南嶽總勝集 3.10

3.10

鄧紫陽。撫州南城人。初居麻姑山。後因省親山下逢大蟒攔路步罡而逐之。蟒化為劍。遂得劍佩之。性愈剛毅。常負濟世之才。每憩於溪壑之間。誦天蓬呪不輟。北帝遣神人授劍法。遠訪南嶽朱陵。謁青玉光天二壇。禮鄧真人。夢有所感。有劉有宗師之。求傳禁呪。而謂之曰。石廩倒洞。夕陽迷津。山鬽群居。昔吾祖驅之已經三百餘年。今以生氣不正此類承之襲人。汝後建壇辟除。兼內養浩然。方冀仙階矣。後明皇詔紫陽。因內殿建醮破胡番。封為天師。後尸解。有宗依法建壇院於石廩下。遂郡兇奔他山。

Deng Ziyang was a man of Nancheng in Fuzhou. At first he dwelt on Mount Magu. Later, when visiting his parents at the foot of the mountain, he encountered a great python blocking the road; he paced the Dipper steps and drove it away. The python transformed into a sword, which he then obtained and wore. His temperament became increasingly resolute and unbending, and he always possessed talent for saving the world. Whenever he rested among streams and ravines, he chanted the Tianpeng Incantation without ceasing. The Northern Emperor dispatched a spirit being to transmit sword methods to him. He traveled far to visit Zhuling of Nanyue, paying homage to the two altars of Qingyu and Guangtian, and bowing before Perfected Deng, experiencing an efficacious response in a dream. Liu Youzong took him as master and sought the transmission of the incantations and restrictions, but [Ziyang] said to him, “The Shilin Inverted Grotto is where the setting sun loses the ford and mountain spectres dwell in packs. Formerly my ancestor drove them away, over three hundred years ago. Now, because vital energy is not upright, this kind of creature takes advantage of it to assault humans. Later you should erect an altar to ward them off, and also internally nurture the vast [qi]; only then can you hope for the immortal ranks.” Later Emperor Minghuang summoned Ziyang; because an offering ritual was held in the inner palace to defeat the barbarian invaders, he was enfeoffed as Celestial Master. Later he underwent deliverence from the corpse. Youzong built an altar courtyard below Shilin according to the method, and the wicked creatures of the commandery all fled to other mountains.