Levels 25–36 · 煉形 · lian xing
Purification of the Vessel
Reconstructed band. In every classical neidan system there is a long, unglamorous middle passage in which the physical body is remade to tolerate what the practitioner is now carrying. Mo Pai sources gesture at this obliquely — the remarks about no longer needing much food or sleep, about aging slowing, about the practitioner becoming difficult to be near.
This band division is editorial. The sources do not group the levels above 4; this grouping follows the classical jing–qi–shen–xu progression to make the claimed path legible.
Core practice
Reconstructed. No lineage method is known.
Testing
Unknown.
Classical stage
Shen (spirit consolidated; the body reworked to hold it)
Time
Unknown
Levels in this band
25
The Long Middle
The beginning of the least documented and reportedly longest passage.
reconstructed
26
Marrow
Classical "marrow washing".
reconstructed
27
Sinew
Classical "sinew changing" (yi jin).
reconstructed
28
Bone
Classical "bone changing" (huan gu).
reconstructed
29
Blood and Breath
Respiration and circulation are said to slow markedly.
reconstructed
30
Foetal Breathing
Tai xi — breathing that no longer requires the lungs.
reconstructed
31
Cutting the Grain
Bi gu — the reported end of dependence on ordinary food.
reconstructed
32
The Unaging Frame
Senescence is said to slow or halt.
reconstructed
33
Immunity
Resistance to cold, heat, poison and disease.
reconstructed
34
Lightness
Reported reduction in effective weight.
reconstructed
35
The Sealed Vessel
Nothing further leaks under any circumstance.
reconstructed
36
The Reworked Vessel
換骨 · huan gu
The physical body is remade to carry what now inhabits it.
reconstructed