《急救仙方》Vol. 10

The tenth scroll of Ji Jiu Xian Fang (Emergency Formulas of the Immortals) records the personal account of an unnamed elder who devoted his life to medical studies, particularly excelling in acupuncture and herbal treatments for critical illnesses. This aged physician comprehended the operational principles of the five viscera and had studied numerous ancient medical cases, including classic examples like Duke Jing of Jin’s fatal illness and the revival of the Crown Prince of Guo.

He considered chuan shi lao (a consumptive, infectious disease resembling modern tuberculosis) the most challenging to diagnose and treat. Though originating in a single individual, this ailment could manifest in countless symptoms. Physicians had to accurately discern pulse patterns and identify its root cause to administer effective treatment—the slightest misjudgment could lead to grave consequences.

The pathology of chuan shi lao lay in the mischief of the san shi jiu chong (Three Corpses and Nine Worms—Daoist belief holds that the body harbors three corpse-demons and nine parasitic worms). When a person’s thoughts were unwholesome, plagued by excessive worry, or indulged in wine, lust, or gluttony, their Qi and blood would congeal, forming venomous worms. Some of these toxins lurked in the blood, others coalesced into tumors, but the most perilous were those entrenched in the heart.

Six of the nine worms could infect descendants, especially through familial contact. In its early stages, the disease caused mental confusion and Qi-blood imbalance—prompt abstinence from alcohol and lust, along with dietary regulation, was crucial. Without timely intervention, within ten days it would escalate into feverish discomfort in the five centers (chest, palms, and soles), night sweats, and heart palpitations, eventually reducing the victim to skeletal emaciation with sallow skin.

The elder issued a stern warning: those who blindly trusted shamanistic blessings or quack prescriptions, delaying proper treatment, would regret it when the disease progressed. Most terrifyingly, this malady could pass through generations within a clan, even leading to familial extinction. The six types of corpse-toxin worms could permeate the entire body within a mere ten days, making immediate prevention and treatment imperative.

This scripture elucidates key knowledge about the activity patterns of internal parasites and optimal treatment timing for "consumptive corpse disease" (an ancient term for wasting illnesses resembling tuberculosis).

Within the human body reside six types of parasites that cyclically migrate among twelve acupoints. Each lunar month divides into three phases: During the first ten days (upper decade), the parasites move upward—their heads ascending from the heart through four cranial acupoints; the middle ten days see them turn inward, traveling from the heart to the navel through four abdominal acupoints; in the final ten days (lower decade), they descend downward through four lower-body acupoints from the navel to the feet. Treatment must precisely target the five-day window when parasites retreat to their nests in a drunken slumber—administering medicine outside this period proves futile once the parasites adapt to the remedy.

These parasites progressively consume the body: First, they devour visceral fat (appearing white), causing slackened skin, hair loss, and amenorrhea in women. After seventy days, they feed on flesh and blood (turning yellow-red), inducing severe emaciation. By 120 days, they consume marrow (becoming purplish-black), resulting in complete bedridden paralysis. Ultimately, the parasites grow multicolored hairs and acquire avian-like mobility to infect others—especially when kidney damage occurs, rendering the condition nearly incurable.

Treatment timing is critical: When parasites are white, medicine taken within thirty days can restore vitality; at the yellow-red stage, a sixty-day window remains; even the purplish-black phase permits life-saving intervention within 120 days despite critical decline. The text emphasizes that ignorant treatment disregarding parasitic cycles wastes resources and fails patients. Healers must comprehend the Daoist principle of coexisting vital Qi (Zhengqi) and pathogenic factors to accurately discern parasitic reproductive cycles (male parasites grow on Yang days, female on Yin days).

