Phantom Blade Zero side quests: missable cutoffs, Flesh Lily, Crimson Manor and Primal Stones

Missable side quests and deadlines

Phantom Blade Zero’s Quest Log splits optional objectives into three tabs alongside Story: Mysteries, Tales and Collectibles. Nine trophies and Steam achievements hang directly on these quests. Seven of Phantom Blade Zero’s nine quest trophies and achievements can be missed because their quests expire as the main story advances, starting with two early cutoffs before Jing Ye, the Outlaw and Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents.

Finish Apprentice Healer before you defeat Jing Ye, the Outlaw, and complete A Healer’s Mercy, the first step of Flesh Lily, and the opening step of Secrets of the Baishan Sect before you defeat Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents. Before you leave Weeping Creek Valley, you also need to hand the first Primal Stone to the friendly Shadow Warden for A Severed Mindseal. At the Village of Lu Gate, accept both The Journey Home and Young Master Lan and report back after clearing the Smuggler’s Tunnel before you step into Pangzhen.

Two of the nine quest achievements—Secrets at the Heart of the Lake and Bloodline Awakening—are listed under Mysteries and tie directly into the true ending (Length, chapters and endings). Full trophy icons and PS5 conditions are on our trophies page.

Flesh Lily and The Healer’s Legacy

Unlocking The Healer’s Legacy requires completing all three quests tied to the young apprentice healer Yu’er: Flesh Lily, Apprentice Healer and A Healer’s Mercy. Because Yu’er travels from Weeping Creek Valley to the Crimson Forest and finally to Pangzhen, missing any of her early stops locks out the entire chain.

You find the Flesh Lily in the Flesh Lily Fields beneath the Sha-Chi Tower in Weeping Creek Valley, where the puppet bride Hua, Deadly Betrothed guards a wedding hall among the spider lilies. Defeat Hua, Deadly Betrothed to claim the Flesh Lily and hand it to Yu’er at the Weeping Creek Valley Outpost before you fight Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents.

1. Apprentice Healer — before Jing Ye, the Outlaw: Speak to Yu’er at the Weeping Creek Valley Outpost near the First Meeting with Yu’er bell. She wants to prepare a salve for wounded Mandate fighters and gives you her recipe calling for three herbs in Weeping Creek Valley: Blemish Goldweed, Congealeaf and Blood-Stopper Vine. Gather all three herbs across the valley and bring them back to Yu’er at the outpost before defeating Jing Ye, the Outlaw.
2. Flesh Lily, part one — before Bai Chilian: Yu’er explains that she stole a prescription from an apothecary in Pangzhen describing a rare blossom that can cure her sick father. Descend to the Flesh Lily Fields at the base of the Sha-Chi Tower in Weeping Creek Valley, defeat the puppet bride Hua, Deadly Betrothed (who also unlocks the Scarlet Wraithblade achievement), pick up the Flesh Lily, and deliver it to Yu’er before defeating Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents.
3. A Healer’s Mercy — before Bai Chilian: Meet Yu’er again at the thieves’ camp in the Crimson Forest. Thief Wang hands you the Record of the Lost Thieves, and Yu’er gives you Yu’er’s Life-Saving Pill. Track down the wounded thieves at the locations marked in the record, feed each of them a pill, and return to the camp to inform Yu’er before fighting Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents.
4. Flesh Lily, part two — Pangzhen backstreets: After entering Pangzhen, follow the backstreets to Yu’er’s House to check on her father, a town brewer, and recover the Tarnished Jade Pendant and Crimson Flesh Lily. Complete the follow-up steps with Yu’er in Pangzhen before the main story advances to the Training Grounds.

Finishing all three quests pops The Healer’s Legacy and awards the Calming Gourd accessory—a seven-holed gourd infused with calming herbs that lets drinking medicine recover you from Guard Break and prevents Sha-Chi consumption for 3 seconds—alongside her father’s Blessed Jade Pendant.

