In the third year of Chongning in the Northern Song Dynasty, in the third month of spring, the Tianshi Mansion was full of life, with flowers blooming and trees turning green. The 30th Tianshi, Master Xu Jing, got up early in the morning and, as usual, meditated in the “Sansheng Hall” before washing up and having breakfast. As soon as he finished meditating, he suddenly heard a loud thunderclap as lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder. A dark cloud appeared, and it looked as if a thunderstorm was imminent. Master Xu Jing stepped out of the “Sanxing Hall”, looked up at the sky, and felt that today was a bit unusual. He then calculated: “Hmm, a demon must appear.” While he was thinking, he suddenly saw a young beautiful woman wearing a yellow shirt panting and gasping, kneeling before the Master, bowing and kneeling, saying, “Master, please help me,” while tears flowed.
“Who are you? Tell the truth!” Master Xu Jing asked with a stern face.
The beautiful woman in the yellow dress shivered as she reported to the immortal, “I, I am a fox spirit, I have cultivated for two thousand years and am about to achieve enlightenment, so I have survived this great calamity. The heavenly court ordered Lei Gong and Lei Po to kill me, please immortal, have mercy and save my life.” The fox spirit bowed as she spoke.
“All demons must be eradicated. If I save you, won't I be fostering a problem?“ Master Xu Jing sternly rebuked her.
“Master, I don't mind dying, but I'm pregnant and will soon give birth. If the heavens kill me, the baby in my womb will be innocent...” The fox spirit wept as she pleaded.
After listening to the fox spirit's sobbing, the Taoist priest Xu Jing felt quite compassionate. He thought to himself, “God created all things, and all things have life. Although the fox spirit is disgusting, the fox baby in her belly should not be affected. If the fox spirit can change from evil to good, wouldn't that be a righteous deed?” So, pointing at the fox spirit, he said, “You want this Taoist priest to help you, but you have to obey three things.” The fox spirit kowtowed and asked, “May I ask what the three things are?” Master Xu Jing replied, “First, you must observe a vegetarian diet and not harm other animals; second, you must choose a place to live in seclusion and not disturb the people; and third, you must take the precepts of humanity, recite the sutras morning and night, change your evil ways and do good for the people.” The fox spirit clasped its hands in a vow and said, “I will definitely do it and never break the precepts. If I disobey, I am willing to die.”
The Taoist priest Xu Jing saw that she was repentant and told her to stand up and receive the precepts. He then led several Taoist disciples to the Ancestor Taoist Priest Hall to burn incense and light candles, and sent a petition to the Heavenly Court, explaining the circumstances of the fox spirit's pardon. Upon receiving the Taoist priest's “petition”, the Jade Emperor ordered the Thunder God and Thunderess to return to their homes and not to search for the fox spirit.
Before long, the sky cleared again. It was a scene of boundless blue sky and springtime vitality.
The fox spirit thanked the celestial master profusely and bid him farewell. From then on, she lived in seclusion in the Yuntai Mountains of Erkou, feeding on mountain fruits and devoting herself to cultivation. Soon she gave birth to a plump little girl, whom she named “Little White Immortal”.
Offering “Chlorophytum” The fox repays its benefactor
In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred years passed, and the world had forgotten the story of how Master Xu Jing had saved the fox spirit. During the Shaoding reign period of the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a major flood in Jiangxi Province, followed by an epidemic. Many people in the three counties of Zixi, Lichuan and Anren (now Yujiang) died of the plague, causing widespread panic. Crowds of people came to the Tianshi Mansion to ask Master Zhang to “ward off evil”. At that time, the 35th Tianshi, Zhang Kedai, was in power. This tian shi was highly skilled. He had once split a large snake with thunder. He took several dharma masters to look around. They found that it was not a demon causing the trouble, but the spread of “mountain rash gas” (also known as miasma). If not treated in time, it would soon spread, and God knows how many people would die. Tianshi Zhang Kedai was well versed in medicine and knew that the best medicine for treating this disease was “Chlorophytum”. However, “Chlorophytum” grows on cliffs and in caves, and it is difficult to climb and pick. Although many people were sent to pick the “chinese fan palm”, they could not gather enough to stop the plague. Master Zhang was at his wit's end.
