Phantom Blade Zero All 4 Acolyte Bosses: Scarecrow Locations, Masks, and the Four Guardians' Mirror

The four Acolytes are Yanru (fire, farmland north of Village of Lu), Lei Ting (lightning, Pangzhen, downhill from the Old Man Gen's House bell tower), Guhe (poison, an island at the east end of Meigu Village East Dock), and Hansui (ice, at the bottom of Crimson Manor). Yanru needs story progress only. Lei Ting needs a repaired Flaming Mane to burn open the vines by the Pond of Fading Song. Guhe needs the Sha-Chi Boat from Chapter

6. Hansui needs the Puppet's Tongue from the Mountain of Imprisonment. Each Acolyte has a matching resistance trinket, and each drops a mask. With all four masks, go to the snowy shallows in northwest Meigu Lake, take the Sha-Chi Boat through the ice, and enter the Four Guardians' Mirror.

Secrets at the Heart of the Lake starts quietly. Pick up any Firefly's Memory Flower in Village of Lu and the quest begins. From then on, four scarecrows across Wulin each hide an Acolyte. Defeat one and it drops its mask. The four masks are required for the Perfect Ending, so this is not optional content for players chasing the true ending. Finish all four masks and clear the mirror world before opening the Green Serpent House door in Pangzhen. The game warns you at the door if the quest is unfinished, and that warning is the last chance to turn back.

Two items are easy to miss before you go in. First, the two Crystal Puppet Eyes. The Yang eye comes from the Hansui fight, and the Yin eye comes from the Puppet's Tongue quest in the Mountain of Imprisonment. They are not needed to enter the mirror, but the last step of the quest inside the mirror needs both, so collect them before you go in. Second, bring a Dread Axe and a repaired Illusory Pipa. The axe cuts the chains on the Long Pillar inside, and the pipa clears the fog wall hiding a Blackstone Fragment.

Yanru is the fire Acolyte, and the easiest of the four to reach. Go to the farmland north of Village of Lu, between the Terraces bell tower and the Engine Giant Remains bell tower. A burning scarecrow stands in the field. Interact with it to start the fight. No special unlock is needed beyond story progress, so Yanru is the natural first fight. She drops Yanru's Blazing Mask.

Yanru attacks with fireballs, so keep moving sideways and close the distance instead of trading shots from range. When a red glow appears at your feet, perfect dodge: a successful perfect dodge moves you instantly behind her, which opens a window to attack. In her flying clone phase, keep moving sideways and do not stand still. One warning from the guides is worth taking seriously: pick up the Flameward trinket in Pangzhen before this fight. Without it, the fire damage is much harder to survive.

Lei Ting is the lightning Acolyte, fought in Pangzhen. From the Old Man Gen's House bell tower, go downhill to a lightning-charged scarecrow. The fight is locked behind the Flaming Mane. First, defeat the Flame lion-dance master to get the Dormant Flaming Mane. Then take it to Lei Dang at Jingyang Hall, who repairs it. With the repaired Flaming Mane, burn open the vines by the Pond of Fading Song to reach the scarecrow. He drops Leiting's Thunder Mask.

Lei Ting spreads lightning across the arena floor, so keep moving and do not stand in the charged ground. Circular lightning zones appear on the ground: step out of the circle before they strike. Parry his blue-flash attacks and perfect dodge his red-flash attacks, the same timing rules as the other Acolyte fights. One honesty note: as of this writing, only one guide lists Lei Ting's moves in detail, so treat the move list above as the best available description rather than a complete moveset.

Guhe is the poison Acolyte, fought on Meigu Lake. You need the Sha-Chi Boat, which arrives in Chapter 6, to reach him. Take the boat to the island at the easternmost end of Meigu Village East Dock. A scarecrow stands there with birds circling above it. He drops Guhe's Venom Mask.

Guhe fills the arena with poison mist, so do not stand in one place. When a green circle appears, perfect dodge on the red flash: a successful perfect dodge moves you instantly to his real body, which is the opening to attack. Bring an upgraded Green Serpent Brew to clear the poison. While you are there, pick up the Deathlock trinket nearby: it requires the Preservation Jar, placed at the dragon statue.