How to enter the Crimson Manor

The Crimson Manor is a hidden Mystery quest beneath Weeping Creek Valley that holds the Herald’s secrets and one half of the crystal eye pair needed for Secrets at the Heart of the Lake. Ride the hidden lift at the bottom of the Sha-Chi Tower in Weeping Creek Valley down to the subterranean cavern where the red-roofed Crimson Manor stands. Open all three doors leading to The Herald’s Illusion to wake the three-eyed Puppet No. 66 and obtain the Mute’s Tongue and Crystal Eyeball [Yin], then use the Mute’s Tongue on the Mute puppet lock to open the Crimson Manor.

1. Ride the hidden Sha-Chi Tower lift: At the base of the Sha-Chi Tower in Weeping Creek Valley (opened with the Sha-Chi Tower Base Camp Gate Key), step onto the hidden lift to descend into a high-vaulted underground chamber containing the red-roofed Crimson Manor bell. Inspecting the Crimson Manor Main Gate reveals that it is sealed by Puppet “Mute”, which matches the Puppet Mute’s Blueprint found in the puppet testing grounds.
2. Open all three doors in The Herald’s Illusion: Enter The Herald’s Illusion, where three archway gates are arranged in a triangle around a central three-eyed puppet, Puppet No. 66. Each gate you unlock causes one of the puppet’s three eyes to open and pushes its ceramic tongue out by one groove.
3. Claim the Mute’s Tongue and Crystal Eyeball [Yin]: Once all three doors are open, Puppet No. 66’s third forehead eye opens. Speak with it to learn that the Herald lives in the Crimson Manor beneath the tower and that his favourite creation is Puppet No. 99. Puppet No. 66 hands over the Mute’s Tongue (listed in inventory as Puppet’s Tongue) and the Crystal Eyeball [Yin] (Crystal Puppet Eye [Yin]).
4. Unlock the Crimson Manor and defeat The Puppet Scavenger: Return to the subterranean manor beneath the Sha-Chi Tower and insert the Mute’s Tongue into the Mute puppet lock to open the Crimson Manor. Search the manor interior and descend into the Scavenger Pens below it to defeat The Puppet Scavenger (unlocking the Nothing Goes to Waste achievement) and obtain the Crystal Eyeball [Yang] (Crystal Puppet Eye [Yang]).

Secrets at the Heart of the Lake

Secrets at the Heart of the Lake unlocks the silver trophy and achievement Forbidden Arts Beneath the Lake and is one of the mandatory quests for the true ending. Tear the talismans off the scarecrows across four regions to draw out and defeat the four hidden Acolytes—Acolyte Yanru, Acolyte Guhe, Acolyte Lei Ting and Acolyte Hansui—and collect their four masks to break the mirror seal on the Forbidden Ruins. Inside the Forbidden Ruins, defeat Blizzard Blademaster and socket both Crystal Eyeball [Yin] and Crystal Eyeball [Yang] into Puppet No. 99 to reach the ritual site at the Heart of the Lake.