The next day, while the people were still picking the “chinese fan palm”, they suddenly saw a large group of foxes jumping and leaping like flying birds, with “chinese fan palm” hanging from their mouths, and they delivered several sacks of “chinese fan palm” to the Master's feet. The local people all thought it was a sign from the Master. In fact, Zhang Kedalian was also very confused. Then he thought about it carefully: he had heard from his ancestors that Master Xu Jing had once rescued a fox spirit, so he guessed that it might be the fox spirit repaying his kindness. He immediately sent someone to make a decoction of the “chinese money tree” and give it to the patient to drink. Sure enough, the medicine cured the illness. Later, someone wrote a poem in praise: “The immortal showed miraculous powers, a single dose of the prescription cured the illness, he gave money to the victims of the disaster, the immortal's merits will last forever.” In fact, only Zhang Kedah and a few other immortals knew about the fox's repayment of kindness. It is said that Zhang Kedah even went to Mount Yuntai to personally thank the fox immortal for his help, but it is not known whether he found him.
The fox immortal repays kindness twice
More than 40 years later, there was a change of dynasty, and Kublai Khan unified China. One year, there was a severe drought in the north, and there was no harvest. It was said that in the northern capital, people were dying from the heat, and even the Empress Dowager and the crown prince fell ill from the heat. The officials petitioned the emperor, saying that it was the work of demons and that only by inviting Zhang Tian Shi could the demons be destroyed. Zhang Zongyan, the 36th generation of Tian Shi, received the imperial decree and hurried to the capital. But after looking around, apart from the unbearable heat, he could not smell any evil at all. Without the “evil”, Master Zhang could not perform his “ritual”. And the imperial decree could not be disobeyed. Master Zhang Zongyan was anxious and worried.
In the inn, it was already the middle of the night, the moon was bright and there were no clouds in the sky. Master Zhang could not sleep and was alone in the small garden, racking his brains. Suddenly, he saw a middle-aged woman and a young girl as beautiful as a flower and as delicate as jade come before him and bow.
“Who are you? What do you want?“ he asked.
“We have come especially to help you, Master Zhang,” the woman said. “Are you worried because you can't find the evil spirit?”
“That's right. What's your plan?”
“This drought is not caused by demons, so there is nothing you can do. The reason is that when Wen Tianxiang was defeated and retreated to the sea, he worshipped the Dragon King of the East China Sea. The Yuan emperor killed Wen Tianxiang, and the Dragon King was furious, so there is this disaster. The Grand Master can tell the emperor to worship Wen Tianxiang to eliminate the resentment. My mother and I will sneak into the East China Sea to beg the Dragon King to rain, to repay the Grand Master's kindness.” After the mother and daughter finished speaking, they immediately turned into a pair of foxes and flew away.
It was only then that Zhang Zongyan, the Daoist priest, suddenly realized what had happened and hurriedly bowed in the direction the fox spirits had flown off to thank them. This is the story of how Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty held three memorial services for Wen Tianxiang.
Let's not talk about Zhang Tian Shi's petition to the emperor to hold a memorial service for Tian Xiang. Instead, let's talk about the fox spirit arriving at the East Sea, disguised as a Taoist priest, holding Zhang Tian Shi's letter of entreaty, and asking the Dragon King to send down rain. The Dragon King said, “We're building the Dragon Palace and don't have time for that. You can ask the Dragon King of the South Sea for help.” The fox spirit had no choice but to travel thousands of miles to see the Dragon King of the South Sea, who said, “The area around Beijing and Tianjin is not under my jurisdiction, so I can't send down rain. You'd better go find the Dragon King of the East Sea.” He waved his hand as he spoke, refusing. Despite the cold reception, the fox spirit and her daughter were not disheartened. They once again hurried to the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea, earnestly telling the Dragon King about the drought and imploring him to think of all living things in the world and not to punish the general public for the wrongful killing of the loyal and upright Wen Tianxiang by the Yuan emperor. The Dragon King was moved and awakened. He drew a rain-making tablet and instructed the ninth prince to help the celestial master bring rain. Because Zhang Tianshi was so effective in praying for rain, the Yuan Dynasty treated the Tianshi Dao with great respect for 100 years and appointed Zhang Tianshi as the “Supreme Master of the True One Religion” in charge of talismans from the Three Mountains (Maoshan, Geshaoshan, and Longhushan).
