Nine-Cycle Flowing Pearl Elixir Canon 九转流珠神仙九丹经

The author is unknown.

It was probably compiled between the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui-Tang period.

This book had already been quoted in Volume 4 of Taoist Canon Treatise in the early Tang Dynasty.

Bibliography of Arts and Literature in Comprehensive Records listed it as three volumes, while the existing version in The Daozang has two volumes with some missing text, and is included in the Methods category of the Dongshen Section.

The scripture is falsely attributed to the Supreme Pure True Lord, an immortal, and expounds the method of refining cinnabar and mercury to produce the Nine-Cycle Golden Elixir. The nine types of elixirs in the nine cycles are named: Elixir Flower, Divine Talisman, Divine Elixir, Reversible Elixir, Ingestible Elixir, Refined Elixir, Soft Elixir, Subdued Elixir, and Cold Elixir. The names of the elixirs, refining methods, ingestion effects, as well as verses and annotations recorded in this book are mostly the same as those in Volume 1 of Key Instructions for the Yellow Emperor's Nine Cauldrons Divine Elixir Scripture. At the end of the text, it also appends ingestion methods including the Realgar Ingestion Formula, True Lord's Divine Water Method, Immortal Feng Gang's Method, Lü Gong's Resurrection Formula, Ganoderma Ingestion Formula, and Huainan Immortals' Formula, each specifying the dosage of medicinal ingredients, preparation methods and efficacies. See the entry for Key Instructions for the Yellow Emperor's Nine Cauldrons Divine Elixir Scripture. The elixir refining system recorded in this text is an important part of Taoism practices, and the compatibility of its mineral ingredients conforms to the theoretical framework of the five elements in traditional Chinese philosophy.