Corpse-Eating Xue

Corpse-Eating Xue is an optional Phantom Blade Zero boss in a graveyard behind a locked door in the Mandate Encampment. Only Xue and the corpse wreathed in green flames take damage, so kill the spear and dual-hoe corpses first, keep your distance and dodge the grab after her scream. She drops no weapon but starts the tale Xue, Admirer of Heroes.

Hit only what burns green: in Corpse-Eating Xue's graveyard, Game8 explains, only Xue's own body or a corpse wreathed in green flames takes damage, while four other corpses with random weapons get up again without end. She is an optional Maskwalker and the first boss of the Mandate Encampment, waiting below the Mandate Valley Gate, past the last archers. She drops no item; beating her starts the tale Xue, Admirer of Heroes (Side Quests), which Game8 says ends with the Sha-Chi Headscarf.

A gate you come back to

Xue is the reward for a return trip. The Encampment's large locked gate stands up the stone steps in the Village of Lu, and its key comes from the next region: KeenGamer's route runs through Gu Wanyue's fight in Pangzhen, down the well in her arena, to a corpse beside a Memory Flower that holds the Mandate Encampment Outer Gate Key (Pangzhen, Walkthrough). That loop is the game's habit, not an exception: in Jake Baldino's Oct 26, 2026 gameranx video (10:18), played on a review copy, the exploration is "light" but has "just enough like locked doors here and there that you'll find a key for later on that you got to go back and unlock".

Inside, PCGamesN calls Xue "a secret enemy behind a locked door". Maxroll puts the graveyard on the way from the Cliffside Walkway Overlook bell to the Beneath the Watchtower bell; Game8 says only that she is in the western area of the Encampment. Maxroll also marks the Black Scabbard for her tale and two Memory Flowers nearby.

Thinning the graveyard

Find the real target. Xue starts as a tall figure holding a rake. Maxroll's advice is to hit her, not her allies, and to follow the green flames when they move to a corpse.
Kill the dangerous corpses anyway. Game8 says to kill any corpse with a spear or dual garden hoes, even if it is not glowing. The spear reaches you from off screen; the dual-wielder has multi-hit combos and leaping gap closers. A killed corpse comes back with a new random weapon, so this rerolls what you face.
Do not get surrounded. Every corpse type has red-glint and blue-glint moves. Back off and let them come to you, closer to one or two at a time.
Bring wide attacks. Maxroll suggests area weapons such as the Hunter's Chain Sickle or two-handed weapons so you are not overrun (Phantom Edges, Weapons).

The scream and the grab

Scream, then grab: after she screams, Xue charges for a grab that only a dodge avoids. Make distance as soon as the scream starts so she has to rush you, then dodge.
Swinging blade quick attacks: PCGamesN says to block them, and to respect the larger, slow corpses, which are dangerous too.
Corpse moves: parry the blue glints and dodge the red ones, the rule of every fight (Combat).

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I damage Corpse-Eating Xue? You are probably hitting her corpses. Only Xue's own body, or whichever corpse is wreathed in green flames, takes damage, and the others respawn endlessly with new weapons, so chase the flames and kill only the spear and dual-hoe corpses that threaten you.

Do you have to beat Corpse-Eating Xue? No, she is optional, and KeenGamer notes that a skipped optional boss stays available. Skipping her does cost the tale Xue, Admirer of Heroes and the Sha-Chi Headscarf at its end.