Tao Angong was a blacksmith from Lu'an, and he often used fire. When the fire suddenly dispersed, it rose upward, purple in color and surging into the sky. Angong knelt beneath the furnace and pleaded for mercy. After a short while, a Vermilion Bird — one of the four divine creatures of the Taoist celestial order — perched on top of the furnace and said: "Angong, Angong, your furnace connects with heaven. On the seventh day of the seventh month, we shall welcome you with a crimson dragon." On that date, the crimson dragon arrived. It rained heavily as Angong rode it toward the southeast, ascending to immortality, to a city where tens of thousands of people gathered together to see him off, all bidding farewell. This moment of Taoist transformation through fire and inner refinement stands as one of the most vivid ascension stories in the Lie Xian Zhuan.

Angong set fire, and purple flames brightly illuminated everything. Gracefully the Vermilion Bird flew, carrying a message to announce the time. The vermilion dragon moved majestically, winding its way toward the appointed time. The whole city looked up to behold it, turning back with a final glance as parting words.