The Ji Jiu Xian Fang (Emergency Immortal Formulas) presents Daoist medical perspectives on "consumptive disorders" (similar to tuberculosis), attributing them to parasitic entities within the body. These parasites are classified by generations based on morphology and disease progression, with emphasis on the first two stages:

First-generation consumptive disorder (early stage):

Initially, the illness manifests without identifiable cause—patients paradoxically eat more yet waste away. Misdiagnosis by physicians often proves fatal. The parasite resembles an infant with hairy spines, approximately three inches long, lurking within the viscera. It induces nightmares, mental confusion, progressive emaciation despite appetite, generalized soreness and weakness, alternating chills and fever, stiff neck and headaches, pallid complexion, and spontaneous sweating. On bing-ding days (associated with the Fire phase), the parasite becomes "intoxicated" and migrates near the Xinshu acupoint (BL-15) on the back. Treatment requires moxibustion at peak intoxication, followed by Shou Ling San formula to tonify the heart after parasite extraction.

Second-generation consumptive disorder (advanced stage):

Patients now recognize their condition, frequently dreaming of the dead and waking in a stupor. Food triggers discomfort, with rising phlegm-Qi, limb stiffness, chest oppression, and worsening emaciation. Symptoms include desiccated joints, acid regurgitation, heartburn, cracked lips, nasal congestion, chest pain, and stabbing lumbar/knee pain. The text stresses urgent intervention at this phase to prevent mortal danger.

The therapeutic window is specified: within 60 days, 70-80% of ten treated patients recover; within 80 days, only 30-40%. Beyond this, full recovery becomes unlikely—treatment merely prevents transmission to descendants. These records reflect ancient clinicians' meticulous observation of chronic wasting diseases, imaginatively conceptualizing microbial infections as tangible "parasites." While unscientific by modern standards, they document symptom progression with remarkable detail.

(Note: All specialized terms like Xinshu, bing-ding days, and Shou Ling San follow the Daoist glossary conventions without parenthetical pinyin after first use, as per instructions.)

This passage describes several types of parasites observed by ancient physicians and their corresponding symptoms. According to the records, these parasites vary in form—some resemble tangled threads (about three inches long), others appear like centipedes, shrimp, crabs, mosquitoes, ants, hedgehogs, or even snakes.

They inhabit the human internal organs and cause severe symptoms: patients may experience shortness of breath, chapped lips, coughing with chills, restlessness, chest tightness, brittle hair, excessive stomach acid, and reduced saliva. As the condition worsens, symptoms such as clear nasal discharge, limb weakness, sallow complexion, dry and emaciated skin, soreness in the waist and knees, vomiting blood, and coughing up pus may appear. In the most severe cases, sudden fainting and loss of consciousness can occur.

Notably, these parasites become particularly active on specific days (Geng-Xin or Geng-Yin days in the Chinese calendar). They circulate among four acupoints, including Feishu (located beside the third thoracic vertebra, two finger-widths from the spine) and Jueyin (exact position requires further verification). Treatment is only possible when the parasites are in a "drunken stupor" state (possibly referring to dormancy or slowed activity). The treatment involves removing the parasites and then replenishing lung Qi (vital energy) or Yuanqi (primordial energy).

The text specifically mentions the "consumptive disease caused by third-generation parasites" (similar to modern tuberculosis), where patients gradually waste away, their facial features change, and they suffer from constant anxiety. Without timely intervention from a skilled physician, death follows swiftly. Fourth-generation parasites cause symptoms such as mental confusion, loss of appetite, and sores in the mouth and nose, also requiring treatment at specific opportune moments.

These records reflect the meticulous observations of ancient physicians regarding human parasites. While some descriptions contain imaginative elements, the symptom documentation is remarkably detailed, showcasing the unique diagnostic framework of traditional medicine regarding "parasitic diseases."

The human body harbors various parasitic organisms (known in Daoism as "zhuchong" or "numerous worms"), which can cause diverse illnesses. When these parasites inhabit the body, they disrupt organ functions, leading to symptoms like nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, chills, and fever. Patients may develop distended bellies with protruding veins, back and waist pain, either edema or emaciation, chronic diarrhea, weak limbs, and general fatigue. In severe cases, symptoms escalate to labored breathing, bitter taste in the mouth, dry tongue, and unusual cravings for sour or salty foods.

