The Alchemy Gourd
Legend says Zhang Liang withdrew to the magical Tianmen Mountain, where he indeed found many traces of Master Red Pine—places like "Red Pine Mountain," "Red Pine Forest," "Red Pine Stove," and "Red Pine Bridge"—but no Master Red Pine himself. Upon inquiry, he learned Master Red Pine had gone to Qingyan Mountain. So Zhang Liang sought him there too.
This article has been compiled from historical materials on 'Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network' (33519.com · Specialty Foods / Cuisine / Customs section). Prices, business hours, administrative divisions, and statistical data mentioned in the text may already be outdated. Before traveling, please refer to the latest announcements from merchants, scenic areas, and local competent authorities; the parts involving folk legends and folk customs are local historical and cultural anecdotes, provided for cultural reference.
The Elixir Gourd
It is said that Zhang Liang withdrew and retired to the magical Tianmen Mountain, and indeed saw that many traces of Chi Songzi had been left there. There were "Chi Song Mountain," "Chi Song Forest," "Chi Song Stove," "Chi Song Bridge," and so on, but Chi Songzi himself was nowhere to be seen. Upon inquiring, he learned that Chi Songzi had gone to Qingyan Mountain. So Zhang Liang sought him out at Qingyan Mountain. When he arrived at Qingyan Mountain, Zhang Liang opened his eyes wide and saw towering peaks, drifting seas of cloud, layered green forests, and mountain slopes covered with fresh fruit. He could not help exclaiming, "No wonder the great immortal Chi Songzi wants to cultivate here—this is truly a paradise beyond the world!"
After Zhang Liang arrived at Qingyan Mountain, he searched every mountain and ridge for Chi Songzi. He learned from Chi Songzi not to eat the five grains; when hungry, he ate the flowers of a hundred herbs and mountain fruits; when thirsty, he drank dew and mountain springs. He searched and searched, and though he searched all three thousand eight hundred strange peaks of Qingyan Mountain, he simply could not find Chi Songzi. Just then, a light breeze blew over, carrying a faint scent of elixir. Zhang Liang followed the scent of the elixir and found a rock house halfway up Shanghuangshi Stockade. The door of the rock house was blocked with piled stones. He pushed open the stone door and saw an ancient desk in the center of the room, so old that mushrooms had grown on it. Beside it lay a white-bearded old man, one hand still clutching a golden, glittering precious gourd. The scent of elixir drifted out from the gourd. Thinking the old man was asleep, he walked over and called softly, "Master!"
The old man lay over the desk without moving at all.
"Master!" Zhang Liang called again, but the old man still did not move. He reached out to touch him—ah! The old man's clothes had all become like burnt paper ash. He was greatly astonished: "Which immortal refined elixir here?" As he was puzzling over this, he heard someone in the rock house say in a clear, resounding voice, "Didn't you want to refine elixir and cultivate the Way? This gourd is yours."
Hearing this, Zhang Liang hurriedly knelt down and asked, "May I ask the great immortal's name?"
"I am Chi Songzi!"
After Zhang Liang obtained the elixir gourd from the great immortal Chi Songzi, he settled in this rock house and refined elixir every day.
That day, Zhang Liang was tending the furnace and fanning the fire in the great rock house when suddenly a disciple ran up the mountain in a panic and said, "Master, something terrible has happened!..." It turned out that the governor of Wuling Commandery, acting on Empress Lü's secret edict, had surrounded Qingyan Mountain to arrest Zhang Liang!
When Zhang Liang heard this, he said angrily, "I saw through the treachery of the world and withdrew at the height of my success to live in seclusion at Qingyan Mountain, yet even so I cannot escape the calamity of death. Empress Lü, Empress Lü, you are indeed too vicious!..." With a wave of his hand, he led his disciples up to Huangshi Stockade.
It is said that many years later, Zhang Liang died and became an immortal and ascended to heaven. That precious gourd later turned into a stone peak—the Elixir Gourd Peak in front of the great rock house today.