Phantom Blade Zero Illusory Pipa Quest: All 3 Part Locations and How to Repair It

The Illusory Pipa looks like a simple fetch quest, but it is one of the most important side chains in Phantom Blade Zero. Once repaired, it becomes a Phantom Edge that dissolves mist barriers. One of those barriers is the only way into the Mountain of Imprisonment, which the PBZ Wiki notes is part of the true ending checklist. If you want the best ending, treat this quest as required.

The repair needs three parts: the Head, the Backplate and the Strings. Each one is held by a different boss in a different region, and two of those fights are easy to walk past.

Before you start: the broken base

According to the PBZ Wiki, the broken pipa body comes from the main story when you defeat Bai Chilian, the Crimson Forest chapter boss. If you have cleared that region, you already have it. See our Bai Chilian guide.

Part 1: The Head (Village of Lu)

The Head is the easiest part to miss.

1. Collect every Firefly Memory Flower in the Village of Lu. Our Memory Flowers guide covers them.
2. Once the set is complete, the dark pit in the eastern part of the village opens.
3. Defeat the secret boss Dusk, the Puppeteer inside.

Dusk drops the Head. TechWiser adds that he also gives the Puppeteer's Bell Phantom Edge. In this fight, parry the blue flashes and Ghoststep through the red ones.

Part 2: The Backplate (Mandate Encampment)

This part has the longest chain of steps in front of it. The PBZ Wiki gives this order:

1. In Pangzhen, defeat Gu Wanyue in the Backstreets.
2. Search beneath the nearby well for the key to the Mandate Encampment.
3. Go back to the Village of Lu entrance and open the giant door.
4. Clear the Encampment and reach the Training Grounds in the north.
5. Defeat Yubi, No. 21 Swordfighter Puppet.

Yubi drops the Backplate along with the Baishan Stormswords, a dual-wield weapon. Before leaving, look behind the pavilion. A portal there starts the Herald's Illusion thread, which leads into the Crystal Puppet Eyes chain described in our true ending guide.

Part 3: The Strings (Meigu Lake)

Yan Qiansui, the Zither Maiden holds the Strings. She waits in the ruined songhouse in southern Meigu Lake, near the Meigu Songhouse Dock bell. The PBZ Wiki says some guides link the fight's trigger to collecting the lake's Memory Flowers. That trigger has not been fully confirmed, so collect them as you go to be safe.

She fills the arena with projectiles. Block the blue orbs, which reflects them and drains her Sha-Chi, and avoid the red ones. Close in when her Sha-Chi breaks. Patience wins this fight; rushing her does not.

Repairing the pipa

Take all three parts to Myst at the underground tavern in Pangzhen and choose the repair dialogue (GameSpot, PC Gamer). She restores the instrument, and the Illusory Pipa Phantom Edge is added to your arsenal. To clear a mist wall, walk up to it and use the Phantom Edge input. The barrier disappears for good.

The parts can be collected in any order. The PBZ Wiki says the pipa chain itself is not missable before the final point of no return. However, the content it unlocks, especially the Mountain of Imprisonment, must be finished before the Mirage Estate warnings if you want the true ending.

What the repaired pipa unlocks

The PBZ Wiki lists these unlocks:

• Weeping Mistgate (northeast Meigu Lake), the route to the Mountain of Imprisonment. Clearing that region gives the Crystal Puppet Eye [Yin]. See the Mountain of Imprisonment guide.
• Mist doorway at the Meigu Songhouse Dock arena: behind it is the Six Paths Warrant, a tempering material for the Outlaw Warblade. See the Soul Tempering guide.
• Marketplace theater mist in Pangzhen frees the NPC Yu Ling and starts the "Don't Forget Me" quest.
• Sealed Lion winds: playing the pipa calms the gale near the Sealed Lion bell and reveals a chest containing the Auspicious Lion Fireball accessory. See accessories.

Smaller mist pockets elsewhere hold materials and lore, so revisit older regions with the pipa equipped. The full list of edges is in all Phantom Edge locations.