The Mandate Encampment hides a single challenge spot in Phantom Blade Zero. It’s a tree, and the fight behind it ends with a key progression item for Soul.
Quick answer: Walk about 180 m from the Sunset Path bell to the Human-Faced Banyan, press E at its roots, and clear three Discordance waves to earn The Banyan’s Heart.
What the Mandate Encampment Challenge Location is
Open the map and press R for View Collectibles. The Challenge Locations row uses a tree icon and tallies the challenge spots in each region. The Mandate Encampment has exactly one, the Human-Faced Banyan tree.
That tree is part of the Heart of the Banyan side quest, whose objective reads “Find the Human-Faced Banyan Trees”. Five of these trees exist in total, one apiece in Crimson Forest, Pangzhen, Mandate Encampment, Meigu Lake and Mountain of Imprisonment.
For the Mandate Encampment tree, the Sunset Path bell is the closest place to start. The Cliffside Walkway Entrance bell is the next closest if you need a fallback.
How to reach the Human-Faced Banyan from the Sunset Path bell
From the Sunset Path bell, the tree sits roughly 180 m away on foot. It’s a short trip.
Partway there, the path bends around a thug camp. As Soul approaches, fighters carrying a spear, a club and a big knife come into view, so expect company at that corner.
Beyond the curve, continue climbing to the highest level. The Human-Faced Banyan stands there, with huge roots spreading over the ground. Approach those roots and press E once the prompt appears.
What happens in the challenge
Pressing E triggers a cutscene. A face appears in the trunk, the entire tree goes black, and Soul is pulled into a Discordance space.
The battle unfolds across three waves. Wave one sends five enemies in together: a healer, two twin-blade fighters and two needle-dagger fighters. In wave two, six fist fighters appear with gold, iron and bronze skin. The final wave has two bosses fighting side by side: Stone Hand Iron Fever and Iron Fiend.
If Soul dies, healing is restored to full and Soul reappears at a candle-and-branch altar within the Discordance space, rather than at the Sunset Path bell.
Waves you have finished remain cleared if you die. The active wave, however, starts over with every enemy at full health.
The reward and how to leave
Finish the last wave and the item card for The Banyan’s Heart pops up. It’s filed under Key Progression Materials, and its description reads “Used to unlock special abilities in Ability Training”.
Afterward, Soul stands beneath the tree, still inside the Discordance space. The tree is no longer black; it’s green and full of leaves, which is the clear sign the challenge is done.
The altar formed from a candle and a branch turns into the Human-Faced Banyan bell. Its options, in order, are Return to the Waking Realm; Upgrade Equipment; Store; Train Abilities; Save; and Leave.
Choosing Return to the Waking Realm drops Soul beside the last bell you rested at outside the space, which here is the Sunset Path bell rather than the tree. The challenge is already marked complete, so there’s no reason to walk back to the Banyan.
