Xiu Yanggong was a native of Wei. In the stone chamber on Huayin Mountain, there is a suspended stone bed; he lay upon it, and the stone was completely worn through. He rarely ate food, occasionally taking yellow essence (huangjing) to eat. Later he presented his Daoist teachings to Emperor Jing, who treated him with courtesy and had him reside in the royal residence. After several years, the Dao could not be attained. An imperial edict asked: “On what day can Master Xiu Yanggong depart?” Before the words were finished, he transformed on his bed into a white sheep, with the inscription on its flank reading: “Xiu Yanggong thanks the Son of Heaven.” Later, they placed a stone sheep on the Lingtai. The sheep later disappeared again and its whereabouts are unknown.

The sheep is the defining symbol of Xiu Yanggong’s story — both in his name (“Sheep Master”) and in his final transformation. This connects him directly to Ge You, who carved wooden sheep and one day rode one into the mountains of Shu, leading nobles to immortality. In both cases, the sheep is not merely an animal but a vehicle of transcendence — a form the Dao takes when it is ready to depart.

His transformation into a white sheep is one of the most vivid examples of shijie in the Lie Xian Zhuan — transcendence through apparent death or bodily change. Kou Xian was executed and returned decades later; Xiaqiu Zhong drowned and walked back wearing a fur coat. In each case, the immortal’s body is not destroyed — it is simply exchanged for a freer form.

Outstanding indeed was Xiu Yang, concealing wonders and containing spiritual power. He rested on stone at Taohua, dining on yellow essence. Though the Han dynasty honored him highly, his Dao was not something they had experienced. Responding to change with many forms, suddenly he vanished from sight.

The eulogy’s phrase “responding to change with many forms” is the theological heart of Xiu Yanggong’s story. The Dao is not fixed — it flows, adapts, and takes whatever form is needed. Ren Guang sustained his youthful face for 89 years through cinnabar cultivation before soaring into the clouds; Zhu Zhong appeared and disappeared across two reigns of the Han dynasty, each time leaving behind only a pearl and a mystery. In the Lie Xian Zhuan, the immortal’s body is always provisional — a temporary form worn lightly, and shed without regret.