《三洞群仙錄》Vol. 20

The Register of Immortals from the Three Caverns (Sandong Qunxian Lu), Volume 20, records several extraordinary encounters of Daoist practitioners:

The tale of Elder Qingqiu and the Purple Subtlety Star: Wang Yuanzhi, a Daoist priest from Taizhou, mastered the Book of Changes (Yijing) and could foresee life, death, and fortune. He authored the fifteen-volume Compendium of Changes (Yi Zong). One stormy day during thunder and rain, an immortal appeared amid the clouds and rebuked him for revealing celestial secrets, commanding the Six Ding Divine Generals to retrieve the heavenly texts. Terrified, Wang knelt as six green-robed figures arrived holding the books. The immortal scolded, "Heavenly scriptures are guarded by flying sentinels—how dare you hoard them privately?" Wang explained they had been bestowed by Elder Qingqiu. The immortal declared, "The Heavenly Emperor decrees you shall attain the Dao in four years." True to this prophecy, during the Guangzhai era, he achieved transcendence through corpse liberation (shijie), the Daoist term for ascension leaving the physical body behind.

Zhao Kuangyin’s encounter with Patriarch Chen Tuan: Before becoming emperor, Song dynasty founder Zhao Kuangyin and his chancellor Zhao Pu met the eminent Daoist Chen Tuan (styled Xiyi) in a Chang’an market. Chen invited them to drink. Noticing Zhao Pu sitting at the head of the table due to leg numbness, Chen immediately reprimanded him: "How can the minor star beside the Purple Subtlety Star (symbolizing the emperor) presume the superior seat?" He demanded Zhao Pu move to the right, subtly indicating Zhao Kuangyin’s destiny as the true Son of Heaven.

Li Yu’s immortal encounter: While touring Mount Hua, Xinyu official Li Yu and companion Yang Ling accidentally entered a celestial grotto. The purple-robed immortal Du Zihua hosted them in bamboo cottages as orderly as government offices, serving camel meat (resembling beef). Among the books was a Confucian Analects (Lunyu). At parting, Du offered silverware and asked if they wished to stay. Seeing their hesitation, he laughingly sent them off. Later attempts to relocate the site proved futile.

Gu Huan’s demon-subduing healing: Southern Dynasties Daoist Gu Huan, whose spiritual power was profound, once used talismanic seals (fuyin) to vanquish a tree demon (a massive trunk spanning ten arm-spans) haunting a doorstep. When a sick man sought help, Gu first inquired, "What books do you keep at home?" hinting at possible hauntings attracted by texts. These stories illuminate Daoists’ capacity to bridge heaven and humanity through wondrous experiences.

This passage records the miraculous deeds of several Daoist immortals:

Wang Yuan (courtesy name Fangping) mastered celestial prognostication and could foresee auspicious and inauspicious events. When Emperor Wu of Han inquired about signs of impending disasters, he remained silent but inscribed over four hundred prophetic characters on the palace gate. The enraged emperor ordered them erased, yet after the surface writing disappeared, hidden characters emerged beneath, with the ink even penetrating deep into the wooden panels.

In Zhushan County of Fangzhou lived a man named Yin Yinrong, whose family dug a thousand-foot well without finding water. Workers touching the well walls discovered another realm beyond, encountering a gate inscribed "Mount Tianzhu" where two child attendants greeted them. After explaining their purpose, a red-robed messenger arrived with orders to escort them ceremoniously. The workers were led to bathe in crystalline springs, drinking waters sweet as wine. Within half a day, they beheld palaces of gold and jade bearing the name "Ladder Immortals' Realm," learning this was where newly perfected immortals cultivated their practice.

Wang Jiao excelled in magical arts. During the Tianbao era, he predicted political upheavals through nighttime star observations, only to be reported by neighbors. As the aging emperor took offense at such omens, Wang Jiao endured dozens of executioner's strikes before dying—his skull measured an astonishing 1.8 inches thick. Later, he reappeared at an old friend's home, revealing his extraordinary nature.

Between Zibo and Qi regions dwelled the Daoist Yang Xiangong, whose age none could determine. He routinely had blacksmiths strike his head with iron hammers without injury, claiming it brought him pleasure. He would enter mountains to play with tigers and leopars, felling fierce beasts barehanded. Often exhorting people to accumulate hidden virtue (Yinde), he eventually retreated to Mount Emei in Shu.

