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Arsenic Trioxide (Pishuang)
(Also known as Xinshi [Stalactite Arsenic]) Taste: bitter, sour. Toxicity: highly toxic. Found in areas near copper mountains, but the best comes from wells in Xinzhou (Xinzhou belongs to Jiangxi; there is a well there where access is strictly forbidden by the palace. The well contains turbid water; one must first wring out all the water before chiseling out the ore.) It should be large in size, yellow in color, bright and clear without impurities. Naturally occurring arsenic is called Pihuang (Yellow Arsenic). Place it on fire and cover with a vessel to let the arsenic smoke rise and condense, hanging down in clusters. Only when the shape resembles the tip of a nipple and is elongated is it called Pishuang (Arsenic Frost), which is excellent for medicinal use. It is inhibited by strong vinegar, cold water, mung beans, and sheep blood. If accidentally ingested causing poisoning in the abdomen, using any one of these four can detoxify it. In medical prescriptions, boiling with vinegar also neutralizes its toxicity. It can arrest malaria and relieve asthma, expelling wind-phlegm from the diaphragm; it can soften hardness and grind away accumulations, eliminating old food stagnation in the abdomen.

Borax (Pengsha)
Pengsha
(Also known as Pengsha [Borax]) Taste: bitter, pungent. Temperature: warm. Toxicity: non-toxic. Those from Western Regions are white in color, scorched in taste, and slow in efficacy; those from Southern Barbarian lands are brown in color, mild in taste, and fast in efficacy. Large pieces are superior; bright and lustrous ones are good. Store together with mung beans to preserve their color and form. It is an essential medicine for treating swelling and pain in the throat, and a rapid prescription for removing phlegm-heat from the diaphragm. Combined with swallowing saliva, it takes effect slowly. It is also used as a soldering agent to soften gold and silver.

Realgar (Sha)
Taste: sour, bitter, pungent. Temperature: warm. Toxicity: toxic. Found in border prefectures and commanderies, with those from the Western Regions being particularly rare. Select shapes that are bright like Yaxiao (Saltpeter); remove earth and stones by levigation (water flying), then boil again. After levigation, boil in water until dry for use.) Avoid eating sheep blood; beware of Jiangshui (fermented grain liquid). Because of its strong flesh-rotting capability, it is often a key agent in external surgery. For swollen toxins, it aids in breaking the skin to drain blood; for ulcerating carbuncles, it helps eliminate necrotic tissue and generate new muscle. It removes nebulae and clarifies both eyes. It softens gold and silver for use as a soldering agent. *Shennong Bencao Jing* further states: consuming it raw transforms the human heart into blood. If accidentally poisoned, urgently crush mung beans into juice to detoxify.
(Chen Jiamo) Commentary: The classic annotation states: Sha inherits the yin stone qi, containing the essence of yang poison. It removes filth and benefits yang, with remarkable efficacy. Thus, it can dissolve the five metals and eight minerals, becoming the nemesis of the five metals. Levigation has methods: levigated once becomes Suan Sha (Acidic Realgar); twice becomes Fuyi (Hidden Wing); three times becomes Dingjing (Fixed Essence), with a color like gosling yellow. If it remains intact without shattering after being buried in grass, it can be transformed into various mineral medicines. It can also transform iron and control copper. Turning into deep blue and green, those who cultivate elixirs in the cinnabar furnace should know this.