Journey to the West: Beginning with the Apprenticeship of Bodhi Patriarch

Chapter 71 The Nine-Turn Pill Formation Method
But in the master's quiet room, the master was about to teach Jiang Tong'er the authentic method of making the golden elixir, 'Nine Turns to Make the Elixir'.

The master sat cross-legged on the futon and said, "Tong'er, listen carefully. The Nine Transformations to the Golden Elixir must not be taken lightly. This step is really difficult."

Jiang Yuan washed his ears and said attentively, "Master, this difficult level is better than asking five people to practice the fire control and warm the acupoints?"

The ancestor said, “It is very difficult!”

Jiang Yuan was secretly shocked when he heard this. It was difficult to invite five people. It took a lot of time to learn the fire. It was difficult to warm and nourish the eighty-one acupoints. The remaining nine turns into a pill were much more difficult. How could he not be terrified? He asked, "Master, what do you mean?"

The master said, "Nine turns, according to what the boy said, what is it?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Master, this must be related to the Great Circulation in the body."

The master smiled and asked, "How do you know?"

Jiang Yuan replied, "Master once said that the golden elixir is not the pill in the abdomen. Gold is immortality, and the elixir is perfection and completeness. The body collects medicine, cooks, warms and nurtures, and copulates. Now the acupoints of the Great Circulation are all open, the spirit is sufficient, the five people are complete, and the cauldron is the great medicine. I guess that the golden elixir is to make the body complete and immortal."

The master smiled and said, "You are clever, boy. You have recognized the golden elixir. I am glad to hear that. In the step of the Nine-Turn Pill Formation, the number of Dao Fruit should be nine. If you can complete the Zhoutian acupoints and reach nine, you will succeed!"

Jiang Yuan asked: "Master, is this Dao fruit the elixir of the cauldron?"

The ancestor said, "No! Before the Nine Transformations become the elixir, you must combine the elixir and the primordial spirit together, and there is no more discussion. There is a trick to this combination, and you need to go through three levels. There are obstacles at each level!"

Jiang Yuan suddenly realized that the step of 'Nine Turns to Make Pill' was indeed a difficult one. The elixir and the primordial spirit had to be combined into one after passing through three stages. When they were combined, it was called 'Dao Fruit'. This Dao Fruit would then be passed through nine acupoints of the Great Circulation Heaven before it could become a pill.

Not to mention the difficulties of practicing the Daoguo Zhoutian, just going through the three levels must be very difficult according to the words of the ancestors.

Jiang Tong'er asked: "Master, what are these three levels?"

The master said: "The three gates are called the coccyx, the lumbar spine, and the jade pillow. The three gates are connected. You must start from the coccyx gate. This road is called 'Caoxi'. From this road, you will reach the lumbar spine gate, and then the jade pillow gate. At the Niwan Palace, you will be taught to merge the great medicine spirit, which is like the meeting of the dragon and the tiger, and you will achieve the Tao fruit."

When Jiang Yuan heard this, he suddenly understood. He had listened to the master's teachings for many years and knew where these three barriers were.

The coccyx gate is the end of the spine in the body, also known as the "nine-layer iron drum". The Jiaji gate is the place where the two shoulders are sandwiched, also known as the "double gate". This gate has two roads, one leading to the Yongquan acupoint and the other to the Niwan Palace, one yin and one yang. The Yuzhen gate is the brain, known as the "Yujing Mountain" and the "Heavenly Pillow", which leads to the Niwan Palace and other places.

Jiang Yuan bowed and said, "Master, what are these three obstacles?"

The ancestor shook his head: "I don't know."

Jiang Yuan said: "Disciple understands."

The master said, "Boy, if you teach the dragon and tiger to meet, and then practice the nine Zhoutian acupoints, the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir will be completed. This is the remaining step of the alchemy path, boy, you must be careful!"

Jiang Yuan bowed again: "Master, I will remember this!"

The master then called the boy back and asked him to rest. When he was ready, he would perform the nine-turn process to form the elixir.

Jiang Yuan took the order and left, returning to the quiet room to meditate.

……

Time flies, and before I knew it, half a year had passed.