Qi Jia (courtesy name Kongbin), already versed in classics and histories by his twenties, was noted for mastering "summoning escape" (a vanishing art), while Zhongfu specialized in "absorbing radiance"—a cultivation method drawing essence from sun and moon.

During nighttime meditation, one suddenly heard a voice calling outside the window: "Qi Kongbin (a legendary immortal), retreat into seclusion!" He lamented how arduous worldly cultivation amidst mundane affairs had become - the gains were minuscule while the losses loomed as vast as mountain cliffs. Thus he quietly departed, traveling to the immortal isles of the Western Sea to transmit the Dao, eventually instructing over three thousand disciples.

The Biographies of Wang Clan Immortals records: In his youth, Wang Zhongfu was devoted to Daoist arts and mastered the technique of "absorbing solar and lunar essences" (xi jing can xia). After persisting in cultivation for over forty years, he one night dreamed of an immortal's revelation: "The reason you cannot ascend is insufficient numinous fluids in your brain." Thereupon he was taught the method of ingesting elixirs, ultimately achieving ascension to the Mystic Isle paradise.

The Biographies of Eminent Daoists recounts: The origins of Daoist Cheng remained unknown. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, having heard of his reputation, summoned him and housed him in Penglai Hall. Whenever questioned about Daoist methods, he consistently avoided answering. Soon he requested to return to the mountains. When leaving the palace carrying only a cloth sack, people mocked him. Later it was discovered that his inscribed poem on the wall prophesied An Lushan's rebellion and the emperor's flight to Shu. The more people tried to erase the characters, the more distinctly they appeared.

The Collected Immortal Biographies relates: Before Yi Yin (renowned Shang dynasty minister) was born, his mother transformed into a withered mulberry tree during a flood. His father discovered infant cries emanating from the tree and adopted him. Growing up, Yi Yin mastered astronomy and calendrics, nurturing ambitions to save the world. Carrying a cooking tripod, he sought audience with King Tang and was appointed prime minister. At eighty, he retired to practice grain avoidance (bigu), receiving from Laozi the method of "liberating the corporeal form" (jie xing zhi fa, a liberation technique) through an immortal envoy, ultimately cultivating to ascension in a stone chamber of Mengqin Mountain.

The Pearl Pouch of Three Caverns documents: Deng Yu (courtesy name Yuanda) once dreamed of a divine bird bestowing upon him a ritual seal. Thereafter, using this seal to draw talismans cured patients instantly. The Annotations to Han Sacrificial Records mentions Cui Wenzi studying immortal arts under Prince Qiao (the original text here is incomplete, presumably continuing with accounts of subduing rainbow spirits).

This scripture recounts several miraculous accounts of Daoist immortals:

Prince Qiao (a Daoist immortal) transformed into a white rainbow. Master Wenzi (likely referring to Wenshi Zhenren) was startled and struck at it with a halberd, only to look down and find Prince Qiao’s corpse. Moments later, the corpse transformed into a great bird and flew away.

Zhang Yulan was the granddaughter of the Celestial Master (likely referring to Zhang Daoling). From childhood, she abstained from meat. At seventeen, she dreamed of crimson light descending from the heavens, within which golden seal-script characters flew into her mouth, causing her to become pregnant. Her mother questioned her, but she never spoke of the dream—only her maidservant knew. Later, she cut open her abdomen to prove her purity, and from within emerged ten volumes of the Benji Jing (Scripture of the Original Boundary), written in white silk with golden characters, resembling lotus blossoms. These scriptures were passed down to the world. At her burial, a sudden storm arose, and her coffin flew up to the treetops—both the scriptures and her body vanished without a trace.

Dong Shangxian was a young woman from Suizhou, renowned for her extraordinary beauty at seventeen, earning her the title "Shangxian" (Upper Immortal). One day, purple clouds descended, celestial music sounded, and she was escorted by two azure-robed youths to ascend to heaven. Her parents wept and begged her to stay, and after rising several dozen feet, she returned. Months later, she ascended once more, this time shedding her mortal form and departing as an immortal.

Du Qiong (a Daoist figure) visited Mount Fengdu (a sacred mountain associated with the underworld in Daoism) and observed that the rice grains there were as large as foxnuts, while other grains remained the same as in the mortal world. Moved by this wonder, he composed the Chongsi Fu (Ode to Profound Reflection) in praise of these miraculous crops.

