How to Beat Mu Xiaokui, Young Mistress of the Order in Phantom Blade Zero

Mu Xiaokui, Young Mistress of the Order, is often called the most visually impressive fight in Phantom Blade Zero, and PCGamesN notes it is the first boss with three phases. She is the climax of the Village of Lu chapter. She also hides a missable extra encounter that rewards a weapon you can lose forever, so read the ribbon section below before you fight her.

The five ribbons (do this first)

Phantom Blades Wiki reports that collecting five ribbons unlocks an extra phase of the fight. Our existing missable weapons guide covers why this matters: completing that extra encounter, which involves the Jade Dancer and the Iron Fiend, is linked to the Fiend Saws, and the Wild Oriole Sword must be collected from the dock afterwards before you leave the Village of Lu. If you are hunting for every weapon or the Phantom Arsenal trophy, explore the village thoroughly before you start the fight.

Phase one

Phantom Blades Wiki advises parrying her rapier work in the first phase and dodging the red thrusts. PCGamesN adds detail: after she sends red swipe projectiles at you, she vanishes and reappears with a red attack that you need to perfect dodge. When she leaps into the air, a blue attack is coming, so prepare to parry. The phase is about rhythm. Her rapier strikes are quick but parryable, and the red moves have clear set-ups.

Phase two: Queen of Iron and Jade

In phase two she takes on the title Queen of Iron and Jade. PCGamesN highlights two patterns:

• After her spiral sword attack, which glows both red and blue, she immediately follows with a red attack. Be ready to perfect dodge straight away.
• After you guard-break her and her Sha-Chi recovers, she often answers with a red attack. The tell is that she lifts her arm into the air.

Both are punishable if you dodge well, because perfect dodging a killer move triggers Ghoststep.

Phase three: Jade Dancer and Iron Fiend

The final phase introduces two guardians: the Jade Dancer and the Iron Fiend. Fighting two enemies at once is the hardest part of the encounter. Phantom Blades Wiki's recommendation is to kill the Jade Dancer first. PCGamesN suggests either guard-breaking both together or moving constantly to keep them apart, so that you can hit one while the other is out of range.

For the Iron Fiend, watch out for a move where he does high knees and claps. That sequence ends in a red attack.

General strategy

1. Collect the five ribbons before the fight if you want the extra phase and its rewards.
2. Upgrade your best blades at the nearby bell.
3. In phase one, parry the rapier and dodge the thrusts.
4. In phase two, learn the spiral-into-red and the raised-arm tell.
5. In phase three, isolate the Jade Dancer and kill her first, then finish the Iron Fiend.
6. Use weapon switching to recover Sha-Chi during the long multi-enemy phase.

Accessories that help in multi-enemy fights include Boulderguard (less damage while not guard-broken) and Mother's Talisman (restores health when guard-broken), the latter found in the Village of Lu itself according to AllThings.How. Browse all of them in our accessories database.

Rewards

PCGamesN lists Puppet No. 44's Eye and the Fist Fragment: Core as rewards, and notes this is not the last you will see of Mu. For the rest of the region, including Dusk the Puppeteer and Yuzan, see the Village of Lu guide.

General boss tips that apply here

These rules come up again and again in PCGamesN's boss breakdowns and games.gg's duel tips. Parry blue flashes and perfect dodge red ones; red attacks cannot be blocked safely. Watch your Sha-Chi bar, because running it dry leaves you Guard-Broken. Switching between your two main weapons quickly refills Sha-Chi, which games.gg highlights as a key defensive trick. Save your heaviest combos and Phantom Edge skills for the moment the boss is Guard-Broken. If a fight is a wall, th.gl confirms you can lower the difficulty outside combat to widen parry and dodge windows, and the Reflex Device accessory (AllThings.How) adds another 15%. For more, see our beginner tips, all bosses in order and the build planner.