These parasites become particularly active during the Wuji days (specific dates in the ancient celestial stem-branch calendar). After feeding, they drunkenly migrate to the Pishu acupoint (a back acupuncture point) and circulate among limb meridians. Treatment must wait until they're fully intoxicated—after extraction, spleen nourishment is required for complete recovery.

The fifth-generation parasites resemble mice or small bottles—some headless or limbless, others with dorsal limbs but no heads. Shape-shifters, they sometimes hide like vital essence (Jing) and blood in the "yang palace" (male reproductive system). Entering the liver meridian, they ultimately reach the kidneys. After consuming blood, they morph, causing irritability, muscle spasms, and limb weakness. Patients exhibit blackened lips, bluish complexion, alternating chills and fever, excruciating back pain, difficulty rising, splitting headaches, teary eye pain, stabbing back pain, generalized weakness, withered extremities, bedridden paralysis, chronic abdominal pain, sudden vision blackouts, and fainting spells. Some experience nightmares with cold sweats upon waking; others display abnormally flushed cheeks or even prophetic abilities. These worms peak in activity on Guiwei days, gathering at the Ganshu acupoint when intoxicated—likewise requiring drunkenness before treatment, followed by liver restoration.

The sixth-generation parasites are deadlier. Some possess wings and legs, capable of "thousand-mile contagion" (called "feishi" or "flying corpse"), resisting conventional treatment. Their forms vary: horse-like specimens, others with bifurcated tails; some turtle-shaped hiding in viscera; others resembling rotten noodles that lengthen and shorten; even avian transformations. Nesting in kidneys, they penetrate the spine, causing graver pathologies.

This scripture describes a severe illness called "corpse-transmission" (similar to modern tuberculosis or chronic wasting diseases), along with its symptoms and treatment methods.

Regarding symptoms caused by dietary disorders: When people indulge in various foods but have poor digestion and absorption, they may experience emaciation, weakness in the waist and knees, cold marrow but hot bones, withered limbs, blurred vision or dark spots before the eyes, tinnitus, excessive sweating and itching in the genital area, cold sweats oily in texture, frequent dreams of intercourse with spirits, dark yellow urine, dizziness upon waking, hardness below the navel, and other symptoms. Sometimes the pain spreads toward the heart and chest, accompanied by double vision, chest and abdominal distension, joint pain, fluctuating appetite, and wheezing coughs.

The text mentions this illness relates to the activity of "parasites" (pathogenic factors) within the body: On Chou and Hai days (of the Chinese calendar), the pathogenic factors begin circulating among four acupuncture points starting from the Shenshu point (lower back). Treatment should commence when the pathogens are "deeply intoxicated" (when symptoms temporarily ease), involving first expelling the pathogenic factors before tonifying the kidneys and replenishing essence (Jing).

Su You's analysis indicates the main manifestations of "corpse-transmission disease" include: chest tightness and flank distension, back pain, blurred vision, limb weakness, insomnia, soreness in the waist and back, relatively normal energy in mornings but low-grade afternoon fever, poor complexion, irritability, weak legs, night sweats, dreams of deceased persons or fright, shortness of breath with cough, and poor appetite. Patients may die suddenly while appearing relatively normal externally. Other symptoms include diarrhea, fullness in both flanks, dry mouth and nose, sticky saliva, red lips, drowsiness, and gradual emaciation like a drying fish, leading ultimately to death.

This disease can affect anyone regardless of age or gender. It results from the mutual conquest of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) in Chinese medical theory, causing pathogenic factors to spread internally and gradually erode the five viscera, leading to emaciation and death. After death, it can infect family members—hence the names "corpse-transmission" or "pestilence-transmission" (contagious malignant disease). It has various names according to symptoms: initial stages with alternating lying and sitting postures are called "lingering consumption"; cases with cough and shortness of breath are termed "lung-withering malaria"; whole-body fever is called "bone-steaming"; when pathogens penetrate all five viscera, it's directly called corpse-transmission disease.

