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Ren Qi (Vital Energy) primarily treats deficiency-cold of the Lower Yuan (Kidney and Mingmen). It is beneficial to have young boys and girls blow air into the navel through clothing daily. For bi- pain in bones and joints, mutual blowing and moxibustion/warming can eventually unblock the meridians. Blowing with breath can also stop bleeding from epistaxis or metallic wounds. (From *Bencao Gangmu*)

[Name] (Li Shizhen states): What physicians call Yuan Qi (Primal Qi) and Xiang Huo (Ministerial Fire), and what Daoists call Yuan Yang (Primal Yang) and Zhen Huo (True Fire), are essentially the same. Heaven cannot generate living things without this fire; humans cannot sustain life without it.

[Seasons/Methods] (Collection methods): In spring, consume the Green Qi of the East; in summer, the Red Qi of the South; in autumn, the White Qi of the West; in winter, the Black Qi of the North; and during the transitional periods of the four seasons, consume the Yellow Qi of the Center. These methods are also highly effective.

[Usage] For the elderly, those with deficiency, and youths before the age of fourteen (when Shaoyin energy is robust), sharing a bed and benefiting from their vaporization/moxibustion-like warmth is most advantageous. (As Du Fu wrote: "To warm the old, one needs Yan Yu," referring to this intent.) However, one must not engage in sexual intercourse to avoid losing essence and shortening life. Recently, some practitioners have young girls blow air into the nostrils, navel, and genital openings to open the Upper, Middle, and Lower Sanjiao (Triple Burner), called "Jie Bu" (Connecting and Supplementing). This is a minor technique; if done improperly, it may cause illness, so caution is required.

[Treatment] (Xie Cheng's *Continued Book of Han* records): Taiyi Shi Xun suffered an attack of Han Shan (Cold Hernia) while on duty in the palace. Unable to find fire, people took turns blowing air on his back until dawn, after which he recovered. (Liu Jingshu's *Yi Yuan* records): A servant of the Sun family treated victims bitten by tigers or snakes who were near death using Qi Jin (Qi prohibition/incantation), resulting in their safety.

[Explanation] (Ge Hong's *Baopuzi* records): Humans exist within Qi, and Qi exists within humans. All things in heaven and earth rely on Qi for life. Those skilled in practicing Qi can nurture life internally and repel evil externally. However, there are rules: From Zi hour to Si hour is the time of generating Qi; from Wu hour to Hai hour is the time of dead Qi. One should usually inhale deeply through the nose during the generating Qi time, retaining more than exhaling, holding the breath while counting down from 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, etc., then gently exhale without making sound. Once proficient, increase to a thousand repetitions, known as Taixi (Fetal Breathing). Thus, those skilled in Qi practice can avoid hunger and thirst, prolong life, walk on water, dwell in water, cure hundred diseases, and escape plagues. Blowing Qi at water makes it flow backward; at fire, it extinguishes at a distance; at boiling soup, hands can probe in; at metallic wounds, bleeding stops; at weapons, stabs cannot penetrate; at arrows, they shoot back; at dogs, they do not bark; at tigers and wild wolves, they cower and retreat; at snakes and bees, they remain still. In the Wu and Yue regions, there are incantations for Qi practice. During major epidemics, one can share a bed with patients without infection. When encountering spirits or demons that make sounds or appear, throwing stones or setting fires, Qi prohibition will make them cease. If bitten by a venomous snake, blowing Qi heals immediately. Even from a hundred li away, pointing the hand towards men (left side) or women (right side) and reciting incantations brings peace. Qi emerges from formlessness, yet its efficacy reaches such heights, let alone fasting and longevity. (Li Shizhen notes: This is precisely our cultivation of Haoran Zhi Qi (Noble Spirit). The Talismanic sect uses Zu Qi (Ancestral Qi), which is this method, but those monks often lack Qi, and ordinary people imitating it vainly achieve no results.)