Immortal Lord’s Nine Grades of Mysterious Chapters in the Dadong Bao Jing (Great Cavern Treasure Scripture). It is a teaching strictly forbidden to transmit; it must not be transmitted to anyone who is not virtuous. How could stubborn, foolish, perverse people, filthy as walking corpses, be allowed to hear it? This truly calls for caution, lest the true and wondrous method of the ancient immortals and sages be leaked.