In cultivating refinement to this point, Wang Liping also experienced minor death several times.
5
The Elixir of Life
As Wang Liping cultivated the three realms, three years passed by in a flash. Seeing their apprentice grow and develop, the Dragon Gate wizards led him on to even loftier domains. Liping was given an alchemical pill for the first time, one of the most unforgettable experiences of his life.
Ancient methods of hygiene and refinement were divided into inner cultivation and outer development. Outer development refers to ingestion of special substances, which eventually evolved into alchemy.
These dietary practices began during the Warring States era, flourished during the Qin and Han dynasties, and became especially popular in Wei and Jin times. The famous Taoist work The Simpleton by Ge Hong devotes an entire article to it.
“External alchemical elixir” is made by refining and combining substances such as lead and mercury. Ge Hong considered external alchemical elixir very important, and his encyclopedic work lists dozens of alchemical formulas. He wrote, “If you want to see spiritual immortality, just get the quintessential. What is most essential is to treasure vitality, circulate energy, and ingest elixir. That is enough; not much is required. There are, however, relatively shallow and deep versions of these three things. If you do not meet an enlightened teacher and do not go through intense effort, you cannot know everything in a hurry.”
Treasuring vitality refers to the bedroom art. Ingesting elixir, circulating energy, and treasuring vitality are three essential factors in attaining immortality. Ge Hong also gives detailed cautions for alchemy: “Alchemical elixir should be compounded on a special mountain, in an uninhabited location, with no more than three people in the group. First fast for a hundred days and bathe in perfumed water; keep pure, do not approach anything polluted, and do not associate with vulgar people. Also do not let people who do not believe in the Way know about it, because if the spiritual medicine is slandered and repudiated, the elixir will not develop.” The special mountains have righteous spirits guarding them, so they are good for making alchemical elixir. When Taoists go into the mountains to refine elixir, they first choose an auspicious day and go in armed with a talisman.
The practice of taking alchemical elixirs must have had some extraordinary effects to have continued for so many thousands of years. There are many popular legends of the miraculous effects of “gold elixir,” which have been further embellished in literary works, where they are described with exaggerated marvels. Over the ages there have been many people who died from taking alchemical elixir. Cinnabar is definitely useful to the human body, but it has to be refined and processed correctly, and it has to be ingested in the right way.
Taoists have learned profound lessons on refining and ingesting alchemical elixir, based on deep experience, so they are extremely cautious in the refining process. Those who come from the Dragon Gate sect of Complete Reality Taoism in particular lay special emphasis on the cultivation of internal alchemy, but they still take external alchemical elixirs to assist the cultivation of inner work. Both the preparation and the ingestion of external alchemical elixirs equally depend on the guidance of an enlightened teacher with a great deal of experience.
Under the protection of the three old wizards, Wang Liping swallowed a grain of “gold elixir” that they had brought from Mount Lao. He took it on an empty stomach, and the “gold pill” gradually melted inside him, permeating his whole body through his circulatory system. The three teachers had him sit cross-legged and commence inner work, using the power of inner exercise to push the liquefied elixir inside his body out to the surface of his skin.
The night was very quiet. The abode of the wizards, so far out of the way, was totally silent. Under the dusky light of a lamp, Wang Liping quietly worked, surrounded by his three teachers. The expression on the old wizards’ face was most solemn. All three of them and their student were engaged in a sacred task, a grand experiment.
Again the mentors tied up Liping’s legs with rope to ensure that he remained in a cross-legged position. This was the first time this had happened since he had been cultivating the three realms. He knew the seriousness and gravity of the situation. Based on his present degree of accomplishment, in ordinary situations, under normal conditions, the rope would not have been necessary anymore. Settling his spirit, Liping circulated his inner energy and worked on the method indicated by his teachers, holding firm as hour by hour ticked by.
A day passed. As the toxicity in the gold elixir gradually began to act, Wang Liping felt as if his insides were burning. He became dizzy, and his vision blurred. Finally he lost control and collapsed unconscious. Because his legs were tied up, however, he didn’t lose his cross-legged position. The Wayfarer of Pure Serenity doused him with cold water to revive him, and helped him up. All three wizards also employed certain techniques to assist their apprentice invisibly. Wang Liping continued to hold on, performing the exercise.
The night passed. On the second day, the three wizards saw that Liping’s skin had gradually changed colors, from sallow to ruddy to dark. In their judgment, based on their experience, the period of danger had passed. They breathed a sigh of relief.
Through the action of the gold elixir, the toxins in Liping’s body had been pushed to the surface of the skin; this was what caused the changes in skin color. Liping’s life was no longer in danger, but he could not conclude the exercise just yet. If he stopped now, the toxins would crystallize in his skin, causing the hair to fall out all over his body and spoiling the work already done.
Although Wang Liping’s attainment was already quite profound, after this depletion of inner energy he had reached the limits of his endurance. The burning pain in his gut was gone, but now the skin all over his body was experiencing a variety of inexplicable sensations that were difficult to bear, burning and aching, swelling and itching. He wanted to scratch himself all over, but his mentor told him to keep still and not move at all.
Another difficult night passed.
On the afternoon of the third day, Liping’s body became quite comfortable and relaxed, and the color of his skin went through an extraordinary change. The darkness, ruddiness, and sallowness changed to a healthy rosy white, and each pore became a crystalline point of brilliance, such that his skin glistened under a strong light. The gold elixir had completed its circulation throughout the body and all of it had been ejected. The “energy routes” of Wang Liping’s body, from outside to inside, had all opened up freely.
After making a careful examination of the youth’s condition, the grand master pronounced the results excellent. All of them were so happy they cried and danced about, congratulating each other.
Now the old wizards took Wang Liping into the mountains. As they passed through grassy glades into the woods, the evening scenery was extraordinarily beautiful. They decided to do some deep breathing facing the evening sun in the fresh mountain air. The old masters were very much at ease in mind. Liping was at ease too, but now he had an unusual feeling. He no longer needed to use his nose and mouth to breathe as usual; all that was necessary was a slight movement of the abdomen, whereupon the energy of heaven and earth