All vikisReckless Pursuit
Reckless Pursuit is Chapter 1 of Phantom Blade Zero: survive the wagon chase on the main road, fight The Hunt, Hunter of the Order, then learn in a flashback that the Flesh Sculptor wants a heart from Pangzhen. It is short, with one boss and no rewards, and 94.9% of Steam players had finished the chase by Nov 9, 2026.
Chapter 1 is a chase: Soul, wanted for killing Zhou the Shadow Sovereign, rides a cart down the main road of Weeping Creek Valley while two pursuers close in, then turns to fight The Hunt, Hunter of the Order, and the chapter hands out no rewards at all, in Game8's walkthrough. Almost everyone gets through it: 94.9% of Steam players held "The Heart's Journey", the achievement for escaping the pursuers, on Nov 9, 2026, up from 90.9% on Oct 31. It follows the prologue, Diverging Paths, and leads into Against the Flow. This page contains story spoilers.
The wagon chase
Game8 gives the reason for the chase in one line: "You are a wanted fugitive for killing Zhou the Shadow Sovereign." In Travis Northup's Oct 9, 2026 preview video for IGN (), the stretch plays as Soul riding atop a horse-drawn wagon, fighting off armed pursuers and blocking their gunfire with his sword, one of the moments Northup lists as making him feel "like a complete badass". Nothing here can be missed, and the first story achievement unlocks when the chase ends (Steam).
A first meeting with The Hunt
The Hunt catches up on the road, and the duel is cut short: the scene ends with Soul falling off a cliff (Game8). This is not the fight that counts. The real two-phase battle, with his Hunter's Chain Sickle as the prize, closes Steel and Steam, and 79.1% of Steam players had won it by Nov 9, 2026 (the achievement "The Hunt").
One day earlier: the heart in Pangzhen
The story then jumps back a day. The Flesh Sculptor tells Soul of a heart in Pangzhen that can raise the dead and asks him to bring it back; in exchange, he promises to let Soul live past the 66-day limit of the Tainted Heart. That bargain is why Soul is on the road at all, and it points the plot toward Pangzhen, which Soul finally reaches in Chapter 6, Town of Death (the plot in full is on Story).
Sources
- Reckless Pursuit Quest Walkthrough and Rewards, Game8, updated Nov 2, 2026
- Story Walkthrough and List of All Chapters, Game8, updated Nov 4, 2026
- Global achievements, Steam, read Oct 31 and Nov 9, 2026
- I Played 6 Hours of Phantom Blade Zero and Can't Stop Thinking About It | IGN Preview, IGN, Oct 9, 2026 (video)
Moments
I Played 6 Hours of Phantom Blade Zero and Can’t Stop Thinking About It | IGN Preview
IGN
Related
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A Soul's WorthA Soul's Worth is Phantom Blade Zero's tenth and last chapter, on Mount Soulrend: climb past the Mountain God Temple and the Frostcliff Cavern, beat the Crusher and the Saw, ring the Last Chance bell (the final point of no return), then fight Leng Tu's four phases and Meng Hua at the summit. With every True Ending step done, Zuo Shang, the True Long, follows. Game8 lists 24 steps.
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Banyan's Heart LocationsOne run of Phantom Blade Zero holds eight Banyan's Hearts. Five come from the Human-Faced Banyan trees in Crimson Forest, