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How could it possibly transform back into Jing (Essence) and Qi (Vital Energy)? Moreover, various aromatic substances have a penetrating nature that traverses the Couli (skin texture and interstitial spaces), thereby dissipating Yuanjing (Primordial Essence). That their efficacy is unverified is only natural.

Those who are skilled in health preservation, do they rely solely on medicinal herbs?

Wang Yangming composed a poem stating: "When hungry, eat; when tired, sleep. By doing so, one cultivates Yuanqi (Primordial Qi), making it ever more abundant." This message was conveyed to the world, yet people completely failed to understand it, instead seeking immortals outside their own bodies.

In the past, Master Hu Hai was asked by someone how to exert effort in cultivating the Dao. The master replied, "When hungry, eat; when sleepy, sleep." However, among all people, when eating, they do not simply eat but indulge in a hundred cravings; when sleeping, they do not simply sleep but entertain a thousand calculations. To constantly calculate over sleep and food prevents one from acting freely and naturally. How can such a person achieve longevity?

I once presented two gong'an (Zen koans) to a fellow Daoist friend and asked, "If one is already at the top of a hundred-foot pole, how does one take another step forward?" The friend replied, "Eating when hungry and sleeping when tired still belongs to the Desire Realm (Yujie); one must reach a state where Yang qi prevails and Yin qi diminishes, until Jing is so full that there is no desire for food, and Shen (Spirit) is so full that there is no desire for sleep. Only then is the ultimate truth realized."

Desire is the hardest to control; only through severing it can success be achieved. My relative-in-law, Dong Sangang, had a resolute and decisive character. He fathered a child at the age of sixty. On the day of the child's birth, he said, "I will sever sexual desires to prolong my life, observing this son until he comes of age." From then on, he separated himself from his concubines, having them reside in separate pavilions. He lived to the age of seventy-eight before passing away.

I heard that Yan Jiaxi, due to discord within his household, severed sexual desires when he was just over forty years old. Later, he reached the pinnacle of official rank and indeed lived to the age of eighty-five before passing away. Such is the verification of preserving Jing (Essence).