Alchemical Encounters at Fishing Village 渔庄邂逅录

Compiled by Taoist Wu Yi (Ziranzi) in the Southern Song Dynasty, this book consists of one volume and is included in the Taixuan Section of The Daozang.

This work is a record of external alchemy refining. The author states that in the eighth year of the Qiandao reign (1172 AD), he chanced upon Yu Zhongmou and Mr. Liu at a fishing villa. The three formed alchemical companions, experimented with refining the golden elixir, and the author documented the process to pass down to future generations. The book first explains the name of the Golden Fluid Great Elixir, then elaborates on the essentials of the five transformations in elixir refining in separate chapters:

At the end, it appends Caoyizi’s Fire Control Secret Formula and two eulogistic poems. The book provides detailed accounts of alchemical theories, key points, processes, and taboos. Generally, it argues that the essence of the golden elixir lies in the Divine Water and Splendid Pond: obtaining Divine Water gives birth to white gold, white gold transforms back into yellow gold, yellow gold into purple gold, and the flowing liquid of purple gold fuses to form the elixir. The medicinal materials used include mercury, cinnabar, azurite, chalcanthite, realgar, orpiment, etc. The elixir is named "Return Elixir" (Huandan) because mercury is refined back into an elixir.

The refining process first requires harmonizing Yin and Yang, observing the primordial Qi of heaven and earth, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, manipulating fire and water according to hexagrams, and adjusting the timing by days and months. This harmonization of Yin and Yang produces black lead; lead is placed in a cauldron, poured with mercury, and golden flowers naturally emerge outward. Additionally, mercury is volatilized from cinnabar, the two substances are ground and bathed to form the "Four Spirits", which are then refined into true earth, from which golden flowers appear. It is claimed that if one’s merits and practices are complete, ingesting this medicine can lift an entire family to heaven. Even achieving the nine transformations allows a single grain of the elixir to turn chickens into phoenixes, dogs into dragons, and ordinary stones into supreme treasures.