Xu Jian, a Daoist practitioner, lived in seclusion for years on Mount Mao (a renowned Daoist mountain), his appearance never aging. He often spoke of immortal affairs. His poem Inscription on Maoshan Temple depicts the scenery of a grotto-heaven paradise: ancient pines lush and green, jade altars serene—yet lamenting that the phoenix and crane did not come, and the alchemical well had grown cold, expressing a poignant longing for the elusive Daoist transcendence.

These stories exemplify the Daoist belief in ascension to immortality, liberation from the corpse (shijie), and the yearning of practitioners for the wonders of the celestial realm.

This passage recounts several anecdotes about Daoist cultivation and rare marvels.

The first poem expresses a cultivator's transcendent perspective: cease lamenting the white hair and decay of worldly life, for the path of cultivation is the true way to longevity. The poet Xu Xuan describes himself as full of talent yet unrecognized, ultimately drifting away from mundane existence.

Two accounts of mythical creatures follow:

The crane lore originates from the Xianghe Jing (Classic of Crane Physiognomy). Fu Qiubo transmitted this text to Prince Jin (heir of King Ling of Zhou), which later came into the possession of Cui Wenzi when he studied Daoism with the prince, eventually hidden in a stone chamber on Mount Song. The Duke of Huainan discovered it while herb-gathering and circulated it. The scripture states cranes are yang birds born from the qi of Metal and Fire: their crowns turn red after three years, they can soar high at seven years, harmonize their cries with the twelve earthly branches at fourteen years, develop thick mud-resistant plumage at sixty years, conceive through mutual gazing at one hundred sixty years, and sustain themselves without food through parthenogenesis at one thousand six hundred years. Superior cranes have long necks for resonant calls, turtle-shell backs and soft-shelled turtle bellies enabling dance, earning them the title "immortals' steeds."

The stone chicken record comes from Zhuoyi Ji (Records of the Exceptional). In the third year of Jian'an, the Jitu Kingdom presented a crimson stone chicken, small as a swallow, that crowed punctually with far-reaching calls. Locals would sacrifice livestock upon hearing its cry, digging at the sound's origin to retrieve it. These chickens fly during peaceful eras as auspicious signs, also called "treasure fowls." Daoists recount how the immortal Tong Jun discovered red stone chickens deep in caverns while quarrying minerals; powdered as medicine, they grant sonorous voices but shorten lifespans. In the first year of Baoding, among rare tributes was an amber swallow that would sing and fly when placed in quiet chambers—another marvel of this kind.

Finally, the tale of Vice-Minister Wang: During the Dali era of Tang, an official surnamed Wang loved Daoist arts while maintaining courtly duties, often befriending mountain recluses. One day he conversed with an old sweeper named Pei, recognizing his extraordinariness, but his wife scolded him for mingling with lowly laborers and expelled Pei. Returning next day in hemp robes with a staff—the very image of a hermit—Pei declared the vice-minister no true Daoist seeker but merely an elixir-chaser. Producing a small iron case, he shook out two sesame-sized pills, scattering them across its surface.

The Register of Immortals from the Three Caverns records two accounts of reclusive Daoist transcendents:

The first tells of Magistrate Zeng of Huizhou who encountered a mysterious old soldier. This elderly attendant worked with exceptional diligence in the vegetable garden and could always anticipate Zeng's needs. One night, the old soldier invited Zeng to visit the garden at the third watch (midnight), promising to demonstrate secret arts. Though family members tried to dissuade him, by dawn the old soldier had passed away, with several taels of silver hidden at his waist. Months later, someone unexpectedly arrived from Guangzhou bearing a letter of gratitude from the deceased soldier. When the coffin was opened for inspection, only burial clothes remained—the body had vanished without trace.

The second account contains two transcendent narratives:

Lady Mao (courtesy name Zhengmei), originally a palace maid during the Qin dynasty, fled to Mount Hua where a Daoist master instructed her to sustain herself on pine needles. Thereafter she knew neither hunger nor cold, her body becoming light enough to fly. The recluse Chen Tuan often wandered the mountains with her, and woodcutters frequently sighted her. A poem dedicated to her describes the carefree existence of "gathering herbs with basket never full, climbing again to perilous peaks," capturing her transcendent demeanor of "laughing at Qin palace affairs while gazing toward the Great Void (Taixu, the supreme Daoist realm)."

