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Iron Essence: Flavor neutral, slightly warm. (Dust-like particles flying from the stove, purple in color and light/voluminous, can be ground and stored in copper vessels.) Primarily brightens the eyes and dissolves copper. Treats palpitations and fright, stabilizes Heart Qi. Used for pediatric wind epilepsy, yin sores, and rectal prolapse.

Iron Slurry: (Obtained by soaking various irons in water; when the liquid turns greenish-blue and foam appears after a long period, it is suitable for dyeing cloth black.) Primarily resolves various poisons entering the abdomen. Treats bites from snakes, dogs, tigers, wild wolves, and venomous insects; ingestion also calms the Heart. Indicated for epilepsy with fever, acute yellow jaundice with manic running, and madness in livestock.

Iron Flower Powder: Salty flavor, neutral odor. Non-toxic. (Obtain steel sheets, grind them flat until smooth and clean, sprinkle with salt water, and bury in an earthenware jar of vinegar in a cool place for one hundred days. Scrape off the rust that forms on the iron, grind finely into flour, and combine with other herbs to make pills or powders.) Primarily calms the Spirit, strengthens bone marrow, and enhances intelligence. Expels wind pathogens, nourishes Blood and Qi, prolongs life, and reverses graying hair. Eliminates myriad diseases; combined with other herbs according to cold/heat patterns, using jujube paste as a binder for pills.

Raw Iron: Slightly cold odor. Primarily treats lower body disorders and rectal prolapse; wash with decoction boiled in water. For deafness, heat until red-hot and drink mixed with wine. For traumatic blood stasis lodged outside joints and tendons that cannot be expelled, take one jin (500g) of raw iron boiled in three sheng (600ml) of wine until reduced to one sheng (200ml), then ingest.

Iron Rust: (The rust layer formed on raw iron.) Primarily treats malignant sores, scabies, and tinea; mix with oil and apply externally. For bites from spiders and insects, mix with garlic, grind, and apply as a poultice.

Scales (Weighing Hammer): Treats "thief-wind" (wind pathogens striking unexpectedly), stops postpartum blood stasis abdominal pain (commonly known as "child pillow" pain), and sore throat with heat obstruction. Heat until red-hot and drink hot with wine. If unavailable, use an axe or pestle instead. Also treats difficult labor with malpresentation and retained placenta.

Bell Ink: Treats poisoning by insects/evil influences, blood syncope, and hematemesis. Grind with wine or rice water, and take warm. Also applied to metallic wounds to generate flesh and stop bleeding. Do not apply to the face, as ink penetrating the skin may form nodules.

Red Copper Filings: Bitter flavor, neutral odor. Slightly toxic. Treats axillary osmidrosis (body odor); mix with vinegar, stir-fry until hot like wheat bread, place in a bag, prick the axillary pulse points to release blood, then seal the area. Highly effective. Also heated intensely, taken with wine (five he/150ml), three times daily, to treat thief-wind. Can weld human bones; take fine powder mixed with medicine warm.

Copper Green (Verdigris): Neutral odor, slightly toxic. (Both raw and refined copper are toxic; the green substance on copper vessels is considered the "spirit" of copper.) Treats women's Blood-Qi chest pain, stops bleeding from metallic wounds, brightens eyes, and removes erythematous polyps on the skin.

Natural Pyrite: Pungent flavor, neutral odor. Non-toxic. (Found near copper deposits; irregular shape, yellow-green color resembling copper. Note: Do not confuse with square gold-teeth stones; accidental ingestion causes fatal vomiting.) Treats fractures, disperses Blood, relieves pain, reconnects sinews and bones, and breaks up accumulations. Take ground in wine. For trauma, grind extremely fine, wash with water (water-floating method), combine with five fen (1.5g) each of Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Danggui) and Myrrha (Moyao), take in one dose with wine, and apply remaining paste to the painful area.