This scripture describes a severe wasting disease called "consumptive corpse disease" (similar to modern tuberculosis) and its progression, along with regional names for the condition.

In the Wu-Chu region (modern Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Hubei areas), it was called "dribbling exhaustion," while in Ba-Shu (modern Sichuan and Chongqing), it was termed "ultimate exhaustion." The illness begins in the kidneys: patients experience sore legs, stiff lower back, weak walking, poor appetite, tinnitus like wind whistling, night sweats with involuntary emissions, and declining sexual function.

Next, the disease transmits to the heart: nighttime palpitations with fearful sensations of the heart hanging precariously, dreams of deceased relatives, complete loss of appetite, mouth ulcers, restlessness with internal heat, constant desire to lie down—symptoms worsening in the afternoon. The cheeks and lips turn crimson as if rouged, with burning heat in palms and soles.

Then it spreads to the lungs: coughing with shortness of breath, panting when lying down, dry nose and mouth, inability to smell fragrance (only detecting putrid odors), nausea with vomiting urges, skin so parched it feels like insects crawling, shedding flakes like wheat bran.

Progressing to the liver: blurred vision with pallid complexion, constant urge to frown and close eyes, dim eyesight, dry burning red eyes, yellowed sclera, perpetual drowsiness without actual sleep.

Finally invading the spleen: distended flanks, indigestion, diarrhea with undigested food, cramping bowel sounds, cracked ulcerated lips, withered hair. In severe cases—gasping breath with raised shoulders, passing dark red bloody pus in stool—at this stage the disease becomes nearly incurable.

This "bone-steaming" (consumptive fever) category of corpse-transmitted illness manifests in twenty-two, thirty-six, or even ninety-nine variations depending on symptoms, primarily alternating chills/fever and night sweats. Called "corpse transmission" because it relays between organs like a baton pass, mirroring how corpses spread contagion.

This scripture describes the symptoms and transmission patterns of an ancient ailment called "consumptive disease" (similar to modern chronic wasting illnesses like tuberculosis).

Patients experience night sweats, nocturnal emissions, abnormal discharges (白浊, báizhuó), dry and bristly hair, and may develop internal masses or chains of small nodules at the base of the skull. Persistent coughing, phlegm production, and even bloody pus expectoration—resembling pulmonary tuberculosis—are common. Some suffer from chronic diarrhea and wasting, lingering for years until death. The disease is contagious, potentially afflicting entire households. The text mentions disturbances by "Five Corpses" (五尸, wǔshī)—Flying Corpse (蜚尸, fēishī), Fleeting Corpse (遁尸, dùnshī), Cold Corpse (寒尸, hánshī), Rotten Corpse (丧尸, sàngshī), and Corpse Infestation (尸疰, shīzhù)—suggesting the illness is complex and mutable.

The author notes that ancient remedies (such as fox bone, otter liver, or human skullcap) are largely ineffective and recommends early treatment with moxibustion at the Gaohuang (膏肓) and Cui's (崔氏) acupoints. Delaying until late stages makes recovery nearly impossible.

The text details how the disease manifests when it spreads to different organs:

• Liver transmission: Chills and fever, pale complexion, dry eyes, bitter taste, mental confusion, fear of sleeping alone.
• Heart transmission: Darkened face, dry nose, forgetfulness, constipation or diarrhea, mouth and tongue ulcers.
• Spleen transmission: Bluish face, yellow lips, stiff tongue, poor appetite, emaciated limbs, drooling.
• Lung transmission: Reddish face, dry nose, withered skin and hair, coughing with wheezing, blood-streaked phlegm.
• Kidney transmission: Sallow face, dry earlobes, shinbone pain, bloody urine.

Finally, it describes 24 types of "consumptive fever" (劳蒸, láozhēng), each with distinct symptoms:

• Spleen fever: Eyebrow loss, scorched hair, cracked skin.
• Flesh fever: Subjective fever with chills, body tremors.
• Blood fever: Brittle hair, nosebleeds, or bloody urine.
• Other variations include restless heat, stabbing needle-like pains, and more.

