《南統大君內丹九章經》

"Interpretation of the Southern Sovereign's Nine Chapters on Internal Alchemy Scripture":

The author Wu Yun, during Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan era in the Tang Dynasty, composed The Discourse on the Mystic Pivot and Treatise on Nurturing the Form. Later, when appointed by the court as governor of Jiangzhou, he declined the position and secluded himself on Mount Li to practice taixi (a Daoist breathing technique for nurturing life). By the Yuanhe era of Emperor Xianzong's reign, while traveling in Huaixi, he encountered the imperial campaign against the rebel Wu Yuanji. Fleeing the chaos of war, he arrived at Mount Tai (Eastern Peak), where he met the immortal Li Zhe-xian, who transmitted this method to him.

Li Zhe-xian explained that this was the longevity method imparted by the Southern Sovereign (a revered Daoist deity), divided into nine chapters corresponding to the number of yang hexagrams. Its content is concise yet profound, embodying the true essence of cultivating the Dao for life. He particularly emphasized that Neidan (internal alchemy, the refinement of jing, qi, and shen within the body) must never be lightly transmitted to those with impure intentions, lest it invite calamity. These nine chapters may be passed on to destined successors but are unsuitable for those of mediocre aptitude.

Chapter One: Distinguishing the Worthy and the Foolish

True sages humble themselves to seek the Dao, their aspirations lofty; the foolish, however, squander their life-force, willingly sinking into degradation. The Southern Sovereign states: Humans and heaven-earth share the same origin in emptiness, so why does heaven-earth endure while humans perish? It is not the Dao that fails humanity, but humanity that fails the Dao. The natures of the worthy and foolish differ fundamentally, just as clarity and turbidity part ways. My method is no mere path to celestial ascent but refines Neidan by consolidating the shen (the inner spiritual energy), thereby preserving the physical form.

Chapter Two: The Manifestation of Divine Light

During practice, withdraw from distractions, abstain from lust, and avoid drunkenness. In moonless nights, observe the divine light within: if it appears bright and rounded like lightning, it heralds longevity; if a spherical radiance envelops the body like flickering meteors, it foretells success in Dao cultivation. The method: first kouchi (a Daoist health practice of teeth-tapping), rest the head on a pillow to gather shen, calm the mind, close the eyes, and visualize the sun at the quemen (midpoint between the eyebrows) and the moon at the dantian (three inches below the navel). Maintain mental serenity while sleeping.

Chapter Three: Paying Homage to the Northern Dipper

On the three annual Yuanchen festivals (15th day of the 1st, 7th, and 10th months) and the sanqi days each month (3rd, 7th, 13th, 17th, 23rd, 27th), observe purification rituals with a cleansed heart. Sit upright in wogu posture (thumb pressing the base of the ring finger), close the eyes, and visualize....

Arriving at the Golden Palace (the Daoist immortal palace), one seems to see the awe-inspiring presence of the immortal perfected: one bows the head and prostrates, exactly according to the etiquette for an audience with the Son of Heaven. When the rites are finished, one trembles with fear, stands solemnly with hands clasped, and withdraws with quickened steps. Washing away troubling thoughts and stopping and cutting off troubling thoughts—this is taken as fasting the heart. Yet Chaoyuan (paying homage to the Primordial Perfected) has no fixed time; late at night, in a secret chamber, facing the Northern Culminant (the Big Dipper) asterism, practicing this method readily brings about resonance.

Chapter Four: Gengshen. (For ordinary people to keep this method and stay awake at night is not this method.) On the night of Gengshen, in a pure chamber, prepare incense and fire, sit upright, clench the fists firmly (with the thumb pressed against the base of the ring finger), first beat the heavenly drum (here referring to the practice of clicking the teeth to gather the Shen, spirit) thirty-six times, and when the spirit has been gathered, next visualize the hundred spirits within the body all emerging, wearing crowns and carrying swords, fully dignified, attending as guards before, behind, left, and right. After the visualization, guide the spirit-mind to pay homage to the Supreme Lord of the Dao (Taishang Daojun), exactly following the method of paying homage to the Dipper. Practice this for three years, and weapons, tigers, and wolves cannot harm one. The Three Corpses (the three corpse spirits within the body that record faults and obstruct cultivation) dare not keep watch and disturb one. If in dreams tall trees appear, or beautiful persons present rare flowers and wondrous fruits, these are signs of resonant verification, bringing longevity and auspiciousness.

Chapter Five: Cultivating Yang Virtue. Doing good, whether great or small, belongs to Yang; doing evil, whether great or small, belongs to Yin. The more good one accumulates, the more Yang Qi (vital energy) is activated and becomes auspiciousness; the deeper the evil one accumulates, the more Yin Qi erupts and becomes calamity. Therefore, those who seek long life first rely on hidden virtue (good deeds unknown to others) and afterward welcome Yang recompense; this is advanced age. The Great Lord (Nantong Dajun) says: All such people enter the ranks of immortals. By consuming numinous herbs, their appearance becomes robust and hard to age; medicine is the inner, technique the outer. The hundred spirits are easily gathered, and the physical form can be long preserved.

Chapter Six: Daoyin and Primordial Yang. When the hundred gates (all the body’s apertures and joints) are opened, the five viscera are all harmonized; when the six fu organs are all purified, pathogenic Qi cannot invade. Sounding the heavenly drum removes nightmares and impurities; when primordial Qi moves, the fluid pathways (routes of fluids) flow freely. Wherever Qi and fluids reach, the bone marrow becomes like gold, and the spirit is sure to become unobstructed and at ease. When the Daoyin is finished, settle the breath, and sound the heavenly drum to gather the spirit. Then make the six exhalation sounds—xu, he, hu, xi, si, and chui—without letting the ears hear them. Over time, clear Qi accumulates within the body, and turbid, impure Qi perishes. The Great Lord says: Although the elixir is not yet formed, the spirit is already empty and bright; when the primordial Yang Qi is peaceful and harmonious, this is human long life.

