The Jinquque Dijun Sanyuan Zhenyi Jing 金阙帝君三元真一经

It is an early classic of the Shangqing (Supreme Pure) School of Taoism, likely composed during the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties (317–589 CE). The Ziyang Zhenren Zhoujun Neichuan (Inner Biography of the True Person Zhou of Purple Yang) records the "Method of Guarding the Three Origins and the True Oneness by the Emperor Lord of the Golden Tower," attributed to "the Divine Boy of the Eastern Sea" (also known as Qingtong Jun, the Green Boy Lord) and transmitted to Huaizi—and this is exactly the present scripture.

The surviving version in the Daozang (Taoist Canon) consists of one scroll and is included in the "Fangfa Lei" (Methods Category) of the Dongzhen Bu (Great Cavern Section). The 50th scroll of the Yunji Qiqian (Seven Slips of the Cloud Satchel) also includes excerpts from this scripture.

The scripture expounds on the method of "guarding and retaining the Three Origins and the True Oneness" (cunshou Sanyuan Zhenyi).

The "Three Origins and the True Oneness" refers to the spirits of the three dantian (elixir fields)—upper, middle, and lower—within the human body, which govern the "Three Regions, Eight Sceneries, and Twenty-Four True Beings" inside the body. The scripture states: "The Upper Oneness is the Heavenly Emperor of the entire body; the Middle Oneness is the Elixir Sovereign of the Crimson Palace; the Lower Oneness is the Primordial Ruler of the Yellow Court. Together, they supervise and govern the twenty-four types of qi (vital energy) in the body, corresponding to the Twenty-Four True Beings of the Supreme Tenuity (Taiwei) Realm."

If a Taoist practitioner can learn the names and abodes of the "Three Onenesses" (Sanyi) and wholeheartedly focus on contemplating, guarding, and retaining them, they can achieve the transformation: "Qi condenses into essence, essence stirs into spirit, spirit transforms into an 'Infant' (the spiritual embryo), the Infant ascends to become a True Person, and the True Person rises to become a 'Crimson Child' (a symbol of perfected spiritual essence)." After guarding the Three Onenesses for three months, divine light will manifest outside the body; the practitioner will see divine beings, ride a cloud chariot with feathered canopies, and ascend to heaven in broad daylight.

The scripture details the methods of contemplating the Three Onenesses across spring, summer, autumn, and winter, as well as the incantations to be chanted. This Taoist method originates from the Dongzhen Taishang Suling Dongyuan Dayou Miaojing (The Wondrous Scripture of Great Mystery from the Primordial Cavern of the Supreme Pure Spirit of the Great Cavern Realm).