1. Find Firefly’s Memory Flowers: In the Village of Lu near the Temple of Blue Fireflies, collect all of Firefly’s Memory Flowers. The dying illusionist Firefly leaves a message begging someone to aid her senior brother Dusk and stop a ritual at the Heart of the Lake.
2. Enter Dusk’s Refuge north of the Village of Lu: Gathering Firefly’s flowers dispels the illusion barrier behind the temple. Follow the canyon north of the Village of Lu into Dusk’s Refuge and find Dusk, the Puppeteer, who uses his last strength to show you seven old illusionists maintaining a Rift at the Heart of the Lake.
3. Defeat the four hidden Acolytes for their masks: A Memory Flower inside the Crimson Manor and a letter outside the sealed ruins explain that the High Elder sealed the Forbidden Ruins with a Phantom Mirror. Only when all four Acolytes’ masks are reflected in the mirror will the seal break. Locate the scarecrows bearing talismans in four regions, tear every talisman off their straw bodies, and defeat each hidden Acolyte:
   • Acolyte Yanru in the Village of Lu for Yanru’s Blazing Mask.
   • Acolyte Guhe at Meigu Lake for Guhe’s Venom Mask.
   • Acolyte Lei Ting in the Hidden Marsh / Crimson Manor route for Leiting’s Thunder Mask.
   • Acolyte Hansui on the Soulrend Mountain Path for Hansui’s Frost Mask.
4. Open the Forbidden Ruins, defeat Blizzard Blademaster and wake Puppet No. 99: Present all four masks at the Phantom Mirror to enter the Forbidden Ruins. Defeat Blizzard Blademaster (earning The White Shadow), then socket both Crystal Eyeball [Yin] (from Puppet No. 66 in The Herald’s Illusion) and Crystal Eyeball [Yang] (from the Crimson Manor) into Puppet No. 99 (Crystal Puppet No. 99).
5. Destroy the ritual at the Heart of the Lake: Use Puppet No. 99 as the key to reach the ritual site at the Heart of the Lake and destroy the ritual before entering Mirage Estate, unlocking Forbidden Arts Beneath the Lake.

Where to find all 4 Primal Stones

A Severed Mindseal is the four-part Tale quest for the friendly Shadow Warden who calls himself Spectral Blade. A Primal Stone is a cracked, glowing stone that powers a Sha-Chi Tower furnace; consuming it suppresses Sha-Chi surges and frees a Shadow Warden from the Order’s Mindseal commands.

To complete A Severed Mindseal and unlock the Spectral Blade achievement, you must find and hand a Primal Stone to the friendly Shadow Warden in four Sha-Chi Towers in strict order: Weeping Creek Valley, Pangzhen, the Crimson Forest, and the Soulrend Mountain Path. Hand over the first Primal Stone from the Sha-Chi forging furnace in Weeping Creek Valley before you leave the valley, or the quest chain expires.

Delivering the fourth Primal Stone on the Soulrend Mountain Path finishes A Severed Mindseal, unlocks the Spectral Blade trophy and achievement, and rewards the Statue of the Loyal Hero upgrade item alongside the Reflex Device accessory (which widens Parry and Perfect Dodge timing windows by 15 percent).

Baishan Sect, Old Man Gen and Lan Shaodi

Three missable silver trophies and achievements come from character Tales that start in the Crimson Forest and at the Village of Lu Gate: Secrets of the Baishan Sect, The Journey Home and Young Master Lan.

Secrets of the Baishan Sect (白山秘闻)

Speak with the two surviving Baishan Sect disciples at the thieves’ camp in the Crimson Forest before you defeat Bai Chilian, Lady of the Twin Serpents. They tell you they hid their wounded Junior Sister Meng in a secret passage beneath the mountain lodge. Take the Crimson Forest Secret Chamber Crank from a fallen Baishan disciple’s hand to open the lodge’s hidden room and find Junior Sister Meng, who asks you to search the Mandate Encampment for Baishan Sect Leader Bi Taotao. Follow the Path of the Baishan’s Fall bell inside the Mandate Encampment past senior disciple Wu Lengshuang, examine Bi Taotao’s body at the end of the mountain path after her soul displacement, and then find and defeat Bi Taotao’s puppet form—a Vessel-class Swordfighter Puppet—to unlock The Last of Baishan and claim the dual-wielded Baishan Stormswords.

The Journey Home (归途)

Meet Old Man Gen at Old Man Gen’s Hideout by the Village of Lu Gate and agree to help him reach Pangzhen. Descend the Village of Lu well into the puppet testing grounds, unlock the Puppet No. 44 gate with Puppet No. 44’s Eye to clear the Smuggler’s Tunnel, and return to the Village of Lu Gate to tell Old Man Gen that the passage is clear before you enter Pangzhen. Once in Pangzhen’s backstreets, find Old Man Gen’s House (marked by yellow lanterns and opened with Old Man Gen’s Brass Key), retrieve the Dusty Old Wooden Comb from his late wife’s hand on the bed, and give the Wooden Comb to Old Man Gen at the Village of Lu Gate to earn Together Till the End, the Old Wooden Comb upgrade item and the War Wagon Phantom Edge.

