The Nine Tripod Elixirs and the Taiqing Divine Elixir

2 The Master Who Embraces Simplicity says: According to the Scripture of the Yellow Emperor’s Divine Elixirs of the Nine Tripods, the Yellow Emperor took them and ascended to immortality. It also says: “Breathing exercises, guided movements, and herbal medicines may prolong one’s years but cannot avert death. Taking the divine elixir grants life without end, enduring as long as heaven and earth; one rides clouds and drives dragons up and down through Great Purity.” The Yellow Emperor transmitted it to Master Xuan, warning him: “This way is supremely important: give it only to the worthy. If someone is not worthy, even if he piles up jade as high as a mountain, do not tell him about it.” The recipient throws gold figurines and gold fish into a stream flowing east as a pledge, and makes a blood oath. Nor can someone without the bones of an immortal even behold this way. Compound the elixir in a famous mountain, far from people, with no more than three companions. First fast a hundred days, bathe in five fragrances, and maintain the utmost purity. Keep away from filth and intercourse with common people; do not let anyone uninitiated in the Way know about it. If they slander the divine medicine, it will fail. Once it succeeds, the whole family, not just one person, can become immortal. People do not compound the divine elixir but put their faith in herbs. Herbs rot when buried, turn to mush when boiled, and char when burned. They cannot keep themselves alive: how could they give life to people?

3 The nine elixirs are the key to long life, not something ordinary people should see or hear. Countless multitudes blindly know nothing but the pursuit of wealth and status: are they not walking corpses? When compounding the elixirs one must also offer sacrifice; the diagrams and procedures for the sacrifice occupy a scroll of their own.

4 The first elixir is called Elixir Flower. First prepare Mysterious Yellow, using dozens of pounds each of realgar water, alum water, Rong salt, brine salt, arsenolite, oyster shell, red clay, talc, and white lead to make Six-One Mud. Fire it for thirty-six days until it is ready; take it and become immortal on the seventh day. Alternatively, roll this elixir into pellets with Mysterious Paste and place them over a fierce fire: in a moment they become gold. Or combine two hundred and forty zhu of it with a hundred pounds of mercury and fire it; that too becomes gold. When the gold succeeds, the medicine has succeeded. If the gold does not form, seal the medicine again and fire it for the same number of days; it cannot fail.

5 The second elixir is called Divine Elixir, or Divine Talisman. Take it and become immortal in a hundred days. To cross water and fire, smear this elixir beneath the feet and walk upon the water. Take three knifepoints of it, and the three corpses and nine worms immediately dissolve; every illness is cured.

6 The third elixir is called Divine Elixir. Take one knifepoint and become immortal in a hundred days. Give it to any of the six domestic animals to swallow and it too will never die. It also wards off the five weapons. After a hundred days’ use, immortals, jade maidens, and spirits of mountains and rivers come to attend you, appearing in human form.

7 The fourth elixir is called Reverted Elixir. Take one knifepoint and become immortal in a hundred days. Vermilion birds and phoenixes circle overhead, and jade maidens come to your side. Combine one knifepoint of it with a pound of mercury and fire it: gold forms at once. Smear this elixir on money or goods you spend, and they all return the same day. Write with it above an ordinary person’s eyes, and a hundred ghosts flee.

8 The fifth elixir is called Edible Elixir. Take it and become immortal in thirty days. Spirits come to serve, and jade maidens appear before you.

9 The sixth elixir is called Refined Elixir. Take it and become immortal in ten days. Fire it together with mercury, and it too becomes gold.

10 The seventh elixir is called Supple Elixir. Take one knifepoint and become immortal in a hundred days. Mixed with the juice of quepen and taken, it enables even a ninety-year-old man to father children. Fire it together with Gold Lord, and gold forms at once.

11 The eighth elixir is called Subdued Elixir. Take it and become immortal that very day. Carry a date-pit-sized piece and a hundred ghosts will avoid you. Write with it on your doors and gates: the myriad malign forces and hosts of spirits dare not approach. It also repels robbers, tigers, and wolves.

12 The ninth elixir is called Cold Elixir. Take one knifepoint and become immortal in a hundred days. Immortal youths and maidens come to serve you; you fly aloft without needing wings.

13 Of these nine elixirs, obtaining any one makes one immortal: one need not make them all. Choose whichever you prefer to make. Anyone taking a nine-tripod elixir may ascend to heaven if they wish, or stay for the time being among humankind if they wish. All can pass freely in and out of any place; none can be harmed.

