Feng Sheng (Wind Borne Monsters)
Want to live an extra 500 years? Easy, just slay this mythical beast with herbs.
The Fengsheng (Windborne) Beast is a mystical creature from ancient Chinese mythology Shan Hai Jing.
Described as being as agile as a marten and slightly smaller than a rabbit, this creature lives high in the trees. When the wind blows, it moves to other trees to search for fruit.
Probably a masked palm civet. They look like them and eat fruit. They are delicious and are said to get rid of dampness while nourishing yin.
In the text Records of the Ten Continents: Flame Continent:
"Flame Continent lies within the South Sea, covering an area of two thousand li, and is ninety thousand li from the northern shore. Here lives the Fengsheng Beast, resembling a leopard with blue fur and about the size of a civet. People attempt to capture it by surrounding it with piles of wood and setting them on fire, yet even after the wood burns completely, the beast remains unharmed, standing amidst the ashes with its fur intact.
Attempts to strike or pierce it fail, as it feels like hitting an empty sack. It finally dies after being struck on the head with a hammer numerous times, but even then, it revives quickly when it opens its mouth toward the wind. Only by sealing its nose with Shi Chang Pu (calamus from stones) can it be permanently killed.
Legend says that consuming ten pounds of its brain mixed with chrysanthemum grants a lifespan of five hundred years. (results may vary)
WTF is going on here? It comes back to life when facing the wind? Well this wind borne beast is a symbol for contageous illness. Acorus of Shichang pu is anti viral, antifungal, and antibacterial which is why it is used so much to purify the air for rituals. The downside of shichangpu is that it is super drying and taking too much may cause the eyes to be red. You know what reverses this? Chrysanthemum. So the legend is likely bullshit and has lead to the bullying of many a masked civet, but within the legend there is some valuable truth worth bringing into your own life. I mean of course that civets are delicious and eating pounds of their brains will cause you live an extra 500 years. How many civets do you need to kill to get pounds of brain? I have no idea.