Complete ten purple Mysteries before opening the Green Serpent House door. The eleventh, Bloodline Awakening, requires a fifth Lóng Pillar inside Mirage Estate. Mysteries are separate from the 33 Tales; Heart of the Banyan and Quick Hand’s Request belong to other questlines.
Locations, deadlines, and rewards
This table consolidates the existing region, collectible, and ending guides. Item drops are distinguished from quest rewards. Where those guides do not establish an exact trigger or unique reward, the gap is marked explicitly.
| Mystery | Location and route | Deadline | Known reward / unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep in the Valley | Weeping Creek Valley: Creek Valley Plains Entrance; Lóng Pillar Overlook Follow the valley thread and use the Rusted Loong Key for the eastern pillar cave. | Before Green Serpent House | Rusted Loong Key; first-pillar access. Counterstrike Bracers come from the pillar duel. |
| Illusion of Inanis | Crimson Forest: entrance, Burial Grounds, Inanis Memory Flowers Speak to Lady Inanis and follow the portal and memory thread; collect her six flowers. | Before Green Serpent House; collect flowers before Bai Chilian for the combat benefit | Story progression; the Chord assists against Bai Chilian. No separate item reward verified. |
| Sha-Chi Powered Boat | Pangzhen Sha-Chi Tower Dock → Meigu Lake Complete the boat-access thread and sail to Meigu. | Before Green Serpent House | Boat access to Meigu and its islands; no separate item reward verified. |
| Allure of Vanity | Meigu Lake: Songhouse Collect six Yan’er Memory Flowers and follow the Yan Qiansui thread. | Before Green Serpent House | Yan Qiansui drops Illusory Pipa Strings and Fanatic’s Fragment: Attachment. |
| Illusory Pipa | Village of Lu: Broken Puppet Pit; Meigu Songhouse; Spectral Gate Collect six Firefly flowers, defeat Dusk for the Pipa Head, obtain strings, repair and play the Pipa. | Before Mountain of Imprisonment; also before Green Serpent House | Access to Mountain of Imprisonment. Dusk also drops the Puppeteer’s Bell. |
| Pillars of Kunlun | Mountain of Imprisonment Finish the named purple quest’s regional objectives before returning to Pangzhen; exact substeps are not documented in the current guide. | Before Green Serpent House | Mystery completion; no unique item reward verified. |
| Whence the Weeping | Weeping Creek Valley → Mountain of Imprisonment Begin the Weeping thread and complete its Mountain objectives. Guides disagree on its initial trigger; follow the quest log. | Before Green Serpent House | Mystery completion; no unique item reward verified. |
| The Herald’s Illusion | Lu Puppet Testing Grounds; Mandate final arena; Mountain final arena Clear all three portals and speak to the hanging puppet after the third. | Before Green Serpent House | Crystal Puppet Eye [Yin] and Puppet’s Tongue; regional guides describe the Yin acquisition differently. |
| Crimson Manor | Below the Weeping Creek Valley Sha-Chi tower Use Puppet’s Tongue on the puppet lock, descend, ring the bell, and defeat Puppet Scavenger + Hansui. | Before Green Serpent House | Crystal Puppet Eye [Yang], Hansui’s Frost Mask, Alloyed Scythe Blade. |
| Secrets at the Heart of the Lake | Meigu: Four Guardians’ Mirror → Phantom Illusionist Ruins Bring four Acolyte Masks, clear the Ruins, socket both Crystal Eyes, defeat the puppet monks, and destroy the ritual. | Before Green Serpent House | Forbidden Arts Beneath the Lake; advances the Violet Blossom ending chain. |
| Bloodline Awakening | Five Lóng Pillars: Weeping, Crimson, east Meigu, Ruins, Mirage Estate Clear pillars 1–4 before Mirage; clear pillar 5 from the Covered Corridor inside Mirage. | First four before Green Serpent House; fifth before The Last Chance | Bastion of Mó Mask completion marker; Phantom and Blade; Sanguine → Infernal Rouge temper. |
Mystery completion checklist
Tick these as you verify completion in the quest log. Checkboxes are for this visit and are not saved.
Route dependencies and conflicting guide details
The reliable dependency is The Herald’s Illusion → Puppet’s Tongue → Crimson Manor → Eye [Yang] and Frost Mask → Four Guardians’ Mirror → Secrets at the Heart of the Lake. The collectibles checklist attributes Eye [Yin] to the third Herald portal, while the Mountain guide describes a Flying Guillotine interaction at the Lady’s statue. Check the quest log and inventory before leaving the Mountain; these accounts have not been reconciled.
Whence the Weeping is started in the valley according to the valley guide, while the ending checklist places its start in Crimson Forest. Both place completion before Mirage. Pillars of Kunlun has no complete substep route in the current material; do not confuse its name with the five Lóng Pillars of Bloodline Awakening.
For the wider ending requirements, use the true-ending checklist. For earlier boss gates that close Tales, use the missables checklist. Completing the purple list alone should not be treated as a guarantee that every ending flag is satisfied.
Sources and confidence
The eleven names come from the quest-log summary; deadlines and reward details come from the linked region guides, ending guide, and collectible tables. These are guide-derived routes rather than official flag documentation. Missing reward data and source conflicts remain visible above.
Frequently asked questions
Are there ten or eleven Mysteries?
The quest log counts eleven. Ten must be finished before the Green Serpent House door; Bloodline Awakening finishes at the fifth Lóng Pillar inside Mirage Estate.
Are Mysteries the same as the 33 Tales?
No. The purple Mysteries are a separate quest-log category from the 33 Tales and collectible questlines.
What opens Crimson Manor?
Puppet’s Tongue from The Herald’s Illusion opens the puppet lock. There is no separate Crimson Manor Key.
Can post-game cleanup fix a missed ending requirement?
Regions reopen after the credits, but missed quest flags and key items may remain locked. Finish the first ten Mysteries before entering Mirage Estate and keep manual saves.