Pillars of Kunlun Walkthrough - All 9 Steps & Rewards

What Is Pillars of Kunlun?

Pillars of Kunlun is the longest single Mystery quest in Phantom Blade Zero — nine objectives stretching from Chapter 1’s Weeping Creek Valley all the way to Chapter 6’s Mountain of Imprisonment. The in-game subtitle sets the tone: “A sword wails within its scabbard; the old oaths remain silent.” You are retracing the fate of a Kunlun squad that once garrisoned the Sha-Chi Tower, led a doomed defense against the Maskwalkers, and vanished into the northern mountains.

KungFuPunk’s full quest data frames it plainly: this is one of the ten purple quests you must finish before entering Mirage Estate, and it is the quest that hands you the Flying Guillotine — the Phantom Edge whose mechanism interactions gate the Mountain of Imprisonment’s deepest secrets. Full region routing for the back half lives in our Mountain of Imprisonment walkthrough; this page is the complete nine-step chain.

The Full 9-Step Chain

Steps 1-2: The Sha-Chi Tower Discovery (Chapter 1)

1. Discover what happened to the Pillars of Kunlun. From the Valley Sha-Chi Tower Summit bell, climb down the ladder and defeat the warden below for the Sha-Chi Furnace Inspection Crank, then descend one more ladder toward the Waterfall Bridge bell. Pick up the book Pillars of Kunlun (Disciples’ Remarks) and talk to the wounded Mandate disciple sitting by the fire. The tower was once a temporary outpost for a squad under the Three Pillars of Kunlun.
2. Head to the Mandate Encampment, where the Pillars of Kunlun led their forces against the Maskwalkers. This objective hangs while you push northeast through the Crimson Forest and into the Village of Lu.

Steps 3-4: Wei Sanchuan’s Well (Chapters 3-4)

3. Find Wei Sanchuan in Pangzhen. The Mandate Encampment’s outer gate is locked from inside by Moji’s disciples, and Wei Sanchuan — Moji’s disciple — holds the key. In Chapter 3, drop into the house below the Crossroads bell at the Village of Lu entrance for the joint treatise on the way.
4. Enter the Mandate Encampment. At Pangzhen’s Pond of Fading Song bell, defeat Gu Wanyue, then jump down the Well of Wei Sanchuan in front of her arena. Climb the stairs at the bottom to find his remains and pick up the Mandate Encampment Outer Gate Key. Open the outer gate into Chapter 5.

Steps 5-7: The Spectral Gate and Huangxing’s Summit (Chapters 5-6)

5. Find Huangxing at the summit. The Encampment’s own objectives point you to Meigu Lake: repair the Illusory Pipa (the parts hunt is in our Illusory Pipa parts guide) and play it at the Spectral Gate on the lake’s northern shore to cross the mist onto the Mountain of Imprisonment’s summit path.
6. Confront Huangxing inside the Shrine. Fight past Yumian Langjun along the mountain ascent and enter the summit shrine to face Huangxing, the Kunlun Renegade at The Lady’s Shrine bell. Check the Training Grounds Depths bell on your way through the Encampment — the quest explicitly routes you past it.
7. Use the Flying Guillotine to unlock the mechanism at the base of the Lady’s statue. Huangxing’s defeat drops the Flying Guillotine Phantom Edge and confirms he conspired with Zuo Shang against Yuyin — and imprisoned the Chord below. Use the new Phantom Edge to turn the switch at the statue’s base.

Steps 8-9: The Bloodstained Grounds (Chapter 6)

8. Head to the training grounds deep within the Mandate Encampment. Fight past Wan Jun “Coppermaul” and reach the bloodstained training grounds deep inside the Encampment, where the Kunlun squad’s last stand is reconstructed.
9. Head up the Mountain of Imprisonment in search of Huangxing. Read Moji’s map notes pointing to the northern mountains — the trail ends where Huangxing went to meet the “Young Master.” The quest completes upon clearing the mountain’s confrontations.

Why This Quest Pays for Itself

The obvious prize is the Flying Guillotine itself: a Phantom Edge that interacts with the mechanical dial devices scattered through the late game, including the pit-opening device in Huangxing’s lair that leads down to the Inanis encounter and the third Herald’s Illusion portal. KungFuPunk’s reward table also ties the quest to Seamless Death, one of the weapon tracks fed by the same chain.

The structural prize is bigger: Pillars of Kunlun is the Mountain of Imprisonment. Steps 5-9 are the region’s main path wearing a quest log — meaning you complete it almost by accident as long as you picked up the book in Chapter 1 and the treatise in Chapter 3. The only true detours are the Chapter 1 ladder descent and Wei Sanchuan’s well, both of which take under five minutes. Missing it usually means never climbing down those first two ladders — which is why it appears on every missable side quests checklist.

Where It Sits in the True-Ending Board

Insider-Gaming’s trophy guide lists Pillars of Kunlun among the eleven purple-icon quests required for the Perfect Ending, and its Flying Guillotine feeds the all-endings chain directly: the statue mechanism it opens is the same route that descends to the Inanis cutscene, the Crystal Puppet Eye (Yin), and the Crimson Manor key chain beyond. Finish it before entering Mirage Estate — after that, the remaining purple window closes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Pillars of Kunlun be missed? The objectives have no timers, but the quest must be complete before the Mirage Estate cutoff like all purple quests. The genuinely missable part is Step 1 itself — the book and the wounded disciple sit off the main path below the summit bell.

Do I need the Illusory Pipa for this quest? Yes, at Step 5: the Spectral Gate only opens to the restored Pipa. If you have been following the Illusory Pipa parts chain, you will already have it by then — the two quests are designed to converge.

Is Huangxing’s fight part of this quest or the main story? Both. The summit confrontation is the Mountain of Imprisonment’s regional boss, and the game counts it as this quest’s Steps 6-7. You cannot finish the mountain without finishing Pillars of Kunlun.

Sources: kungfupunk.com (full 9-step quest data, rewards table, and FAQ), keengamer.com (complete walkthrough — Pillars of Kunlun chapter section), insider-gaming.com (eleven purple-icon true ending quest list), gamespot.com (secret ending guide) — launch-week guides, October–November 2026.