Records of Immortals and Truth 西山群仙会真记

Composed by Shi Jianwu, a Taoist priest of Xishan in Hongzhou during the Tang Dynasty, and compiled by Li Song, a disciple of the Three Immortals Sect.

It was roughly written between the late Tang Dynasty and the early Northern Song Dynasty.

Consisting of five volumes, it is included in the Methods Category of the The Dongzhen Section in The Daozang.

This book extensively quotes more than ten Taoist texts such as Records of Xishan and Records of the Three Pure Ones' Integrity, as well as sayings of Immortal Ge and True Person Lü, expounding Taoist methods of nourishment and internal elixir cultivation. The book is divided into twenty-five chapters in total, with the following contents: Volume 1 includes Understanding the Dao, Understanding the Methods, Understanding People, Understanding the Time, and Understanding Things; Volume 2 includes Nourishing Life, Nourishing the Body, Nourishing Qi, Nourishing the Mind, and Nourishing Longevity; Volume 3 includes Tonifying the Interior, Tonifying Qi, Tonifying Essence, Tonifying Deficiencies, and Repairing Damages; Volume 4 includes True Water and Fire, True Dragon and Tiger, True Elixir, True Lead and Mercury, and True Yin and Yang; Volume 5 includes Refining Methods to Enter the Dao, Refining the Body to Transform into Qi, Refining Qi to Manifest Spirit, Refining Spirit to Unite with the Dao, and Refining the Dao to Become a Sage.

The author opposes minor and deviant practices such as embryonic breathing, guided movement, external elixir refining, almsgiving and offerings. He advocates that those who cultivate the Dao should prioritize nourishing the body, then take tonifying essence, qi and spirit as the foundation. Only when the body is complete and Qi is abundant can one refine internal elixir to pursue longevity and ascension to immortality.

His techniques of body nourishment and tonification must conform to the laws of the movement and transformation of yin and yang in heaven and earth, and grasp the timing of the mutual generation and restriction of the five elements in the four seasons. His internal elixir technique takes true lead and mercury as the primary medicine: true lead refers to the innate qi in the kidneys, and true mercury refers to the innate essence within oneself. By harmonizing yin and yang, water and fire between the upper and lower parts of the body, one can form the golden elixir. When the internal elixir cultivation is accomplished, one will have a spiritual body beyond the physical form, transcending the mortal realm to become a sage.