He Aliu, a woman from Xuzhou, served for years at Huayang Temple on Mount Hua, fetching firewood and water for the female Daoists (nüguan). When the group once lamented how delicious yet unattainable southern oranges were, she smilingly stepped outside and moments later produced five oranges from her sleeve. Three years later, when a Daoist arrived from Mount Luofu (a sacred Daoist mountain) mentioning how a woman had mysteriously disappeared after being caught stealing oranges from a Guangzhou official's garden, the community realized He Aliu had been no ordinary mortal.

(Note: "Great Void" refers to the supreme Daoist spiritual realm; "Mount Luofu" is a sacred Daoist mountain; "nüguan" denotes female Daoist practitioners)

Zuo Ci (courtesy name Yuanfang) mastered the art of refining the Nine-Cycle Golden Elixir (Jiuzhuan Jindan) and transformative magic. When Cao Cao sought to obtain these secret techniques but was refused, he conceived murderous intentions. Zuo Ci requested retirement to his homeland, and at the farewell banquet, he performed mystical arts: using a hairpin to cleave his wine cup in two, the wine divided perfectly into halves. After drinking one portion himself, he offered the other to Cao Cao. When Cao hesitated to drink, Zuo Ci drained the remaining wine and tossed the cup toward the ceiling beam, where it transformed into a flying bird and vanished.

In the Zhengao scriptures, the immortal Mao Jun recorded that the seventh-generation ancestor of female transcendent Dou Qiongying—a man named Dou Zhi—had spent his life performing virtuous deeds such as burying unidentified corpses and liberating wandering souls. These accumulated yin virtues (undeclared good deeds) blessed Dou Qiongying across generations, enabling her to cultivate in the Huayang Grotto-Heaven (one of Daoism’s Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens).

Twenty li northeast of Yichang County, a strange cluster of boulders called the "Celestial Master’s Ghost Mound" (Tianshi Bing Gui Dui) rises from the Jiang River. One riverside megalith bears a natural formation resembling a Celestial Master’s talisman (Tianshi Fu)—its strokes as sharp as knife cuts, exuding the imposing aura of a sword-wielding guardian. Locals make rubbings of these patterns to ward off evil. In spring of the seventh year of the Yuanhe era, official Li Anxing passed through the area and received such a talisman. Six months later, when rats infested his book chest, this talisman alone remained untouched.

Daoist Master Wang lived in seclusion at Yangmo Village in Jinggu County, Lizhou, cultivating near the Xianku Mountain (named for its immortal grottoes) by the Anle Stream off the Jialing River. Eventually, his entire family achieved ascension to immortality. To this day, traces of their former residence—broken tiles and bricks—can still be seen.

The Supplement to Biographies of Immortals (Xianzhuan Shiyi) records that Yin Jun once dwelled in Mount Jin, possessing the extraordinary ability to drink toxic aconite without harm; Du Wu could spit out his internal elixir (Neidan)—the crystallized energy formed through Daoist cultivation—to show others.

When Li Shuo served as the Northern Gate Secretary, Yan Shou from Fengyi served as his aide. Yan Shou possessed an eccentric temperament and revered the Daoist path to immortality, showing particular reverence for divine immortals. He thus invited Master Yin (a Daoist practitioner) to reside at the official compound, sharing meals with him daily. Master Yin's body often emitted a wondrous fragrance, which deepened Yan Shou's respect for him. Yan Shou had a younger sister who had become a Buddhist nun, and she frequently grew angry at her brother's association with Master Yin. One day, she secretly poisoned a cup of wine (the term "jinzhen" refers to poisoned wine) and offered it to Master Yin. After drinking it, Master Yin started in alarm and said, "This wine is not right," then vomited forth a hard, fragrant object. When Yan Shou cut it open, he found it was a genuine musk deer's navel gland. That very night, Master Yin passed away, and Yan Shou buried him. The following autumn, Zhu Taixu encountered Master Yin on Mount Jin. Master Yin said, "Previously at the Northern Gate, I encountered poisoned wine and feigned death—but how could poison harm my true form?" When Zhu Taixu relayed this to Yan Shou, the latter sighed and said, "I long knew he had achieved liberation from the corpse (a Daoist term for discarding the physical body to attain immortality)."

Du Wu, while serving as a high-ranking official, encountered a Daoist priest in his youth on Mount Changbai and received from him a single immortal elixir pill. After consuming it, he no longer desired ordinary food yet appeared radiant, light of body, and full of vigor. Later, when appointed as the governor of Shangzhou, he grew concerned that abstaining from earthly sustenance might arouse suspicion among the populace and sought to expel the elixir from his system. Over a year later, another Daoist instructed him to eat pork. Du Wu complied and immediately vomited forth the immortal elixir.