Thanks to the sincere invitation of the Tianshi Zhang Zongyan, the fox spirit and her daughter often visited the Tianshi Mansion as guests. Tianshi Zhang even specially set aside his daughter's embroidery room for the fox spirit and her daughter to live in. From then on, there was the “Fox Spirit Building”.
The Fox Spirit, a rodent exterminator, repays the favor three times
After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he was known as the Founding Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He admired Zhang Tian Shi very much and allocated a large amount of silver to expand the Tianshi Mansion, which was given the name “Dazhenren Mansion”. During the Hongwu period, the prefect of Hangzhou reported to the court that the West Lake was haunted, causing the beautiful scenery to be closed and people to be afraid to swim. Zhu Yuanzhang immediately decreed that Zhang Yuchu, the 43rd-generation immortal, should go to Hangzhou to rid the people of the evil. Zhang Yuchu, the immortal, and his entourage discussed the situation and decided to observe the situation first and then try to capture the creature. The next day, they went to the West Lake and saw that the lake was churning with waves, and in the waves was a monster that looked very much like a rat. The immortal decided that this was the work of the “rat spirit”. He then thought that foxes were the best nemesis of rats, so he immediately burned incense and prayed, inviting the fox immortals to quickly come to Qiantang to subdue the demon. The fox spirit received the order from the celestial master and quickly came to Hangzhou. He jumped into the lake and caught the rat spirit and brought it ashore in just a few rounds. Zhang the celestial master ordered that it be beheaded and then hung up by the lake as a public display. Since then, the West Lake has been free of ghosts and demons. People who come to visit the West Lake all praise Zhang the celestial master, saying that he is truly amazing, having eradicated the demons in one fell swoop. We, his descendants, will always remember the celestial master's merit.
After returning to the Tianshi Mansion on Longhu Mountain from Hangzhou, Zhang Yuchu the Tianshi hurried to Yuntai Mountain to thank the two fox spirits, Huang and Bai, and exchange Daoist teachings with them. After all, the fox spirits had been cultivating for many years and their Taoist skills were still superior to the Tianshi's, so Zhang Yuchu also benefited greatly. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhang Yuchu to compile the Daozang. At that time, transportation was inconvenient and it was very difficult to collect the classics. The two fox spirits even traveled to famous mountains and temples all over the country to help collect many lost classics from ancient times. It is said that when the 43rd Tianshi (Celestial Master) passed away, he left a decree: “Over the past hundred years, the two foxes of Yuntai Mountain have contributed a great deal to our Taoism and have become immortal. A golden statue of them can be made in the Celestial Master's residence to worship them.” The 44th Tianshi, Zhang Yuqing, followed the decree and turned the western living room into the “Hall of the Fox Immortals” and had a statue of them made.
This is the origin of the “Hall of the Fox Immortals”, which is what we can see today.