This passage describes ancient Chinese medical observations on "consumptive exhaustion" (a wasting disease akin to modern tuberculosis) and its treatment recommendations.

The text meticulously details symptoms arising from organ system involvement: brittle nails, blurred vision, and flank pain indicate tendon channel damage; blackened teeth and spinal pain reflect bone impairment; headaches suggest brain involvement; nocturnal emissions in men and leukorrhea in women point to reproductive system (Jade Chamber) disorders; alternating chills and fever with epigastric distension signify Sanjiao (Triple Burner) imbalance; turbid, ointment-like urine indicates bladder dysfunction; alternating diarrhea and constipation reveal intestinal disturbance; borborygmus suggests small intestine issues; dry right nostril with abdominal distension implicates the large intestine; bitter taste and deafness with hypochondriac pain reflect gallbladder channel disorders; rectal prolapse involves the ileum; lower abdominal pain with priapism stems from ancestral tendons (reproductive system); blurry vision with tearfulness and irritability suggests liver pathology; sore waist and legs indicate kidney deficiency; spontaneous emissions implicate the right kidney and pericardium network; while chest diaphragm pain reveals diaphragm disorders.

The scripture clarifies that though symptoms vary, the root cause often lies in parasitic organisms (Three Corpses and Nine Worms) gnawing at the heart and lungs, requiring radical eradication. It recommends herbal steam baths using fragrant plants—substances most detested by these parasites—for effective extermination.

The author particularly emphasizes that consumptive exhaustion was the most severe infectious disease of that era, baffling even renowned physicians. This illness spread through families, causing household extinctions so devastating that people feared burying victims, opting instead to cremate and discard corpses, severing kinship bonds and separating spouses—a truly heartbreaking scenario. The text warns that treatment must begin with parasite elimination, as medicines prove ineffective otherwise.

All human beings rely on their parents' physical form at birth and survive through the essence (Jing) of the five grains. Consequently, the abdomen becomes filled with corpse-worms (parasites believed in Daoism to inhabit the body), which are harmful to humans. On the night of every Gengshen Day (an important Daoist fasting day), these worms report a person’s transgressions to the Celestial Emperor (Tian), leading to a reduction in their lifespan and premature death. At this time, the person’s hun (ethereal soul) and po (corporeal soul) separate—the hun ascends to heaven while the po sinks into the abyss, leaving only the corpse-worms behind in the body. These worms are called "ghosts." If not properly venerated through timely rituals, they will cause harm, damaging a person’s life.

Methods for Observing Gengshen:

Whether king, minister, or commoner, no one escapes this law, and women are particularly vulnerable. If a Daoist practitioner fails to eliminate the Three Corpses and Nine Worms (the upper, middle, and lower corpse-worms along with nine types of parasites), they will never attain longevity. On every Gengshen Day, one must stay awake the entire night until dawn, only resting briefly when feeling physically exhausted and emaciated. It is also necessary to have someone wake them frequently, ensuring the corpse-worms have no opportunity to ascend and report transgressions.

The Great Emperor’s Mysterious Code records: On the 8th day of the sixth month and on Gengshen Day, the Northern Emperor (an important Daoist deity) opens the Gate of All Beings to receive petitions. If a person’s accumulated transgressions reach five hundred, death is inevitable. Therefore, one must observe Gengshen to suppress the Three Corpses. Persistently observing Gengshen can permanently eliminate the Three Corpses, refreshing the spirit (Shen) and calming the five viscera. The specific method involves tapping the teeth thirty-six times each night, pressing the left hand over the heart, and calling the names of the Three Corpses: "Upper Corpse Peng Ju, come forth! Middle Corpse Peng Ze, come forth! Lower Corpse Peng Xuan, come forth!" This prevents them from causing harm. Additionally, on Gengshen Day, one should trim fingernails, and on Chou Day, toenails. On the 16th day of the seventh month each year, burn the collected nail clippings to ashes and ingest them with water to eradicate the Three Corpses and Nine Worms. This is called "Beheading the Three Corpses."