14 The Master Who Embraces Simplicity says: There is also the Divine Elixir of Great Purity, whose method comes from the Primordial Lady, Laozi’s teacher. The Scripture of Contemplating Heaven in Great Purity has nine chapters. It says the upper three must not be taught, and no one in the world is fit to receive the middle three, which must remain submerged beneath the Three Springs. The lower three are precisely the upper, middle, and lower scrolls of the Elixir Scripture. The Primordial Lady is a great immortal, able to harmonize yin and yang, command ghosts, spirits, wind, and rain, and drive nine dragons and twelve white tigers in harness. All the immortals under heaven are her subjects; yet she herself says her powers arose from learning the Way and taking the elixir, not from nature. How much more is this true for ordinary people? Her scripture says: “The highest adepts gain the Way and rise to become celestial officials; the middle adepts gain it and settle on Kunlun; the lowest adepts gain it and live long in this world.” Foolish people disbelieve and call this empty talk. From morning till night they do nothing but bring death upon themselves and make no effort to seek life. How could heaven force them to live? Ordinary people know only fine food and clothing, music and beauty, wealth and rank. Those who indulge every desire and suddenly perish must never be told of the divine elixir, lest they mock the Way and malign the truth. Transmit the elixir scripture to the wrong person, and disaster will surely befall you. If someone believes sincerely, you may share a completed medicine, but do not lightly transmit its recipe. Why would someone who knows this Way need to be a prince or lord? Once the divine elixir is made, it grants not only longevity but also the power to make gold. When gold has been made, take a hundred pounds of it and first perform the great sacrifice. This sacrifice has its own scroll of procedures and differs from the Nine Tripods sacrifice. Label and set apart the gold allotted to each offering.

15 For Heaven, twenty pounds; for sun and moon, five; for the Northern Dipper, eight; for Great One, eight; for the well, five; for the stove, five; for the River Lord, twelve; for the earth altar, five; and for the gate, doors, neighborhood ghosts and spirits, and Pure Lord, five apiece: eighty-eight pounds in all. Place the remaining twelve pounds in a good leather bag and, on an auspicious day when the city market is busiest, silently leave it among the crowd and go directly away without looking back. Only what exceeds that hundred pounds may you use as you wish. Failing to sacrifice the gold to the gods first will certainly bring calamity. The scripture also says: “The way to long life does not lie in sacrifices or service to ghosts and gods, nor in guided movements and bending and stretching. The key to ascending to immortality lies in the divine elixir. Knowing it is not easy; making it is truly hard. If you can make it, you can live forever.” In recent times, at the end of the Han, Lord Yin of Xinye compounded this Great Purity Elixir and attained immortality. Originally a Confucian scholar, he had literary gifts and wrote poems, praise of the elixir scripture, and a preface recounting in detail how he began studying the Way with his teacher. He listed more than forty people he knew who had attained immortality. This Great Purity Elixir is somewhat harder to compound than the Nine Tripod elixirs, but is a supreme method for ascending to heaven in daylight. To compound it, one must first prepare Flower Pool, Red Salt, Gen Snow, Mysterious White, Flying Talisman, and Three-Five Divine Water; only then can the fire be lit.

2 Baopuzi says: According to the Scripture of the Yellow Emperor's Nine Tripod Divine Elixirs, the Yellow Emperor took the elixir and then rose to become immortal. It also says: “Breath exercises, stretches, and medicines made from plants can prolong life but cannot prevent death. Taking a divine elixir gives endless life, lasting as long as heaven and earth. One rides clouds and drives dragons, traveling through the heavens.” The Yellow Emperor passed it to Master Xuan and warned him: “This way is extremely important. Give it only to someone worthy. If a person is not suitable, do not tell him this way, even if he offers a mountain of jade.” The recipient throws gold human and fish figures into a stream flowing east as a pledge, and makes an oath by tasting blood. Someone not born with the potential to become a divine immortal cannot even see this way. To make the elixir, go to a famous mountain in an uninhabited place. Take no more than three people. First abstain from forbidden foods for a hundred days, bathe with five fragrances, and keep especially clean. Stay away from filth and contact with ordinary people. Do not let people who do not understand the way learn about it. If they slander the divine medicine, it will fail. Once made, it can make the entire household immortal, not just one person. People do not make divine elixir and instead trust herbal medicines. Plant medicines rot when buried, fall apart when boiled, and char when burned. They cannot keep themselves alive; how could they keep people alive?

3 The nine elixirs are essential for long life; ordinary people should not see or hear about them. The teeming millions know only how to seek wealth and status. Aren't they walking corpses? When making the elixirs one must also make offerings. There is a separate scroll with diagrams and directions for the offerings.

4 The first elixir is called Cinnabar Blossom. First make the Dark and Yellow preparation. Use several dozen jin each of liquid realgar, liquid alumstone, Rong salt, brine salt, arsenolite, oyster shell, red clay, talc, and white lead powder to make Six-and-One Clay. Fire it for thirty-six days until it is ready. Take it, and in seven days you will become immortal. Mix this elixir with Dark Paste, make pills, and place them over a fierce fire: they turn into gold in a moment. Or mix 240 zhu of it with 100 jin of mercury and heat it; that also turns into gold. When the gold is ready, the medicine is ready. If no gold forms, reseal the medicine and heat it for the same number of days as before. It will certainly succeed.

5 The second elixir is called Divine Elixir, or Divine Talisman. Take it and you will become immortal in a hundred days. To cross water or fire, apply it to the soles of your feet and walk over the water. If you take three knife-tip measures, the three corpse spirits and nine worms in your body immediately disappear, and all illnesses are cured.