Pei's son, though impoverished, was filial and delighted in charitable giving. One day he encountered an old man who led him into Mount Taibai. The elder tapped a massive boulder with his staff, causing it to split open, and guided him into a Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Realm (Daoist terminology for the abodes of immortals), where they beheld visions of jade maidens and immortal youths amidst paradisiacal scenery. The old man informed him that in twenty years he could return to seek refuge here. When the An Lushan Rebellion later erupted, the Pei clan indeed took shelter in the western mountains and were preserved.

During the reign of Emperor Daizong of Tang, Imperial Censor Wei was ordered to perform sacrifices at the Yellow Emperor's altar on Mount Hua. At an inn at the mountain's base, he met an elderly man who pointed out the ancient altar's location. During their conversation, he realized the old man was actually his great-great-grandfather. As they ascended the mountain together, the elder walked ahead, leading the way with his staff.

Wei Bian couldn't catch up with them and arrived at a stone chamber where he met two elderly women who claimed to be his grandmother and grand-aunt. Both wore their hair in double buns and garments made of leaves. They joyfully said, "Times have changed, yet we never expected to meet our great-grandson today." After Wei Bian followed his elderly father up the mountain to complete the ancestral worship, he bid farewell and returned home. Later, when he tried to find the place again, the original path had vanished completely. Local villagers at the mountain's foot said these two elders only appeared once every two or three years, and no one knew where they actually resided.

Su Ziyu was exceptionally intelligent in his youth and widely read. When he came across records of the Yellow Emperor mining copper at Mount Shou to cast tripods and refine the Golden Elixir (Jindan) before ascending to heaven, he put down the scroll and sighed: "Confucian classics speak of the Five Constants and restrain people with rituals, music, and moral teachings. Yet human life is fleeting—one turns gray-haired in the blink of an eye. After the physical body perishes, what use is empty fame?" Thus he began yearning for the Daoist path of immortality, practicing breath regulation to cultivate his vital energy (Qi). Later, he encountered a Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoist master who transmitted to him the secret scriptures of Qiongwen Purple Characters and the essential methods for celestial immortality. Through diligent practice, he eventually attained spiritual communion and finally ascended as an immortal.

Chang Rong cultivated the Dao on Mount Heng, calling herself Changrongzi. At over two hundred years old, her appearance grew increasingly youthful, her rosy complexion resembling that of a twenty-year-old maiden. Some said she was the daughter of a Shang dynasty king, maintaining her youth by consuming the roots of penglei (a type of immortal herb). She often moved among humans, and people would occasionally see her.

During Emperor Zhenzong's reign in the Song dynasty, there was a Daoist named Zi Tongyuan who lived at the Chengtian Temple in Shaanzhou, reaching over a hundred years of age. Impervious to both cold and heat, he drank wine daily and often abstained from ordinary food. Later, he accompanied the imperial procession to offer sacrifices at Fenyin, traveling from Mount Luo to the Taiyi Cave. Before his death, he gathered officials and commoners to expound on the essential meaning of life and death. At midnight, after bathing and changing clothes, he gazed toward the palace gates and passed away like a transcendent. His body became extraordinarily light, as if he had shed his mortal form like a cicada's molting.

Xu Ze of the Eastern Sea reclused himself on Mount Tiantai, practicing grain avoidance (Bigu) to nurture his nature. The Perfected Lord Xu of the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji) had once predicted he would become an imperial teacher at eighty before attaining the Dao. When Prince Yang Guang of Jin summoned him out of admiration, Xu Ze said, "I am eighty-three this year—Xu Jun's prophecy has been fulfilled." Upon reaching Yangzhou, the prince requested Daoist teachings, but Xu declined, citing inauspicious timing. Days later he died, yet travelers along the road saw him walking back toward the mountains. It's said he distributed scriptures among his disciples before departing ethereally.

The statue of Zuo Che (legendary minister of the Yellow Emperor) appears solemn and dignified. He ultimately bid farewell to the Yellow Emperor to live as a recluse and cultivate the Dao.

Huangdi's minister Zuo Che carved a wooden statue of the Yellow Emperor after his ascension, leading the feudal lords in worship and sacrifices. After seven years without Huangdi's return, by the time of Emperor Zhuanxu's reign, Zuo Che also attained immortality and departed. The practice of carving divine statues from wood in the human realm began from this time.

