Common Operations in External Alchemy 外丹术常见操作方法

External alchemy operations refer to the methods and steps involved in refining external elixirs. After long-term experimentation and summarization, Taoist external alchemy developed a complete set of systematic and feasible methods, the most important of which include dozens of techniques such as "flying", "ascending", "drawing", "subduing", "pointing", "sealing", "nurturing", "boiling", "smelting", "forging", "grinding", and more.

Beyond these, there are many other methods in external alchemy operations. Generally, the "number of transformations" (zhuan shu) serves as a key criterion for measuring the quality of the alchemical fire in Taoist external alchemy. A "transformation" (zhuan) refers to the number of times the medicine or experimental operation changes during the refining process. For example, "Nine-Transformation Golden Elixir" indicates that there are nine changes in its refining process. The steps of alchemy are complex, and patience is essential to achieve the required number of transformations.