Within Taoist traditions, the cultivation of immortality has been embodied in a wide range of figures, some legendary and some clearly historical yet later mythologized. At the mythic level, the Eight Immortals (Ba Xian) stand as archetypal models of successful cultivation, each representing a different temperament and path: Lü Dongbin and Zhongli Quan are especially associated with internal alchemy, moral discipline, and the transmission of transcendence methods, while figures such as He Xiangu, Lan Caihe, Li Tieguai, Han Xiangzi, Cao Guojiu, and Zhang Guolao illustrate chastity, poverty, eccentricity, and other unconventional ways of realizing the Dao. Laozi, though primarily known as the author of the Tao Te Ching and philosophical ancestor of Taoism, is also treated in later tradition as an exalted, enduring presence, a kind of paradigmatic sage whose realization borders on the immortal.

Alongside these legendary exemplars stand historical masters who systematized and deepened the practices of immortality cultivation. Ge Hong, author of the Baopuzi, articulated a comprehensive vision that included external alchemy, diet, breathing methods, and ethical discipline, reflecting both practical technique and reflection on the meaning of transcendence. In later centuries, figures such as Zhang Boduan, with his Awakening to Reality, and Wang Chongyang, founder of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school, framed inner alchemy as a disciplined refinement of jing, qi, and shen into a subtler, liberated mode of existence. Their disciples, especially the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen, including Qiu Chuji and Sun Bu’er, became enduring symbols of rigorous asceticism, ethical cultivation, and the integration of household life with later renunciation.

These masters and immortals together form a kind of spiritual genealogy for those drawn to Taoist immortality teachings. Some, like Qin Shihuang and Xu Fu, appear in the tradition as cautionary figures, exemplifying a more literal and external quest for endless life through elixirs and distant isles, in contrast to the more inwardly oriented refinement of spirit emphasized by inner alchemy. Others, such as the Shangqing visionaries Yang Xi and the Xu family, or later commentators like Liu Yiming, shaped the contemplative and doctrinal side of practice, stressing that true immortality lies in spiritual freedom rather than crude physical longevity. Across these diverse lineages and stories, the recurring theme is that “becoming an immortal” signifies not only extraordinary powers or long life, but a profound transformation of consciousness, enacted through moral clarity, disciplined practice, and alignment with the Dao.