The Deng Yuzhi 邓郁之

Deng Yuzhi, courtesy name Yuanda, was a native of Xinyang in Nanyang (now part of Xinyang City, Henan Province) during the Southern Qi and Liang dynasties of the Southern Dynasties period.

He was officially registered as a Taoist priest at Jiuxian Palace on the Stone Altar of Hengyue (Mount Heng, one of China’s Five Great Mountains).

According to Comprehensive Mirror of Perfected Immortals and Practitioners of the Dao (Volume 33), he received teachings from an extraordinary person—including talismans for expelling evil spirits and beheading demons, as well as the technique of the "Golden Tripod Fire Talisman" (a core alchemical method in Taoism). He traveled across famous mountains, seeking out masters and making like-minded friends; he and Xu Lingqi were fellow Taoist practitioners outside the mainstream monastic system ("fangwai daolu").

In the first year of the Tianjian era of the Liang Dynasty (502), he was summoned to the imperial capital by imperial edict. Emperor Wu of Liang asked him about the art of refining golden elixirs (a Taoist alchemical practice for immortality). Deng Yuzhi replied, "This humble Taoist practices the refinement of the 'Golden Elixir Fluid,' but lacks the materials needed for the elixir." Emperor Wu then bestowed gold and silk upon him, and issued an edict allowing him to establish three Taoist monasteries—Upper, Middle, and Lower—on Yuelu Mountain, which served as his sites for spiritual cultivation and alchemical practice.

Deng Yuzhi passed away in the 11th year of the Tianjian era of the Liang Dynasty (512; some records say the 18th year) shortly after successfully refining the golden elixir. In the first year of the Chonghe era of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty (1118), he was posthumously awarded the title "Perfected One of Transcending Reality and Gather­ing Marvels."