Historically, what made Chinese rulers so uniquely obsessed with immortality? Ancient emperors often used the mystical elixir to seduce women, gain political advantage, and avoid physical harm. There is a famous story of the legendary Han dynasty emperor Qin Shihuangdi, who in his later years sought out the elixir and hired a Daoist master to teach him how to drink it. The master had a difficult time brewing the concoction. At the master's request, the emperor cut off his arm, boiled it with five different kinds of poison, and added the liquor to the elixir. The emperor drank the potion, but he immediately died. Today we know that the brew was likely filled with poisonous copper salts and arsenic.