Zhu Zhu was a man whose place of origin is unknown. He went up Mount Dong with a Daoist priest, saying that there were cinnabar deposits here and that tens of thousands of jin could be obtained. The local official in charge of Mount Dong learned about this and went up the mountain to seal it off. When cinnabar oozed out, flying like fire, they then allowed Zhu to extract it. Zhu made alchemical elixirs for the county magistrate Zhang Junming using cinnabar — a practice rooted in the Taoist tradition of mineral medicine and inner refinement. After three years, he obtained divine cinnabar and flying snow; after taking them, in five years he was able to fly, and both left together to achieve Taoist immortality, it is said.

Zhu Zhu and his companion were fellow seekers of the Dao; the Daoist priest was profoundly accomplished. Mystical perception connected with the mountain, and cinnabar emerged from its cave. Luminous red cinnabar flowed, and snowy white powder drifted in the air. The official in charge of Mount Dong came to understand this, and was ultimately delighted together with them.