Young Master Lan (兰家大少)

At Young Master Lan’s Hideout outside the Village of Lu Gate, speak with Lan Shaodi and say you are interested in his proposition. After clearing the Smuggler’s Tunnel, return to the Village of Lu Gate and tell Lan Shaodi the path is open before you enter Pangzhen. Next, meet Lan Shaodi outside the Lan Manor in Pangzhen: while claiming he plans to sell the orphans he sheltered to the Herald for puppet experiments, he secretly hands you the Lan Manor Key. Touch any Bell to rest and return to the Lan Manor to find Lan Shaodi mortally wounded by the Herald’s assassins after his plot to smuggle the children out by boat was exposed. Use the Lan Manor Key to unlock the manor gate and escort the children to safety at the dock, unlocking A Wanderer’s Honor and the Crimson Resolve accessory.

Pillars of Kunlun and the Illusory Pipa

Two linked Mystery quests—Pillars of Kunlun and Illusory Pipa—trace the betrayal of the Three Pillars of Kunlun (Huangxing, Moji and Yuyin), open the Mandate Encampment, and unlock the northern mountain path to Huangxing and the captive Chord.

1. Find Wei Sanchuan’s body in the Pangzhen well: The outer gate of the Mandate Encampment northeast of the Crimson Forest is locked from within by Moji’s disciples. In Pangzhen, descend into the Well of Wei Sanchuan to find the body of Moji’s disciple Wei Sanchuan and loot the Mandate Encampment Outer Gate Key.
2. Enter the Mandate Encampment: Unlock the outer gate on the mountain road, defeat Wan Jun “Coppermaul” at the entrance, and push through to the training grounds deep inside the encampment, where Moji’s notes point north across Meigu Lake toward the Mountain of Imprisonment.
3. Recover all three parts of the Illusory Pipa: Starting with the Broken Illusory Pipa, collect its three missing pieces across three regions:
   • Illusory Pipa Head in the Village of Lu, seized by Dusk after the Herald sent it to the High Elder.
   • Illusory Pipa Backplate inside the Mandate Encampment.
   • Illusory Pipa Strings at Meigu Lake: first complete Sha-Chi Powered Boat by defeating Wu Xuan, the Fallen General and Gu Wanyue, the Wailing Wraith in Pangzhen for two Transcension Cores. Install both cores on the Boat Master’s mechanical boat at the dock, sail onto Meigu Lake, collect the floating Memory Flowers for Allure of Vanity, and defeat the zither master Yan Qiansui on the central island to take the strings from her zither.
4. Restore the pipa with Myst and open the Spectral Gate: Bring the head, backplate and strings to Myst at Myst’s Tavern, the Order’s secret underground tavern in Pangzhen, to restore the Illusory Pipa. Sail to the northern shore of Meigu Lake and play the restored pipa before the Spectral Gate to dispel the barrier and enter the Mountain of Imprisonment.
5. Defeat Huangxing and unlock the Lady’s statue base: Ascend to the summit shrine and defeat Huangxing, unlocking Crossroads of Blood and the Flying Guillotine Phantom Edge. Finally, use the Flying Guillotine to turn the mechanical switch at the base of the Lady’s statue inside the shrine, opening the subterranean stair to rescue the Chord and finish both Pillars of Kunlun and Whence the Weeping.

All 63 quests in the launch game

The launch game’s quest menu is split into four tabs: 9 Story quests, 13 Mysteries, 31 Tales, and 10 Collectibles, making 63 named quests in all. Every quest below links to its dedicated page with all in-game objectives, journal walkthrough notes, region locations, and connected weapons or bosses.