Where to Find Incense Ash in Phantom Blade Zero (Summon Phantom Edge Upgrade Material)

Quick answer: Find Incense Ash in a chest atop a timber platform on the Crimson Forest cliff, close to the Red Serpent House bell. Approach from higher ground: climb the plank road to the plateau, descend the ladder, then turn left.

What Incense Ash does

Incense Ash is filed under “Phantom Edge Upgrade Materials” in Phantom Blade Zero. Its card reads: “Coarse ash mixed with fragments of herbs and wood. When made into incense, its smoke rises in thin strands that linger without dispersing. Old tales say that if one draws a circle with this ash and calls a name three times, the wandering soul will appear within it.” The effect line underneath reads: “Required to upgrade Summon-type Phantom Edges to Lv. 10.”

Incense Ash item card, required to upgrade Summon-type Phantom Edges to Lv. 10 in Phantom Blade Zero

Use it at a bell by selecting Upgrade Equipment; the weapon upgrade guide walks through the process. Each Phantom Edge category uses a separate material through Lv. 10. Incense Ash is for Summon-type edges, while Ancient Timber upgrades Ranged-type edges.

Where to find Incense Ash

In Chapter 1, the chest sits along the Crimson Forest route, past the low-road double gate at Forest Outpost. You can’t access its platform from the road; the path climbs up and around before dropping back onto it.

Go to the Red Serpent House bell, the red-lit wooden cross on the road just through the low-road double gate. That gate opens with the Forest Outpost Courtyard Key.

Face the pale cliff beside the road and look upward. Roughly 5 metres above, a wooden scaffold platform sits against the rock, with a ladder climbing from it up the cliff. The vine-covered wall below won’t respond to Space, so leave it alone.

Wooden scaffold platform and ladder on the cliff above the road near the Red Serpent House bell in Phantom Blade Zero

Head away from the bell along the dirt road, continuing until you come to a small wooden cart bridge. You’ll go past a roadside heap containing Ancient Timber; another heap close to the bridge yields Remnant Dust +916.

Small wooden cart bridge on the road past the Red Serpent House bell in Phantom Blade Zero

Take the stone track from the bridge as it rises uphill. At the top, a lengthy plank road runs between fences on both sides. Make your way up it.

Long fenced plank road climbing toward the Butcher plateau in Crimson Forest in Phantom Blade Zero

The plank road leads onto a plateau, where stone stairs and a lantern mark the area. A Butcher and three dogs guard it. The dogs can rush down the planks, so draw them away and take them out before engaging the Butcher. Check the clay-jar heap on the plateau for Remnant Dust +917.

Plateau with stone stairs at the top of the plank road in Crimson Forest in Phantom Blade Zero

By the jars at the edge of the plateau, a short plank ledge juts out over the drop with the top of a ladder on it. Stand on the ledge until the “Space” prompt shows up, then press Space. Soul slides down the ladder in under a second and lands on the scaffold platform.

Space prompt on the plank ledge at the top of the ladder down to the Incense Ash scaffold in Phantom Blade Zero

After landing, don’t step backward: that takes you off the platform and down to the road. You won’t lose health, but you’ll need to climb all the way back up. Turn left and follow the plank walkway for about 6 metres.

Soul at the ladder foot on the cliff scaffold with the plank walkway ahead in Phantom Blade Zero

Open the wooden chest beside the two stone bowls by pressing E. The INCENSE ASH card appears on screen, which confirms the pickup. Press Space to dismiss it.

Incense Ash chest beside two stone bowls with the E prompt in Phantom Blade Zero

The same chest also gives two more materials, and each item card shows up in turn: Mechanical Gear, required to upgrade Artifice-type Phantom Edges to Lv. 10, and Darkfire Charcoal, required to upgrade Destruction-type Phantom Edges to Lv. 10.

Buying Incense Ash from Quick Hand Zhang

Quick Hand Zhang offers Incense Ash at his Village of Lu, Pangzhen, and Meigu Village hideouts for 832 Remnant Dust. It isn’t available at his Crimson Forest hideout.

Summon-type upgrade materials past Lv. 10

Incense Ash only takes a Summon-type Phantom Edge to Lv. 10. Two later materials handle the rest of the climb.

Material	Summon-type upgrade range
Incense Ash	Up to Lv. 10
Illusory Incense Ash	Lv. 10-20
Incense Ash for the Lady	Lv. 20 to max level

Illusory Incense Ash carries the effect line “Required to upgrade Summon-type Phantom Edges from Lv. 10-20.” Its card reads: “When worship of the Lady of the Veil first arose, devotees would mix Sevenfold weed leaves into their incense. The smoke rose in fine strands, and its scent sent the mind reeling. With repeated use, however, its potency dwindled. Few use it now.” Quick Hand Zhang sells it for 992 Remnant Dust at his Pangzhen and Meigu Village hideouts.

Incense Ash for the Lady finishes the line with “Required to upgrade Summon-type Phantom Edges from Lv. 20 to max level.” Its card reads: “Incense ash mixed with the ashes of wooden puppets and scraps of red silk flowers. Before puppets became so numerous, people firmly believed this mixture could call back their missing friends and family.”