Chapter Seven: Yin Taboos. Thunder and lightning, shaking rain, and great winds that uproot trees—these are great wrath; even ghosts and spirits are afraid. Therefore one should stand with hands clasped, bow the head, and tremble in awe. When resting in bed, do not engage in marital relations. If one does not do so, ghosts and spirits will take away one’s allotted years (reduce one’s lifespan), and illness will be difficult to cure. The Great Lord says: Therefore this is the majesty of Heaven.

Interpretation of the Nine Chapters on Inner Alchemy by the Great Lord of the Southern Primordial:

Chapter Eight explains that excessive adornment of one’s appearance shortens life, lascivious music is like an axe chopping away at vitality, rich delicacies and fine wine are poisons that disturb the spirit, while high rank and wealth are merely shackles binding body and mind. Though everyone knows these four great harms, few can renounce them. Those who fail to let go of these attachments are like walking corpses. The path to immortality may seem distant, but the method to preserve life lies right before us—hence, it is better to first master these immediate principles. The Great Lord says: When the spirit is focused, the Qi (vital energy) becomes clear; when the breath is purified, the body is preserved—this is the way to safeguard life.

Chapter Nine details the cultivation method: Visualize the radiance of the Big Dipper in the heart, tread the steps of the Seven Stars (a Daoist practice), and move lightly. After repeating this forty-nine times, close the eyes and turn the gaze inward, forming the "firm grasp" hand-seal (a Daoist mudra), then gently tap the "Celestial Drum" (lightly striking the back of the head). Imagine the Azure Dragon (Qinglong) guarding the left and the White Tiger (Baihu) protecting the right. Practicing thus, one need not deliberately seek the Dao—it will naturally follow. When the Shen (spirit) attains true Qi (primordial energy), a hundred deities will offer protection. To obtain this Qi, one must either meet an enlightened master or experience auspicious signs—such as dreaming of wandering immortal mountains, encountering a white-robed dragon-beast, or seeing celestial palaces. These indicate the harmony of form and spirit, signifying the completion of life-cultivation. Afterward, by informing the Yuanshen (primordial spirit, the inner divine presence), one resonates with the Star of Longevity, and the Celestial Gate (gateway to the heavens) opens without obstruction.

The Epilogue clarifies: The stars Jiao and Kang in the eastern sky lead the constellations and are called the Star of Longevity. The space between them is the Celestial Gate, also known as the Celestial Pass. All Daoist adepts who attain the Dao ascend through this gate. Those who master this method, upon informing their Yuanshen, resonate with the Star of Longevity, and their names are recorded at the Celestial Gate. When merit is fulfilled, the Yuanchen (natal star deity) will guide them through the gate. The author recounts realizing this method only at forty, later journeying south to seek traces of Lord Mao (a Daoist immortal) and discovering the Scripture of Primordial Dao’s Truth in a stone chamber of Mount Mao. There, he grasped the truth of the Supreme Lord Lao’s return to the root and the silence beyond sound. For over a decade, he devoted himself to Tiaoxi (embryonic breathing, a Neidan technique), until an elder instructed him: "To learn immortality is like refining ore into gold—first cultivate life-prolonging arts in the mundane world, accumulate hidden virtue step by step, and only then can one achieve celestial immortality."

This scripture recounts the story of an ordinary person attaining immortality through cultivation, while revealing the essential techniques of Neidan (internal alchemy).

The core teaching explains that when one's accumulated virtue moves Heaven, they receive the celestial decree to become an immortal. Yet even after achieving immortality, practitioners must continue refining their "true Qi" (the innate energy within the human body), unifying breath and spirit—only then can they be called "divine immortals." These perfected beings, with their ethereal and weightless forms, ride phoenixes and cranes, soaring freely through the cosmic void on clouds and Qi, their lifespans matching heaven and earth.

The referenced Yuandao Zhenjing (Authentic Scripture of Primordial Dao) serves as crucial guidance for immortality seekers. The author employs the metaphor of "fishing nets and rabbit snares" to illustrate how this scripture functions as an instrument for attaining immortality. When the immortal Maojun (Lord Mao Ying) ascended in ancient times, he concealed the "Great Lord's Art of Destiny" (essential cultivation methods) within a stone chamber atop the sacred mountain, guarded by "myself" to be transmitted only to destined practitioners.

Recognizing your extraordinary disposition and innate foundation for immortal cultivation, I transmit to you these "Nine Chapters" of Neidan secrets. At our parting, I offer this admonition: Herein lies the "fish and rabbit" you seek (symbolizing the path to immortality). The Dao resides not outside your body—cherish it well. Thus I record these words as a preface, titling it The Divine Formula of Internal Alchemy, with Wu Yun credited as the author.

The full title Nantong Dajun Neidan Jiuzhang Jing (Great Lord of Southern Governance's Nine-Chapter Scripture on Internal Alchemy) carries profound meaning: "Great Lord of Southern Governance" being an honorific title, "Neidan" referring to the method of crystallizing the elixir through refining Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen (spirit) within the body, while "Nine Chapters" denotes its structural division. The passage emphasizes Neidan cultivation as the key to immortality—requiring persistent practice and transmission only to those with predestined affinity.