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(Gu Ya, also known as Mai Ya.)
[Flavor and Nature]
Sweet, warm, non-toxic.
[Indications]
Strengthens the spleen and stimulates appetite, directs qi downward and harmonizes the middle jiao, promotes digestion and resolves food stagnation.

(Obtain authentic specimens, remove the heads, feet, and tails, wrap them in mint leaves (Bohe Ye), and roast over fire before use. If bitten by a centipede (Wugong) causing poisoning, apply chicken manure or garlic to the affected area for immediate effect; fumigation with heat is also effective; attracting with spiders is also effective; applying mashed slug (Kuoyu) is also effective.)
[Flavor and Nature]
Pungent, warm, toxic.
[Indications]
Gu poison (parasitic disease), poisoning from consuming various snakes, insects, and fish; treats cold-heat accumulations in the heart and abdomen; treats Zheng Pi (abdominal masses); pediatric convulsions, umbilical tetanus, trismus (lockjaw), erysipelas (Dan Du), alopecia, tinea capitis, and scrofula (Luo Li). Generally, things that move swiftly are wind and snakes. Centipedes can subdue snakes, thus they can also quell wind. It is a herb of the Jueyin meridian, so its indications mostly belong to the Jueyin pattern. When using it, select those that are flat and long, with black heads and red feet as superior. The thousand-legged worm resembles the centipede but has white flesh on its head, and both its face and mouth are pointed. If mistakenly used and its foul odor enters the brain, it can cause death; one must be cautious and choose carefully.

(This substance, when refined, becomes a miraculous medicine, revered by the Three Pure Ones of the Nine Heavens as "Master Furnace," not an ordinary drug. For preparation, calcine over charcoal fire until red-hot, quench seven times in urine of a young boy, wash with water, grind into powder, process by levigation (water flying), and dry in the sun.)
[Flavor and Nature]
Sweet, warm, non-toxic.
[Indications]
Stops bleeding, reduces swelling and detoxifies, generates flesh, brightens the eyes, removes nebulae (Yi), subsides redness, dries dampness, and heals ulcers. Combined with Borneol (Long Nao) for eye drops, it treats all eye diseases. Lu Gan Shi is a herb of the Yangming meridian, imbued with the qi of gold and silver, making it a key herb for treating eye disorders.

(For medicinal use, after calcination, soak in water; those that condense into white crystals are best. Alternatively, heat until red in fire, quench seven times in wine, grind finely, process by levigation, and dry in the sun. Some methods involve soaking in distilled spirits, combining with Camphor (Zhang Nao), and sublimating in a jar to collect the powder.)
[Flavor and Nature]
Salty, slightly warm, non-toxic.
[Indications]
Metrorrhagia and metrostaxis (Beng Zhong Lou Xia), breaks up blood stasis, Zheng Jia (masses), and stagnant qi in the uterus; treats cold-heat abdominal pain, infertility, impotence, tonifies deficiency, treats coldness at the glans penis, damp-itching of the genitals, eliminates body odor, reduces edema. Long-term consumption prevents hunger and promotes fertility. Tonifies kidney qi, treats seminal insufficiency and lower back pain, cold knees, and bi-syndrome due to dampness; treats chronic uterine cold, cold-type Zheng and Jia, regulates irregular menstruation, treats leukorrhea and epidemic cold qi; tonifies five exhaustions and seven injuries; tonifies deficiency of the Gate of Vitality (Ming Men); dissipates various heat-induced swellings.