Married to a leading Tianshi officer, Wei Huacun became a respected jijiu (祭酒, libationer), which means that she received a thorough religious education in the organization, including sexual rites of passage and the reception of official registers (Despeux 2000: 388). Her hagiography says that she attained the Dao on Mount Heng, which at the time was a highly active center of both Buddhist and Daoist practices (Faure 1987). She was accordingly called Nanyue furen (南嶽夫人, Lady of the Southern Marchmount). After this time, she became the object of an important cult which, especially under the Tang (Schafer 1977) became prominent among women Daoists and spread throughout China (Strickmann 1979: 142).