Quick answer: Purple quests are the Story tab quests with a purple diamond icon, separate from the gold main quests. The game’s text calls them Mysteries, and there are 11.
What purple quests are
The Quests menu contains Story, Tales and Collectibles; press Z or C to move between tabs. There isn’t a dedicated Mysteries tab: purple quests appear alongside the gold main quest under Story, and their icons distinguish them.
| Icon colour | Quest menu tab | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | Story | The main quest (e.g. The Heart’s Trail) |
| Purple | Story | Mysteries (e.g. Crimson Manor) |
| Teal | Tales | Side stories (e.g. Honor Among Thieves) |
The game’s text for the group reads:
“Every mystery can be broken by human will. A single thought, a different choice, a different ending.”
Where purple quests show up
A purple quest only joins the list after you pick it up, so a short list just means you haven’t found the rest yet. Once a Mystery is in your log, the purple diamond shows up in two places.
- On the map, when you select the quest in the Quests menu.
- In the world, when you track the quest and use Mind’s Eye (V).
The Mind’s Eye marker shows through walls. With Deep in the Valley tracked, for example, the purple diamond appears 12 m away on the far side of a wall.
All 11 purple quests
| Quest | Where it starts or points | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Deep in the Valley | Weeping Creek Valley | Deep in the Valley |
| Whence the Weeping | On the Story list by the end of Against the Flow | Whence the Weeping |
| Illusion of Inanis | First Crimson Forest Crane Bell | Illusion of Inanis |
| Pillars of Kunlun | Campfire beside the Valley Sha-Chi Tower | Campfire and nearest bell |
| Bloodline Awakening | The five Lóng Pillars | All 5 Lóng Pillars |
| Illusory Pipa | Village of Lu, during Against the Flow | Illusory Pipa parts |
| Secrets at the Heart of the Lake | Village of Lu | Secrets at the Heart of the Lake |
| Sha-Chi Powered Boat | Pangzhen Docks bell | Sha-Chi Powered Boat |
| Allure of Vanity | Meigu Lake | Allure of Vanity |
| Crimson Manor | Near the Puppet Testing Grounds bell, Village of Lu | Crimson Manor |
| The Herald’s Illusion | The three Crimson Manor magic doors | Crimson Manor guide |
Deep in the Valley
Subtitle: “Fear not the perils that lie ahead”. Set in Weeping Creek Valley. Find the Sha-Chi Tower Base Camp Gate Key on the Steel Tower, then use it on the outer gate next to the Creek Valley Plains Entrance bell.
Whence the Weeping
Subtitle: “A whisper on the wind, an old name carried by the breeze”. It is already on your Story list by the end of Against the Flow, and the first objective is “Find the source of the weeping”. Two later steps happen at the Shrine on the Mountain of Imprisonment.
Crossing the bridge from the Pangzhen backstreet to the Mirage Estate blocks both of those Shrine steps. Finish them before you cross. The full list of quests that can close for good is in the Phantom Blade Zero missables rundown.
Illusion of Inanis
Subtitle: “Reunited in the Mist”. The quest begins with a scene at the first Crimson Forest Crane Bell. Next, locate Inanis’s illusion by the stone lamp on the cliff edge past the Gilded Lotus rock, about 35 m from the Parting Mists bell. Her talk menu includes “Train Abilities”.
Pillars of Kunlun
Subtitle: “A sword wails within its scabbard; The old oaths remain silent”. Talk to the wounded Mandate disciple at the campfire on a rocky ledge beside the Valley Sha-Chi Tower. The “Enter the Mandate Encampment” step needs the Mandate Encampment Outer Gate Key, which is in a jar cellar in Pangzhen’s backstreet.
Bloodline Awakening
Subtitle: “Shackles serve as kindling, destiny ignites”. Find all five Lóng Pillars and complete their trials.
Illusory Pipa
Subtitle: “The strings still sing, yet hearts break”. The broken pipa turns up in the Village of Lu during Against the Flow. Recover its head, strings and backplate, then ask Myst to restore it.
Secrets at the Heart of the Lake
Subtitle: “Still waters run deep, concealing the unspeakable”. It starts in the Village of Lu when you collect the petal from Firefly’s Memory Flower. The quest runs through Dusk’s Refuge and ends with The High Elder. The conversation with Inanis after that fight counts toward the game’s endings.
Sha-Chi Powered Boat
Subtitle: “A heart of bronze, a fleeting shadow on the water”. Ask Myst about the Boat Master, then board his mechanical boat by the Pangzhen Docks bell. Boarding the boat completes the quest.
Allure of Vanity
Subtitle: “Awake, a thousand forms; in dreams, all is empty”. You need the boat for this one. Gather Yan’er’s six Memory Flowers on Meigu Lake, then defeat Yan Qiansui for the Illusory Pipa Strings.
Crimson Manor
Subtitle: “Crimson doors conceal secrets, blood shadows loom”. It starts with the note PUPPET ‘MUTE’ BLUEPRINT in the Village of Lu, near the Puppet Testing Grounds bell. Open the three magic doors, take the Puppet’s Tongue from the Three-Eyed Puppet, and give it to the Mute.
The Herald’s Illusion
Subtitle: “A twisted dreamscape, forever lost”. It has one objective, “Open all three doors leading to the Herald’s Illusion”. These are the same three magic doors you open in Crimson Manor.
How the purple quests connect
Several Mysteries feed into each other, mostly through the Illusory Pipa.
- You need the Sha-Chi Powered Boat before you can do Allure of Vanity.
- Allure of Vanity gives the strings, one of the three Illusory Pipa parts.
- Defeating Dusk in Secrets at the Heart of the Lake gives the pipa’s head.
- Crimson Manor and The Herald’s Illusion share the same three magic doors.
The other quest tabs
On the Tales tab, teal diamonds identify side stories, including Honor Among Thieves. The full list of Phantom Blade Zero tales covers every one. For the gold main quests listed under Story, follow the story walkthrough in sequence.