Ancient Coins: Treats corneal opacity and miasma, brightens eyes, treats wind-induced red eyes; soak in brine. For difficult labor with malpresentation, heart/abdominal pain, menstrual irregularities, and strangury; calcine and quench in vinegar. For sudden red/painful eyes, take a piece of ginger, peel, scrape ginger juice onto the edge of an ancient coin, and instill into the eye; tears flowing indicates cure.

Lead Tetroxide (Minium): Pungent flavor, slightly cold odor. (Also known as modern Huangdan, made by smelting lead.) Treats vomiting and gastric reflux, convulsions, epilepsy, clears heat, directs rebellious Qi downward, eliminates toxic heat causing umbilical contraction, stops bleeding from metallic wounds, treats malaria and chronic accumulations. Made into ointments to relieve pain and generate flesh. Refined into "Nine-Light Pill"; long-term use clarifies the Spirit. Classics state: Astringents can secure leakage and consolidate Qi; Lead Tetroxide converges the Spirit to calm fright.

Tin Oxide (White Tin): (Also known as Guangfen). Pungent and sweet flavors, cold odor. Non-toxic. Treats hidden corpse poison/stings, kills three types of parasites, removes "biē" syndrome (abdominal masses). Treats malignant sores, induces abortion, reduces frequent urination. Charred, treats pediatric malnutrition (Gan syndrome) and chronic dysentery.

Dragon's Liver Soil (Fulonggan): Pungent flavor, warm odor. (Yellow earth accumulated under the stove pot over many years.) Treats uterine bleeding and hematemesis in women, stops cough/rebellious Qi, stops bleeding, dissipates abscess/toxic qi. Take mixed with vinegar or mashed with garlic. During pregnancy with epidemic febrile disease, prevents miscarriage; apply wet paste to the navel, changing when dry. Also taken as a water suspension for stroke with aphasia, mental restlessness, limb paralysis, or abdominal distension/pain; take five sheng (1L) powdered soil mixed with eight sheng (1.6L) cold water, strain, and drink completely.

Calcined Stone (Duanshi): Pungent flavor, warm odor. Toxic. (Use weathered variety.) Treats carbuncles, ulcers, scabies, heat conditions, malignant sores, leprosy, necrotic tissue, and eyebrow loss. Kills hemorrhoid worms, removes black spots and polyps. Collect herbal leaves on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, mix with Duanshi, form pellets, air-dry, and use powder for metallic wounds to generate flesh and stop bleeding (highly effective). Alternatively, mix with cow bile in December, hang in the wind for 100 days, then grind. Superior for postpartum rectal prolapse and vaginal laxity; boil one dou (10L) until yellow, add to three dou (30L) water with ash, clarify, and wash.

Alum (Fanshi): Pungent and sweet flavors, very hot odor. Toxic. (Agrimonia is the guide herb. Avoid sheep blood. Incompatible with urine, Arisaema, and Asari. Fear water. Beneficial when calcined/fire-treated.) Treats alternating chills/fever, rat-shaped swellings, corrosive sores, necrotic tissue, wind-bi, hard abdominal masses, pathogenic qi, breaks up accumulations and chronic cold, nasal polyps. Raw consumption is fatal to humans and animals.

Stone Crab: Salty flavor, cold odor. Non-toxic. (Actually living crabs; over years in deep water, sediment adheres and fossilizes, forming stone-crab composites. Remove mud and stone before use.) Treats congenital blindness, ocular discharge, skin opacities, and lacquer dermatitis. Resolves all drug and gu poison, reduces abscesses/swelling. Treats epidemic febrile diseases; grind with hot water, filter through water, combine with other herbs, and instill in eyes for good effect.

Stone Swallow: Cool odor, non-toxic. Treats strangury; boil in water and drink. For difficult labor, hold one in each hand for immediate effect.

Peach Blossom Stone: Sweet flavor, warm odor. Non-toxic. (Resembles peach blossoms, lustrous but heavy, does not stick to the tongue.) Treats cold in the large intestine, purulent/bloody dysentery; long-term use improves complexion and appetite.