One day, when the breeze was warm, Jiang Yuan was sitting cross-legged in a quiet room, cultivating his nature and practicing Taoism. De Zhenjian invited him to give a lecture, and he gladly agreed.

They met under a pine tree outside the cave. When Jiang Yuan first arrived here, he thought to himself, "What a great place!"

Zhenjian said, "Brother, this place was built a few years ago. When the wind is gentle, we like to have lectures here. When the wind is strong, we will have lectures under the old cypress tree."

Jiang Yuan looked around, but saw in front of him 'a thousand old cypresses, wafting green in the rain in the sky, and ten thousand tall bamboos, a valley filled with mist and a dark color'.

These old cypresses, bamboos, and pines were planted by the master when he first came to Lingtai Fangcun Mountain. They are hundreds of years old now. Zhenjian said, "Brother, this is a lecture. Please take the chair."

Jiang Yuan said: "Since it is a lecture, there is no distinction between seats. It is not a lecture, but a discussion among all."

He who truly saw and heard this, therefore called upon everyone to sit down, without distinguishing between the main and secondary seats.

Jiang Yuan sat at the back seat while he sat down and the audience was waiting to discuss the Dao.

Everyone bowed to Jiang Yuan in turn and took their seats.

Everyone asked, "Yingzang, what is the secret that your master has taught you recently? Why don't you tell us about it?"

Jiang Yuan heard the crowd's voices and saw a young man coming out. He smiled and bowed to all four directions, saying, "My fellow brothers, I entered the sect late, and only recently did my master teach me the ways of the sect. If you want to know, I will explain it to you."

The crowd asked, "What kind of practice are you doing?"

Ying Zang said: "Master, please teach me the secret of inviting immortals to help you!"

The crowd asked, "What does this mean?"

Jiang Yuan was eagerly waiting, having heard a few stories about this "asking the immortal to help with the spirit communication".

Ying Zang smiled happily and said, "My fellow brothers, you don't know how amazing this is! Master loved me when I was young, so he taught me this! This is a way to ask ghosts and gods for good or bad luck!"

The crowd asked, "What effect does it have? How long can one live?"

Ying Zang said: "If you ask the gods for good or bad luck, you will be able to avoid disasters. Even if there are three disasters, they will not harm my life. As for the theory of life span, I have no worries."

The crowd asked, "What does escaping a disaster have to do with life span?"

Ying Zang took out a talisman and said, "My fellow brothers, this is a life talisman. Wearing this talisman will keep me worry-free for a hundred years. After a hundred years, I will take another talisman."

The crowd exclaimed, "How do you have so many talismans?"

Ying Zang wanted to show off, so he said, "A while ago, a senior brother left the mountain. The way he practiced was a 'talisman'. We hit it off at first sight, and he gave me a talisman for many lives."

After hearing this, everyone felt envious and said, "Junior brother is so lucky."

Seeing this, Jiang Yuan thought to himself, "What a disaster! There is a saying that 'wealth should not be exposed'. If the sect has a talisman, then forget it and hide it. Now that others know about it, they will be tempted. Once their hearts are tempted, they will come up with a plan. This junior brother has the ability to avoid disasters, and others in our sect envy him. If this happens, won't his life be harmed?"

Ying Zang didn't know that he was showing off his spirit and wanted to teach his fellow brothers his methods.

The crowd listened and watched, and when Ying Zang had finished showing off, he led the crowd to applaud, and then others took turns to talk about their own methods of cultivation.

Jiang Yuan listened, but no one asked him any questions, because he was about to become an immortal, and had a majestic aura, like a Taoist immortal. Everyone respected and feared him, and dared not say much.

They talked for a long time and finally dispersed as it was getting dark.

Jiang Yuan left and returned to his room to meditate quietly. He only needed to rest and complete his training before he could take the step of achieving elixir.

If he succeeds in this way, he will achieve immortality.

Not long after he returned, he heard that the master was calling him, so he had to go to the master's quiet room.

Not long after Jiang Tong'er arrived at the quiet room, he saw Ying Zang kneeling in the room with tears in his eyes and full of regret. However, he knew in his heart that it was probably the master who taught him to leave and save his life.

The boy walked in and bowed before the master.

(End of this chapter)