Quick answer: Show Daoist Bi Di, by the koi pond in the Order’s Tavern, the Tianxuan Bronze Sword. Dig the Bronze Essence out of the collapsed smithy’s furnace in the Pangzhen backstreet, Soul Temper the sword with it, then talk to Bi Di again.
How to start The Sword and the Way
Daoist Bi Di offers The Sword and the Way, a side quest in Phantom Blade Zero, at the Order’s Tavern in Pangzhen. Before he gives you the quest, you’ll need two things:
- The Tianxuan Bronze Sword, which you get for beating Master Bi Yuan in the Village of Lu.
- Access to the Order’s underground tavern in Pangzhen.
The quest card for THE SWORD AND THE WAY appears, and you know it started when the objective reads “Find the Bronze Essence at the blacksmith’s shop on Pangzhen Backstreet”.
Where to find the Bronze Essence
Look for the collapsed smithy on Pangzhen backstreet, around 90 metres from the nearest bell, Green Serpent House. The Pangzhen interactive map shows the quest targets, embedded below. A brazier stands beside the smithy’s furnace, where the quest marker appears; Bronze Essence is buried inside that furnace.
A gunman is posted beside the furnace, with several explosive barrels grouped nearby. Be ready to fight on arrival.
Without the quest, examining the furnace only prompts a short comment about a ruined smithy and its still-warm forge. Once the quest is active, Soul speculates that the essence may be buried there, and you can select “Dig the furnace”. Choose that option; the display goes black for a few seconds as Soul digs, then BRONZE ESSENCE is added to your inventory. Its card reads:
A group of Wulin folks kidnapped the blacksmith’s son and daughter and forced him to forge something that could replace a “heart.” Unable to make such a thing, the blacksmith sought advice from a Daoist he knew, but even he had no answer.
By dusk the next day, the Daoist returned travel-worn, with the blacksmith’s son and daughter at his side. He had rescued them. The blacksmith thanked him profusely and fled with his children that very night. As for the half-finished pieces he had been forced to make, he threw them all deep into the furnace.
The card’s effect is “Used to Soul Temper the Tianxuan Bronze Sword.” Once you have it, the furnace holds nothing but rubble and ash.
Soul Temper the Tianxuan Bronze Sword
The updated objective is “Soul Temper the Tianxuan Bronze Sword using Bronze Essence”. To Soul Temper a weapon, spend 5,000 Remnant Dust and its associated key item, in this case the Bronze Essence.
The tempered sword gains EFFORTLESS ACTION: “Even while Guard-Broken, hold the block button to block at the cost of a small amount of HP.”
Return to Daoist Bi Di
The last objective is “Speak with Daoist Bidi at the Order’s Tavern”. The objective spells his name as one word, but it’s the same man at the koi pond whose tag reads “Daoist Bi Di”.
Seeing the sword shine again moves him, and he says his Senior Brother can finally rest. He then gives Soul a scroll that Master Bi Hai once left in his care, suggesting it could let Soul temper the relic Bi Hai left behind. Master Bi Hai is the boss fought in the Smuggler’s Tunnel arena, and you can check where to find Master Bi Hai if you haven’t met him yet.
The Sword and the Way objectives and locations
| Step | Objective | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Talk to the Fish-Feeding Daoist, pick “This bronze sword…” | Order’s Tavern koi pond, about 20 m from the Myst’s Tavern bell |
| 2 | “Find the Bronze Essence at the blacksmith’s shop on Pangzhen Backstreet” | Collapsed smithy furnace, about 90 m from the Green Serpent House bell |
| 3 | “Soul Temper the Tianxuan Bronze Sword using Bronze Essence” | Soul Tempering (5,000 Remnant Dust + Bronze Essence) |
| 4 | “Speak with Daoist Bidi at the Order’s Tavern” | Order’s Tavern koi pond |