Hematite (Daizhe): Bitter and sweet flavors, cold odor. Non-toxic. Enters the Hand Shaoyin and Foot Jueyin meridians. (Incompatible with Tianxiong and Fuzi. Reddish-blue color, white and lustrous like a rooster's comb is best.) Treats ghost attachment, thief-wind, gu poison, evil spirits, toxic qi in the abdomen, uterine bleeding/leukorrhea, numerous gynecological disorders, difficult labor/miscarriage, blood bi/stasis, pediatric convulsions/Gan syndrome, diarrhea/dysentery, seminal emission, hematuria/enuresis, and promotes flesh growth in metallic wounds.

Qingmengshi (Blue Montmorillonite): (Grind to powder for use.) Treats food stagnation not digesting, retention in viscera, chronic food masses, pediatric emaciation due to food stagnation, and chronic abdominal stabbing pain in women. Synergistic with Realgar, Croton Seed, Rhubarb, and Curcuma Zedoaria; suitable for pill formulation.

Jiangshi (Ginger Stone): Salty flavor, cold odor. Non-toxic. (Grows between rocks/soil, resembles ginger; five colors exist, white is best. Found locally; soft texture without grit is best.) Treats hot pea pox, furuncles, and other toxins. Generally, stone minerals primarily treat carbuncles/ulcers.

Huarusshi (Flower Milk Stone): (Bright yellow with pale white spots, hence the name; also called Huarui Shi; calcined before use.) Stops bleeding in metallic wounds; for sudden knife injuries, apply powder to close wound without suppuration. Also treats postpartum blood syncope and expulsion of bad blood.

Whetstone: Non-toxic. Breaks old blood stasis, promotes passage of kidney stones, resolves phlegm-nodules, suppresses evil qi/spirits. Heat until red-hot, drink with wine.

Ashless Wood: Very cold nature. (Resembles rotten wood, does not burn when fired; belongs to stone category.) Treats heat miliaria; mix with jujube meat and Duanshi powder, apply to body.

Jiangshui (Fermented Rice Water): Sweet and sour flavors, cool odor, slightly warm. Non-toxic. (Best made from newly harvested millet with white flowers. Do not consume with apricot fruit.) Regulates the Middle Jiao, guides Qi, opens appetite, stops thirst, treats cholera and dysentery, digests retained food. Suitable for making porridge; sip at dusk to relieve irritability and drowsiness.

Earth Slurry: Cold odor, non-toxic. (Dig a pit, pour water in, stir until turbid, let settle briefly, then collect.) Resolves various poisons causing irritability, mountain mushroom toxicity. Also resolves laughter caused by consuming maple tree mushrooms.

Half-Day River Water: Slightly cold odor, non-toxic. (Water collected from bamboo fence tops or hollow tubes.) Treats ghost attachment, manic pathogenic qi, and severe toxins. Administer without telling the patient. Also water from between locust trees treats various winds and malignant sores. Warm wash for wind-induced itching/scabies.

Thousand-Mile Water & East-Flowing Water: Neutral odor, non-toxic. Cleanses evil filth, promotes rapid flow, unblocks passages and diaphragm. Used for decocting medicines and exorcising spirits. Also used in refining Cloud Mother (Yunmu); feared by Yunmu.

Winter Solstice Snow: Sweet flavor, cold odor. Non-toxic. (Collected in the 12th lunar month.) Resolves all toxins. Treats epidemic plague, pediatric heat epilepsy with manic crying. For adults with mineral pill toxicity, post-drinking acute heat jaundice; take warm in small amounts.

Autumn Dew: Sweet flavor, neutral odor. Non-toxic. (Collected before sunrise dew evaporates.) Dew on hundred herbs cures myriad diseases, stops thirst, moistens muscles; dew on cypress leaves brightens eyes; dew on hundred flowers improves complexion.