Hansui is the ice Acolyte, fought at the bottom of Crimson Manor. The fight needs the Puppet's Tongue. In the Mountain of Imprisonment, walk through all three Herald's Illusion portals, then go to the Puppet Cell bell tower, where a hanging puppet gives you the tongue. The same puppet also gives the Crystal Puppet Eye [Yin], so do not leave without it. With the tongue, open the Mute door at the bottom of Crimson Manor. Drop down and land on the silk threads below to avoid fall damage. Hansui drops Hansui's Frost Mask, the Crystal Puppet Eye [Yang], and the Alloyed Scythe Blade.

This is a duo fight. Hansui does not start alone: the Puppet Scavenger is already in the arena. Attack the Puppet Scavenger first, because its grab can swallow you. When the Scavenger reaches 50% health, Hansui enters the fight and freezes the Scavenger in place. From then on, focus all damage on Hansui. Once frozen, only Green Serpent Brew can thaw you, so keep some in reserve and do not spend it on ordinary Chill.

One warning about Frostward: it only appears after you enter Mirage Estate, which is later than the Hansui fight on the true-ending route. You cannot have it for Hansui. Use Green Serpent Brew instead, and save it for being frozen, not for ordinary Chill. The brew can be upgraded at Green Serpent House. As for how much damage these trinkets reduce, the guides disagree: GameSpot lists Flameward at 40% and Thunderward and the Jar at 30%, while Maxroll and AllThings list 50%, and AllThings lists 80% after polishing. This guide does not pick one number. Check the in-game tooltip on the trinket you own.

With all four masks, go to the snowy shallows in northwest Meigu Lake. A barrier blocks the mirror, and only the four masks break it. Take the Sha-Chi Boat through the ice to the shore. A final bell tower stands in front of the mirror. Before entering, check your pack: a Dread Axe for the chains on the Long Pillar inside, a repaired Illusory Pipa for the Blackstone Fragment behind the fog wall, and both Crystal Puppet Eyes for the last step of the quest inside.

Inside the mirror is Discordance, also called the Phantom Illusionist Ruins. Seven bell towers mark the route: start at the wooden bridge, then the fishing village dock, the snowy camp, the floating ruins, and finally the frozen shipwreck graveyard. Ring each bell as you go. The full reward list is below.

Two fights inside deserve a note. At the fourth pillar, break the chains and activate the dragon statue to start a duel with the Gold-Masked One. He drops Chaos Iron Fragment I. The duel itself is covered in full in our Long Pillar trials guide, linked below, so it is not repeated here. The final boss is the Blizzard Blademaster. Defeat him to get Whiteshadow, a main weapon whose attacks build Chill and Frozen, with the skill Whiteshadow's Frosthowl freezing enemies it hits.

After the Blizzard Blademaster falls, a red statue called Whiteshadow's Fall rises. This is where the two Crystal Puppet Eyes come in: place them to open the Heart of the Lake ritual room. With the ritual done, Secrets at the Heart of the Lake ends, and Violet Blossom is yours as the quest reward. With the four masks collected and the mirror world cleared, the Green Serpent House door in Pangzhen is ready to open.

Yes, if you want the Perfect Ending. All four masks are required for it, and the game warns you at the Green Serpent House door if any mask is missing. If you do not care about the true ending, you can skip the quest, but you will also miss the mirror world, Whiteshadow, and Violet Blossom.

No. The first three Acolytes are fought at scarecrows, but Hansui is fought at the bottom of Crimson Manor in a duo fight with the Puppet Scavenger. She enters when the Scavenger reaches 50% health and freezes it in place.

Both appear in guides. The boss is commonly written Lei Ting, while the item is named Leiting's Thunder Mask. This guide uses Lei Ting for the boss and Leiting for the item.

No. Each trinket resists one element only: Flameward for fire, Thunderward for lightning, Preservation Jar for poison, Frostward for ice. Wear the matching one for each fight. Green Serpent Brew is the backup for poison and freezing, and it is the only way to thaw out of Hansui's freeze.