6 The third elixir is called Divine Elixir. Take one knife-tip measure and become immortal in a hundred days. If domestic animals swallow it, they too will never die. It also protects against the five kinds of weapons. After taking it for a hundred days, immortals, jade maidens, and spirits of mountains and rivers come to serve you, appearing in human form.

7 The fourth elixir is called Reverted Elixir. Take one knife-tip measure and become immortal in a hundred days. Red birds and phoenixes circle overhead, and jade maidens come to your side. Combine one knife-tip measure with one jin of mercury and heat it; it immediately becomes gold. If you put this elixir on money or other things you lend out, they all return the same day. If you write with it above an ordinary person's eyes, a hundred ghosts run away.

8 The fifth elixir is called the Edible Elixir. Take it and become immortal in thirty days. Spirits come to serve you, and jade maidens stand before you.

9 The sixth elixir is called the Refined Elixir. Take it and become immortal in ten days. If you mix it with mercury and heat it, it also turns into gold.

10 The seventh elixir is called the Soft Elixir. Take one knife-tip measure and become immortal in a hundred days. If a ninety-year-old man takes it mixed with clematis juice, he can still father a child. Combine it with Gold Lord and heat them, and they become gold.

11 The eighth elixir is called the Subdued Elixir. Take it and become immortal that same day. Carry an amount the size of a date pit and a hundred ghosts will avoid you. Write with the elixir on the doors of your home, and no evil being or spirit will dare approach. It also keeps away thieves, tigers, and wolves.

12 The ninth elixir is called the Cold Elixir. Take one knife-tip measure and become immortal in a hundred days. Immortal boys and girls come to serve you. You rise lightly and fly without wings.

13 Obtaining just one of these nine elixirs makes you immortal. You do not need to prepare all of them; you can make whichever you like. Anyone who takes one of the nine can ascend to heaven if desired or remain in the human world if desired. Such people can pass through any barrier and cannot be harmed.

14 Baopuzi says: There is also a Divine Elixir of Great Purity. Its method comes from the Primordial Lady, Laozi's teacher. The Scripture for Observing Heaven in Great Purity has nine chapters. It says the upper three chapters must not be taught, and that no one in the world is worthy of receiving the middle three; these are always kept deep below three springs. The lower three chapters are the upper, middle, and lower sections of the Elixir Scripture, three scrolls in all. The Primordial Lady is a great divine immortal. She can regulate yin and yang, command ghosts and gods and wind and rain, and drive a chariot drawn by nine dragons and twelve white tigers. All the world's immortals are under her authority. Yet she says she too attained this by studying the way and taking elixir, not naturally. How much more necessary is it for ordinary people! Her scripture says: “The best practitioners who obtain the way ascend to office in heaven. Those in the middle live together on Kunlun. The lowest live long lives in the human world.” Foolish people do not believe it and call it empty talk. From morning to night they do nothing but bring death closer, never trying to prolong life. How could heaven force them to live? Ordinary people care only about tasty food, fine clothes, music, sex, wealth, and status. They follow every desire until they suddenly die. Take care not to tell them of divine elixir: they will ridicule the way and slander the truth. If you transmit the Elixir Scripture to the wrong person, misfortune will surely come to you. If someone firmly believes, you may share the finished medicine with that person, but do not lightly transmit the recipe. If you know this way, why would you need the rank of prince or lord? For once divine elixir is ready, it not only gives long life but also makes gold. When the gold is made, take a hundred jin and first make a great offering. There is a separate scroll of instructions for this offering, which differs from the offering for the Nine Tripods. Label and set aside the gold for each offering separately.

15 Offer twenty jin to Heaven, five to the sun and moon, eight to the Northern Dipper, eight to Taiyi, five to the well, five to the stove, twelve to the River Lord, five to the earth altar, and five each to doors, neighborhood gates, ghosts and spirits, and the Pure Lord: eighty-eight jin altogether. Place the remaining twelve jin in a good leather bag. On a lucky day, when the city market is crowded, silently leave the bag where many people are and walk away without looking back. Only after using a hundred jin this way may you freely use any gold beyond that. If you do not first offer gold to the gods, disaster will surely follow. The scripture also says: “The way to lasting life does not lie in sacrifices or serving ghosts and gods, nor in stretching and bending exercises. The essential means of ascending to immortality is divine elixir. Learning it is not easy; making it is truly hard. If you can make it, you can live on indefinitely.” Toward the end of the Han, Master Yin of Xinye made this Great Purity elixir and became immortal. He had originally been a Confucian student, a talented thinker and a good poet. He wrote a preface and verses praising the Elixir Scripture. He recounted how he first studied the way and followed his teacher, and listed more than forty people he knew who became immortal, very clearly. Making the Great Purity elixir is a little harder than making the Nine Tripod elixirs, but it is a supreme method for rising to heaven in broad daylight. To make it, first prepare Flower Pond, Red Salt, Gen Snow, Dark White, Flying Talisman, and Three-Five Divine Water; only then may you light the fire.