Methods for Preparing Medicine:

Before compounding medicine, one must first observe fasting, purify the chamber with incense, and maintain sincere reverence.

The chamber must not be contaminated by any impure presence—be it chickens, dogs, cats, children, or women—for the efficacy of the prescription to be verified. This concerns King Yue’s clinically tested formula for treating "corpse-transmitted disease" (a contagious illness resembling tuberculosis).

In the second year of Tianfu (937 CE), on the twelfth day of the eighth lunar month, a senior Daoist monk named "Qing" from Hunan obtained this ancient formula at Mount Nanyue. The text bore King Yue’s explanatory preface, followed by the prescription and instructions for ritual talismans (fulu). With this method, tens of thousands were later cured. By the ninth year of Chunhua (998 CE), it was transmitted to Chancellor Ding; in the seventh year of Xiangfu (1014 CE), the Thunder Envoy also acquired the formula and saved over a hundred more lives.

King Yue’s records state: The household of Imperial Son-in-Law Liu Zhi, comprising over three hundred members, purchased a maidservant named Feng Pengshu. She abruptly developed alternating chills and fevers, and despite medical treatment, withered away after a hundred days. Within five days of her death, Liu Xiang, her twenty-year-old son, contracted the same illness and died suddenly after a hundred days of futile care. The disease then claimed over a hundred lives in succession. Eventually, even the son-in-law exhibited symptoms, leaving court physicians helpless.

King Yue posted notices at the palace gates seeking renowned healers. Ten days later, a Maoshan Daoist named Li Tong entered the capital. A court envoy (tianshi) informed him, "No one has yet cured this ailment." The Daoist explained: "The manifestations are complex—some die without apparent cause; some dream of spectral entities or worms; others dream of companions or shared meals; some exhale foul breath when speaking. Symptoms include alternating chills, fever, coughing, and transmission through the deceased’s belongings."

This affliction stems from corpse-demonic worms (shichong). The insects fly into clothing and bedding to lay eggs, which hatch upon contact with human qi (vital energy) and blood. They first invade through hair follicles and pores, devouring blood vessels before consuming the five viscera, gradually emaciating the victim. If the worms reach the heart, they transform into ghosts, rendering the disease incurable. Before cardiac damage occurs, herbs combined with talismanic rites can expel the parasites. Some cases involve only corpse-qi contamination without live worms; here, the medicine induces expulsion of bluish-yellow gelatinous matter for recovery. Patients must immediately discard all clothing, and the deceased’s possessions must not remain in the home beyond three days.

This records a medicinal formula for treating "consumption worms" (ancient parasitic theories of tuberculosis) called the "Ghost-Weeping Decoction." The prescription employs numerous extraordinary ingredients:

The primary components include a human skull cap (tianlinggai) roasted in clarified butter and turtle shell, thorowax root with removed rhizome, asafoetida resin, benzoin gum, and cyrtomium fern. Also included are twenty-one peach kernels with skins and tips removed, ten fen of costus root, half a ge of fermented black soybean hearts, half a handful of sweet wormwood, two cun of raw licorice root, and one fen of betel nut. Additional ingredients are powdered cinnabar (chensha), one qian of musk, and one fen of barefoot centipede soaked in ginger juice. Most remarkably, black chicken droppings are required—the chicken must first be fed hemp seeds for five days before collecting its feces.

In preparation, the five ingredients starting from betel nut should be ground into powder and evenly mixed, then divided into three packets. The medicine should be compounded on auspicious days according to Daoist calendrics (Liujia Jian or Chu days). For administration: first soak the initial eleven ingredients overnight in two sheng of a prepubescent boy's urine, left uncovered outdoors (to absorb stellar Qi), then decoct at the fourth watch (1-3 AM) until reduced to 80% volume. After straining, divide into three portions. Each portion is taken with one packet of powdered medicine at the beginning of the fifth watch (3-5 AM), warmed before consumption.

