The Way Forward Quest Walkthrough in Phantom Blade Zero: All Steps and Rewards

Quick answer: Reach the Mirage Estate through the Green Serpent House, ring the bells on the way to Perfect Vessel Pond, defeat Lei Dang to earn the Tiger Cannon, then use it on the broken wall near Mourning Hall and continue along the ravine.

The Way Forward steps at a glance

Cross into the Mirage Estate through the Green Serpent House.
Explore the Estate one bell at a time.
Push from the Mourning Hall to the Perfect Vessel Pond.
Fight Lei Dang and take the Tiger Cannon.
Optionally, use the Opera Ticket for the shadow puppet play.
Blast the cracked wall and walk the ravine to the end of the chapter.

Cross into the Mirage Estate

The quest shows up in your log under Story with the objective “Enter the Mirage Estate”, pinned on the Pangzhen map. The Heart’s Trail hands it off with its last objective, “Enter the Mirage Estate through the hidden passage in the Green Serpent House”. The full route in is covered in how to get into the Mirage Estate.

Quest log with THE WAY FORWARD and the objective Enter the Mirage Estate on the Pangzhen map, Phantom Blade Zero

Finish Whence the Weeping before you cross, because entering the Estate closes it. The missable content list covers what else you can lose.

Start at the Green Serpent House bell, pass through the serpent door, and ascend the red stair. At the top, you’ll reach a forecourt in front of a red gate.

On your first arrival, Inanis cautions you and gives you a choice: “There’s still unfinished business. Return later.” or “No turning back now. Forward it is!” Choose the latter when you’re prepared to proceed.

Pass through the red gate and ascend the stair. The Way Forward updates in a banner; the screen then fades into a cutscene called “One Day Before”.

You come to in a spot roughly 39 m from the Estate Rear Gate bell. Ring the bell to change the quest log to “Quest tracking is not available yet. Explore for now.” There is no marker to guide you after this.

The Way Forward quest log reading Quest tracking is not available yet, Phantom Blade Zero

Make your way to the broad red double doors guarded by two dragon statues. The E prompt appears at the join between the doors; as they open, a Shadow Assassin and a half puppet attack.

E prompt on the centre seam of the red double door in the Mirage Estate forecourt, Phantom Blade Zero

Explore the Estate bell by bell

Without quest tracking, the Estate works as a chain of bells. Reach them in this order:

Nuo Mask Altar
Below the Fire Tower
Back Hill, reached by a chain swing from Below the Fire Tower
Shaded Bamboo Path
Zhang’s Hideout (Mirage Estate)
Opera House
Training Grounds

The Training Grounds yard is a string of puppet waves that finishes with a boss, Yuding, No.12, Crescent Blade Puppet. Later in the Estate, the quest log objective changes to “Search for the Perfect Vessel where the Radiant Heart lies”.

From the Mourning Hall to the Perfect Vessel Pond

Starting at the Mourning Hall bell, go up the stone stairs to the red double door roughly 30 m away. Beyond it, Qiu Feng, the Crimson Boneblade ambushes you in a long hall hung with white drapes.

The red double door at the top of the stair above the Mourning Hall bell with the E prompt, Phantom Blade Zero

Ring the Covered Corridor bell, then the Willow Pavilion bell. Next comes a masked arena.

Step into the arena. A scene with “Yu’er’s body controlled by the Herald” plays and puppets spawn immediately. Clear them to get the Eye of Insight.

Continue to the Leng Tu’s Study bell. Interact with the painting scroll in the study to open a hidden passage.

Take the passage through the curtained altar hall and head down to its end. There you’ll find the Perfect Vessel Pond bell on a terrace beneath the willows, encircled by red candles.

The E prompt at the Perfect Vessel Pond bell in its ring of red candles, Phantom Blade Zero

Lei Dang and the Tiger Cannon

At Perfect Vessel Pond, rest at the bell before ascending the broad stair behind it, which is lined with red lanterns and leads to the gate building. A scene triggers the fight against Lei Dang, the Tiger Cannon. He has two health bars; the second bears the label Lei Dang, One-Armed Tiger.

The Lei Dang, the Tiger Cannon boss bar at the start of the fight, Phantom Blade Zero

When the fight ends, you get the Tiger Cannon Phantom Edge and the achievement “All Return to Dust” (Defeat Lei Dang, the Tiger Cannon). The Tiger Cannon’s card says it can shatter weakened stone walls even when it isn’t equipped, which is what you’ll use it for next.

The Tiger Cannon Phantom Edge card with Damage 310 and Status Effects 208, Phantom Blade Zero

Back up in the arena, Yu’er lies on the red carpet with an E prompt. After that scene, Leng Tu’s Memory Flower VI appears on the carpet, and Soul wonders aloud about the wall near the Mourning Hall.

Optional: the Opera Ticket and the shadow puppet play

Near the Training Grounds bell, beyond the training yard, a lit altar table holds the Opera Ticket. Use it to open the masked red door beside the Opera House; the passage beyond leads to the shadow puppet play.

Blast the wall and end the chapter

From Lei Dang’s arena, lift the wooden latch bar on the tall red doors. Cross the lantern-lit stone bridge beyond them.

Keep going to a hall bathed in deep red light, blocked by a cracked boulder wall near the Mourning Hall bell. Face the wall until a Ctrl prompt appears.

The Ctrl prompt on a cracked boulder wall in the red hall, Phantom Blade Zero

Press Ctrl. The cannon blows a hole through to a blue-lit ravine, and a pickup beside the hole gives the book page Soulrend Mountain Gazetteer plus Remnant Dust +5,881.

Follow the snowy ravine. It’s a single path with no branches, and about 110 m past the hole the quest card shows “Travel to Soulrend Mountain” struck through.

The Way Forward quest card with Travel to Soulrend Mountain struck through, Phantom Blade Zero

You’ll know the quest is done when a black card reads “THE WAY FORWARD” “END OF CHAPTER” and the achievement “Blood Heralds the Dawn” (“Pass Through Mirage Estate”) unlocks. A cutscene then drops you on Mount Soulrend, where A Soul’s Worth starts at the Mountain God Temple with the objective “Reach Soulrend Cliff”. That last stretch is covered in how to reach Mount Soulrend, and the full story walkthrough lists every story quest in order.

The Way Forward End of Chapter card with the Blood Heralds the Dawn achievement, Phantom Blade Zero

The Way Forward rewards

Reward	Where you get it
Yu’er’s Memory Flower I. Struggle	Hall beside the courtyard past the red double door at the Estate entrance
3,052 Remnant Dust and 7 Universal Solvent	Storeroom chest behind that hall
Eye of Insight	Clearing the puppets in the masked arena
Opera Ticket (story item)	Altar past the Training Grounds yard
Tiger Cannon (Phantom Edge)	End of the Lei Dang fight
“All Return to Dust” achievement	End of the Lei Dang fight
Leng Tu’s Memory Flower VI	Red carpet after the Yu’er scene
Soulrend Mountain Gazetteer and Remnant Dust +5,881	Beside the hole in the cracked wall
“Blood Heralds the Dawn” achievement	End of the chapter

Both achievements are also in the achievements list. Along the way you also unlock these bells:

Estate Rear Gate, Nuo Mask Altar, Below the Fire Tower, Back Hill
Shaded Bamboo Path, Zhang’s Hideout (Mirage Estate), Opera House
Training Grounds, Mourning Hall, Covered Corridor, Willow Pavilion
Leng Tu’s Study, Perfect Vessel Pond

Every bell in the game is in the full bell list, and the remaining pickups in this area are covered in Mirage Estate collectibles.