Pu Gaoyuan from Baxi was a disciple of Huanglu Master Wang Pujin. His eccentric speech and unpredictable behavior led people to consider him mad. On the sixteenth day of the seventh month in the twelfth year of Datong era, he rode clouds from the summit of Nanfeng Mountain straight to Jinling to bid farewell to Emperor Wu of Liang. The emperor was in meditation when Pu suddenly appeared in the great hall. When questioned, he replied: "During my seclusion in Baxi, I attained the Shangqing Daoist methods. Now that I'm about to ascend to heaven, I came specially to take my leave." With these words, he flew away. Governor Wang Xiaoji of Yizhou reported this event, and Emperor Wu ordered court scholar Liu Xiaoxian to compose a stele inscription recording this account - the stele remains to this day.

When Gu Chengzhi traveled from Guangzhou to Xiangtan, he heard of an eminent master named Han Yong and sought him out. At first sight, Han Yong treated him like an old friend, saying: "You bear the bone structure and bearing of a Daoist immortal - could you abandon the path of official honors?" Gu declined, citing his pursuit of official position. Han Yong predicted: "You will surely pass the imperial examinations this time. Later, we shall meet outside Changhe Gate in the capital." The following spring, Gu indeed passed the jinshi examinations. One day passing Changhe Gate, he saw a man riding a lean horse - it was Han Yong. Remembering their previous arrangement, Gu was astonished, and they drank together. Han Yong presented him with a poem: "Your virtue and writings already surpass the common crowd, now I shall transmit to you the Way of immortality. Empty fame and floating profits prove illusory in the end - better seize the freedom of idle clouds and wild cranes." After parting, no further news came. Later, Gu began practicing grain avoidance (bigu) and manifested many miraculous signs.

Pan Shizheng was exceptionally filial toward his mother. After her passing, he built a hut by her grave to observe mourning rites. When Daoist priest Liu Aidao saw this, he marveled: "The celestial steed of the Three Pure Ones' (Sanqing) realm - who but you could ride it?"

Perfected Lord Wang Jingdu wore crimson unlined robes adorned with nine-colored phoenix patterns, crowned with the Great Heaven Flying Immortal Jade Headpiece, holding a nine-colored talismanic scepter. He presided over the Southern Vermilion Sun Immortal Terrace, overseeing the mortal world's registers of life and death.

Here are recorded several accounts of cultivators attaining immortality through Daoist practice. One practitioner, after nine years of cultivation, obtained the elixir of eternal life. Later, crimson clouds descended to welcome his ascension to the Jade Purity Palace (the highest celestial realm among Daoism's Three Pure Ones).

The Southern Extremity Lady Wang, the fourth daughter of the Queen Mother of the West, bore the Daoist name Lady Purple Origin. Adorned in embroidered capes and azure feathered skirts, she descended during Emperor Ping of Han's reign to a stone chamber on Mount Yangluo.

Zhang Shizhen, an eminent Daoist of the Liang Dynasty, received the "Way of the Clear Mirror" from a celestial being while dwelling on Mount Heng. The divine being explained: "Just as the clear heavens reveal all things' essence and a polished mirror reflects forms perfectly, when humans maintain minds as limpid as heaven and mirrors, settling their Shen (spirit) to harmonize inner and outer, they attain the Great Dao. But when desires disturb the heart and bodily toil unsettles the spirit, one strays far from the Dao. The ancients said, 'Emptiness within generates illumination; settled spirit welcomes the Dao.'" After nine years' cultivation during the Tianjian era, Zhang achieved ascension in broad daylight.

Kim Gagi, a Silla scholar renowned for erudition and literary talent, cultivated virtue on Mount Zhongnan. In December of the 11th year of Emperor Xuanzong's Dazhong reign, he announced receiving the Jade Emperor's decree appointing him Vice Minister of the Brilliant Script Terrace, with ascension scheduled for February 25th. Though summoned by the emperor, he declined. On the appointed day, miraculous signs appeared: spring blossoms flourished out of season amid five-colored auspicious clouds where cranes and phoenixes danced to celestial music as Kim ascended amid magnificent pageantry—a testament to accumulated merit, his story eternally illuminating that golden age.

(Note: The "Way of the Clear Mirror" refers to Daoist cultivation methods emphasizing clarity of mind to perceive one's true nature; "daylight ascension" denotes the ultimate achievement of physical immortality)