北宋崇宁某年的阳春三月，天师府内百花吐艳，千树竞绿，一派生机勃勃的景象。三十代天师虚靖公起了个大早，按照日常惯例，每天必在 “三省堂”打坐运气，然后漱洗用膳。这天他刚运气结束，突然听到一声巨雷掠过天空，接着电光闪闪，雷声阵阵，顿时升起一片乌云，颇有雷雨来临之势。虚靖天师步出“三省堂”，仰望天空，觉得今天有点异常，便掐指一算：唔，必有妖魔出现。正在思忖时，忽见一身穿黄衫的青年美女气喘吁吁地跪在天师面前，叩头跪拜说：“天师真人，请救救我”，边说边流着眼泪。
“你是什么人?老老实实交代”!虚靖天师板着脸问。
黄衫美女哆哆嗦嗦地向天师禀告：“我，我是狐狸精，已修炼两千年，即将修成正果，所以历此大劫。天庭命雷公，雷婆要劈死我，请天师慈悲为怀，救我一命”。狐狸精一边说一边叩头。
“凡是妖魔，一律要斩除，我救你不是养痈遗患吗”?虚靖天师严词斥责。
“天师真人，我死不足惜，但我有孕在身，很快就要分娩。天庭劈死我，可我胎内的婴儿是无辜的啊”……狐狸精泣不成声地哭诉。
听完狐狸精的哭诉，虚靖天师颇有怜悯之意。心想：“天生万物，都有生灵。尽管狐狸精令人厌恶，但她腹中狐婴不能受到株连。如果狐狸精能改恶从善，不也是一件义举吗”?于是，指着狐狸精说道：“你要本天师搭救可以，但要依从三件事”。狐狸精叩头问道：“请问哪三件事?”虚靖天师答道：“第一要持斋，不许残害其他动物；第二要择地隐居，不得骚扰百姓；第三要受戒人道，早晚诵经，改恶从善，为民做好事”。狐狸精拱手立誓说：“一定做到，决不违犯。如有违抗，甘愿受死”。
虚靖天师见她有悔改之心，便叫起立受戒。然后带领几名道徒前往祖天师殿焚香点烛，向天庭发文申奏，奏明赦免狐狸精的原委。玉皇大帝接到天师的《禀告文书》便命令雷公、雷婆收兵回府，不必寻找狐狸精了。
不一会，天空又恢复晴朗。呈现出一派碧空万里，春意盎然的景象。
狐狸精干恩万谢地辞别天师，从此隐居在耳口的云台山中，以山果为食，潜心修道。不久生下一个白白胖胖的小女孩，取名：“小白仙”。
献 “吊兰”狐狸一报恩
转眼一百多年过去了，虚靖天师救狐狸精的事已被世人淡忘。南宋绍定年间，江西发大水，水患之后又起瘟疫。资溪、黎川、安仁(今余江)三县很多人得瘟疫死去，闹得人心惶惶。有很多老百姓便成群结队来到天师府，请张天师“辟邪”。当时，第三十五代天师张可大在位。这位天师道行高深。曾以雷霆劈大蛇。他带着几位法师四处查看。发现并非妖魔作怪，而是“山疹之气”(又名瘴气)扩散引起的。如不及时治疗，很快会蔓延开来，更不知要死多少人。张可大天师深谙医道，知道治疗此病最佳妙药就是“吊兰”。然而“吊兰”生长在悬崖绝壁洞穴，很难攀登采摘。尽管派了很多人去摘“吊兰”，一天也摘不了几斤，远远扑灭不了瘟疫。张可大天师也无计可施。
第二天，当众人还在继续摘“吊兰”时，忽见一大群狐狸纵跳如飞，口悬“吊兰”送到天师脚下，不一会儿就送来了几麻袋“吊兰”。当地的老百姓都以为是天师显灵。其实，张可大天师也感到很困惑。后来仔细一想：听祖上说过，虚靖天师曾救过一个狐狸精，猜想可能是狐仙报恩吧。他立即派人将“吊兰”煎成药水送给病人服用，果然药到病除。后来有人题诗赞曰：“天师显灵有奇功，一剂丹方病疴除，赈济灾民发银钱，真人功德永世存”。其实，狐狸报恩的事只有张可大天师及少数几位法师知道。据说后来张可大天师还亲自到云台山寻找狐仙表示感谢，也不知是否找到。
指迷津狐仙二报恩
又过了四十余年，改朝换代，元世祖忽必烈统一了中国。有一年，北方大旱，颗粒无收，据说地处北方的“大都”还有热死人的事发生，连皇太后，太子都因暑气而得病。百官奏请皇上，都说是“妖孽”作怪，必须请张天师到来才能消灭妖邪。三十六代天师张宗演接到圣旨，火速进京。但四处查看之后，除了炎热难当，却一点儿也闻不到妖气。找不到“妖”，张天师就不能施“法”。而皇命又不能违拗，张宗演天师急得愁眉不展，心惊胆战。
驿馆内，夜已三更，月明星稀，万里无云，张天师无法入睡，一个人在小花园冥思苦想。忽然，见一中年妇女和一位如花似玉的少女双双来到天师面前向天师行礼。
“你们是何方人氏，不知有何见教”?张天师问。
“启禀天师，我母女俩是专程来为你解难的。你是否因为找不妖气而犯愁呢?”中年妇女问。
“正是，不知贤母女有何妙策?”