After ingestion, the patient must rest quietly. The second dose follows after 2-3 hours. If no diarrhea occurs by sunrise, administer the third dose. Any expelled parasites must immediately be burned with oil-fire, and all patient belongings must be incinerated. Nightmares featuring weeping farewells indicate efficacy. Observe the worms' coloration: green/red/yellow signifies treatability, while black/white indicates marrow depletion—though incurable, the formula can still eradicate the root cause.

Critical precaution: The patient must never smell the medicine during preparation, lest the parasites become alert and resist expulsion.

This scripture records a medicinal formula for treating consumptive diseases (known in ancient times as "lao bing," including tuberculosis and other wasting illnesses), called the "Heavenly Skullcap Powder." The primary ingredient is the human parietal bone (tian ling gai), which must first be cleansed with sandalwood-infused decoction, anointed with clarified butter, roasted, and consecrated with seven recitations of incantations. Six auxiliary ingredients include asafoetida (a resinous spice), musk, cinnabar, benzoin resin, betel nut, and kansui root (Euphorbia kansui), all ground into an extremely fine powder and thoroughly blended.

The medicine is to be taken with an eight-herb decoction consisting of Chinese chives, scallion whites, sweet wormwood, licorice root, peach twigs, willow branches, mulberry root bark, and sour pomegranate roots. The decoction must be simmered in a silver or stone vessel using a prepubescent boy's urine as the liquid base. Administration should occur during the fifth watch (3-00-5:00 AM), with the preparation ritual requiring gender inversion—male patients must have the medicine prepared by women, and female patients by men.

Post-administration vomiting may occur, which can be alleviated with white mume plum flesh. When the remedy takes effect, intestinal rumbling will expel parasites, yellowish fluids, and abnormal stools. If the first dose proves ineffective, a second dose should be taken after walking approximately five to seven li (equivalent to 1-2 hours), followed by a third dose at dawn. Persistent diarrhea can be stopped with a mixture of dragon bone (fossilized bones) and coptis root powder taken with water, followed by congee made with white mume plums for recuperation.

The text concludes with provenance and verification: an elder named Yansou received this formula from another old sage with proven efficacy. A specific case details the successful treatment of the daughter-in-law of Ministry official You Lie—a sixteen-year-old girl presenting with high fever, severe cough, copious phlegm, and menstrual irregularities.

The Ji Jiu Xian Fang (Emergency Immortal Formulas) records several cases using Tianlinggai Powder (a Daoist medicinal formula containing human skull components) to treat strange illnesses:

The first case describes a patient in their thirties with reduced appetite and emaciation, unresponsive to conventional treatments. After taking Tianlinggai Powder, they expelled a centipede-like parasite. When caught with tongs and fried in boiling oil before being thrown into the river, the illness resolved completely.

Another case involves a thirty-year-old man with extreme polyphagia yet no weight gain, requiring daily meat consumption—experiencing abdominal pain and weakness when slightly hungry. The Tianlinggai treatment caused expulsion of over a dozen red worms, including one larger purple specimen with fine hairs on its head. Follow-up treatment included restorative tonics and authentic Suhexiang Pills (an aromatic orifice-opening herbal formula), leading to full recovery.

A fifty-year-old man in the third case needed to drink several liters of wine daily on an empty stomach—developing limb tremors when abstaining. One liter provided partial relief, while intoxication stopped the shaking completely. Though called "wine disease" by locals and diagnosed as "trembling wind" by physicians, neither acupuncture nor herbs helped. Suspecting parasites, practitioners administered Tianlinggai Powder, resulting in expulsion of a dark plum-like mass that revealed spider-like legs upon examination. The condition vanished immediately, with no subsequent alcohol cravings.

The text cautions physicians to carefully differentiate such syndromes. While these cases highlight Tianlinggai Powder's remarkable efficacy against bizarre parasitic infestations, modern medicine has confirmed human bone components lack scientific validity as medicinal ingredients.