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[Shennong Bencao Jing, Middle Category]
[Taste and Nature] Sweet in taste, neutral in nature, non-toxic.
[Indications] Primarily treats damp-bi syndrome causing tendon spasms, knee pain with inability to flex or extend.
[Verification] It is said: The method for preparing Huangjuan (Yellow Bean Sprouts) involves soaking black soybeans in well water drawn at dawn on Ren-Gui days (days associated with Water element). Wait until the sprouts grow five cun long, then dry them to obtain Huangjuan. When used, it must be stir-fried or boiled.
[Commentary] It is said: Soybeans transformed into Huangjuan have grown ten times more than their initial germination state. They transform from the Gen trigram (Mountain) to Zhen (Thunder), and then to Xun (Wind). From Gui Water to Jia Wood, and then to Yi Wood. Initially called "Huang" (Yellow), yellow and curled, possessing the characteristics of wood bending and straightening. Wood corresponds to the Liver; its true Qi connects to the Liver, which governs the qi of tendons and fascia. Large tendons gather at the knees, and the knees belong to the mansion of streams and valleys. Therefore, it primarily treats damp-bi causing tendon spasms and knee pain preventing flexion and extension. Flexion and extension manifest as bending and straightening, illustrating symbolic correspondence.

[Mingyi Bielu, Middle Category]
Dragon is obtained from fire, Metal is sought in water; there is no need to search elsewhere.
[Taste and Nature] Pungent in taste, cold in nature, toxic.
[Indications] Primarily treats scabies, crusted ulcers, and alopecia capitis (white baldness); kills lice in the skin; induces abortion; clears heat; resolves toxicity from gold, silver, copper, and tin. When melted and re-refined into cinnabar, long-term consumption leads to immortality.
[Verification] It is said: Originally named "Gong" (Mercury), also known as "Gong". "Gong" and "Gong" are synonymous. *Bencao Gangmu* calls it "Lingye" (Spiritual Liquid), and *Yaoxing Lun* calls it "ChaNv" (Chaste Maiden), terms used by alchemists. Historically mined in Fuling plain; currently sourced from Qinzhou, Shangzhou, Daozhou, and Shaowu Jun. *Huainanzi* states: The qi of weak soil, guided by the white sun, generates white "Sheng Gong" (Raw Mercury), which produces white "Shu Gong" (Refined Mercury). Tao Hongjing states: That originating from within cinnabar is best; some come from sandy areas, appearing greenish-white, called "Sheng Gong". Others are coarse cinnabar powder or crushed mountain stones, mined and calcined, appearing pale white and turbid; these are inferior to "Sheng Gong" in transformative power. Chen Ting's *Motan* records: In Fulin (Western regions), where the sun sets, there is a "Mercury Sea" spanning 70-80 li. Locals mine it by digging trenches several dozen feet apart near the coast. Strong men on horses, covered in gold foil, ride close to the shore. Under the dazzling sunlight, mercury boils like waves, chasing them like amber attracting mustard seeds or magnets attracting iron, as mercury feeds on gold. They gallop away until the surge subsides, allowing mercury to accumulate in the trenches; otherwise, humans and horses would be engulfed. This product, processed with aromatic herbs, becomes white gold, a treasure of alchemists. Worldly usage involves roasting refined mercury for decades without success because refined mercury loses its qi but retains form, termed "Yinfu" (Yin Talisman) or "Dead Corpse", wasting time. Another method uses purslane (Portulaca oleracea): beat fine-leaved purslane with a locust wood mallet, dry eastward for 2-3 days, char to retain nature, seal in a clay jar, bury for 49 days. 100 jin of purslane yields 3 or 10 taels of mercury. Hu Yan's *Dan Yao Mi Jue* describes extracting mercury from cinnabar: Place cinnabar in a porcelain bottle, seal with paper, boil in herbal decoction for one shichen (2 hours). Dig a pit, place an iron plate inside, invert the bottle over the plate, seal the neck with salt mud, pack with earth, leaving half the bottle exposed. Surround with chestnut charcoal, burn for two incense sticks' duration. Upon cooling, mercury flows into the plate. 1 jin of cinnabar powder yields 10 taels of mercury; high-quality old-mine cinnabar yields 15 taels. In Yongzhou caves, extraction is easy using a pig-bladder-shaped vessel lined with thick paper to prevent leakage. If spilled, collect with Sichuan pepper powder or tea leaves, or attract with real gold or arsenic stone. Jiamo notes: Removing sand residue from mercury is called "Tianliu", used by alchemists. For processing, avoid grass-prepared mercury, mercury from old lacquerware, or that prepared by other drugs or flowing from "dead corpses", as accidental ingestion is highly toxic. One must use "Sheng Gong" (Raw Mercury), though rare; only mercury extracted by burning cinnabar powder is usable. Boil with Purple Back Tiankui (Basella rubra) and Yejiaoteng (Polygonum multiflorum vine) juice for one shichen to detoxify. For 10 taels of mercury, use 7 yi of each juice. Zong Shi states: Mercury coagulates with lead, solidifies with sulfur, brightens copper, preserves corpses, floats on metals, and subdues with Tiankui or Zihewu (Placenta). It can bind metals, generate springs, and relies on death for containment. Mixed with jujube flesh, it disperses; other refinements yield Nifen (Calomel) or Fen Shuang. Spittle grinding kills insects. Tusu Zhenjun states: Lotus leaf, pine needle, pine resin, Gujingcao, Daylily, Venus Grass, Tile Moss, Prunella, Honeysuckle, Datura seed, Amaranthus, Horse Hoof Fragrance, Single Branch Lotus, Water Arrowhead, Evergreen, Xanthium herb, Luliu Vine, White Flower Chongwei, all control mercury.
[Commentary] It is said: Shuiyin (Mercury) resembles water and silver. Originally named "Gong", derived from the water radical and phonetic 'xiang', pronounced Shuiyin. Commonly written as Shuiyin or Gong is erroneous. Its luster is cyan; upon fire, it turns red (cinnabar); upon earth, yellow (calomel); upon metal, white (frost); upon water, black (sand). It combines and separates cyclically, encompassing the Four Elements and Five Phases, serving as the elixir of immortality. Gu Zhu notes: Retaining the nine orifices prevents decay after death, let alone internal consumption. Thus, for those whose desire for life accelerates decay, manifesting as rashes, ulcers, and scalp scaling, killing skin lice, its efficacy is remarkable. Some claim its cold nature aligns it with Yin Metal, missing the dynamic interaction of substance and function.