“这次大旱不是妖魔作怪，所以您无法可施。原因是文天祥兵败退人海边时，曾祭拜过东海龙王。元世祖杀了文天祥，龙王震怒，所以有此灾难。天师可启奏皇上御祭文天祥消除怨气。我母女当潜入东海哀求龙王降雨，以报天师恩德”。母女说完，即刻变成一对狐狸飞速而去。
张宗演天师到这时才恍然大悟，忙拱手向狐仙飞去的方向拜谢。正因这样，才有了元世祖三祭文天祥的故事。
不说张天师启奏皇上御祭文天祥。却说狐狸精来到东海，打扮成道士，手执张天师的恳求信，请求龙王发水。龙王说：“我们在兴建龙宫，无暇顾及此事。你可向南海龙王求救。”狐仙无奈，只好万里迢迢求见南海龙王，而南海龙王却说：“京津一带不是我管辖的范围，不能发水，你还是去找东海龙王吧”。边说边挥手，表示拒绝。狐仙母女虽遭冷遇，仍不灰心，再次奔波踏进东海龙宫，情真意切地向龙王诉说干旱之事，恳求龙王以天下众生为念，不可因元世祖枉杀忠直的文天祥而株连到广大百姓。龙王被感动了，也醒悟了，于是拔出一柄降雨牌并指示九太子协助天师降雨。由于张天师祈雨有功，元朝一百年都对天师道推崇礼遇，封张天师为“正一教主”主管三山(茅山、阁皂山、龙虎山)符箓。
由于张宗演天师的至诚邀请，狐仙母女便常到天师府做客，张天师还专门把女儿的绣花楼空出来给狐仙母女居住。从那时起，便有了“狐仙楼”。
灭鼠怪狐仙三报恩
朱元璋登基后，号称明太祖。他对张天师很崇拜，曾拨给大量银两扩建天师府，并赐额“大真人府”。洪武年间，杭州太守飞奏朝廷，称西湖内常闹鬼怪，致使美景关闭，人不敢游。朱元璋立即下旨四十三代真人张宇初赴杭州为民除害。张宇初真人与随行人员商议，决定先观察，然后设法擒拿。第二天走到西湖一看，见湖水掀波逐浪，浪中有一怪物很像老鼠。天师断定这是“老鼠精”作怪。随即想到狐狸是老鼠的最好克星，马上焚香祷告，邀请狐仙速到钱塘降妖。狐仙接到天师符命，迅速来到杭州，纵身跳入湖中，仅用几个回合便将老鼠精擒拿上岸。张天师命令拦腰一斩，然后悬挂湖畔示众。自此，西湖闹鬼闹妖之事便平息了。前来西湖游览的人们，无不称赞说：张天师真了不起，一举斩除了妖魔，我们世代子孙都要铭记天师的功德。
张宇初天师从杭州回到龙虎山天师府后，随即赶到云台山答谢黄，白二位狐仙并同她们交流道法。狐仙毕竟修炼多年，道法犹在天师之上，张宇初天师也获益匪浅。后来，朱元璋命张宇初编篡《道藏》，当时交通不便，收集经典十分困难，两位狐仙还为此走遍全国的名山宫观，协助搜集到许多上古失传的经典。据说四十三代天师羽化之时，曾留下法旨：“百余年来，云台山二狐对吾道贡献良多，已成仙果。天师府内可为其塑金身以祀。”四十四代天师张宇清遵从遗命，便把西客厅辟为“狐仙堂”并塑了神像。
这就是“狐仙堂”的来历，也就是今天我们可以看到的“狐仙堂”。