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Zhang Jingyue stated: The transformation of Ministerial Fire (Xiang Huo) is substantial, while that of Sovereign Fire (Jun Huo) is void. That which transforms into the void is formless; its decline or prosperity is manifested only in the spirit and consciousness. The spirit values sufficiency; its decline is to be feared. That which transforms into the substance has form; its heat or cold must manifest in the blood and qi. Only with concrete evidence can one speak of "fire." However, if Sovereign Fire declines, Ministerial Fire also fails; this is a case where the deficiency of the formless affects the substantial. If Ministerial Fire blazes, Sovereign Fire also flares; this is a case where the disease of the substantial affects the formless.

Therefore, when fire is in its proper state, it constitutes Yang Qi (Yang Energy). This type of fire cannot be absent, nor should it be deficient; deficiency here indicates a deficiency of Yang Qi. When fire loses its proper state, it becomes pathogenic heat. This type of fire should not exist, and especially should not be excessive; excess leads to the collapse of True Yin. However, "Yang" refers to primordial qi, whereas "fire" refers to pathogenic qi. Diseases affecting primordial qi cannot simply be discussed as "fire." Human primordial qi needs only to be sufficient; how could there be an excess? Since it is not an excess, why speak of "fire"? This is what is meant by "that which is formless transforms into the void." Only when the disease resides in the physical body can one observe fire syndromes, because the pathology lies either in qi or in blood; this is what is meant by "that which is substantial manifests as substantial fire." If there is no basis for heat symptoms within the physical structure, yet one claims this is fire or heat, such talk is baseless. Moreover, even if fire symptoms are present, distinctions of deficiency/excess and true/false must be made; how can one fail to distinguish them in detail?

Deficient fire disease is synonymous with false heat syndrome. Diseases vary in their true or false nature regarding cold and heat. True cold requires warming, and true heat requires clearing; these are correct treatments. However, false heat and false cold are difficult to treat. For instance, the etiology of deficient fire has two aspects, and its external manifestations have four types. First, yin-deficient individuals may experience fever due to the depletion of True Yin, resulting in water's inability to control fire. Second, yang-deficient individuals may also experience fever due to the exhaustion of Primordial Yang, causing fire to fail to return to its source. These constitute the two etiologies. Regarding external manifestations: first, yang floats upward, appearing between the head, face, and throat; although the upper part is hot, the lower part is cold, known as "rootless fire." Second, yang floats outward, appearing between the skin and muscles; although the exterior is hot, the interior is cold, known as "repelling yang fire." Third, yang sinks downward, appearing in the bowels, bladder, and genitalia; although the lower part is hot, the middle part is cold, known as "displaced fire." Fourth, yang hyperactivity attacks yin, appearing in essence, blood, marrow, and fluids; this indicates the failure of Metal and Water, and the drying up of Lead and Mercury, known as "yin-deficient fire." These constitute the four external manifestations.

Although there are four symptom patterns, the root causes are only two, encompassing both yin and yang deficiency. Specifically, yin deficiency refers to the failure of Metal and Water; the treatment method should be to strengthen water, employing only sweet-cool agents. Yang deficiency has three subtypes corresponding to the upper, middle, and lower jiao; the treatment method should be to benefit fire, employing only warm-hot agents, strictly avoiding cooling agents. However, warm-hot agents act quickly, often achieving results after one or two doses; sweet-cool agents act slowly, requiring prolonged administration to show effects. Nevertheless, cooling agents ultimately damage the Spleen and Stomach. If unavoidable, they should be replaced with sweet-neutral agents. If sweet-neutral agents prove ineffective, the only remaining option is the sweet-warm method. This approach truly saves lives; otherwise, the mechanism of generating vitality cannot be achieved by cooling agents. This principle is subtle and must be carefully examined.

Since fire has deficiency and excess, heat has false and true aspects. The method of differentiation always prioritizes Middle Qi (Spleen and Stomach Qi), as external cold or heat is insufficient as evidence. Therefore, all false heat syndromes essentially involve internal cold; all false cold syndromes essentially involve internal heat. Internal cold originally belongs to Yin syndromes, and internal heat originally belongs to Yang syndromes. With concrete internal evidence, these are fundamentally true diseases, leaving no room for falsehood.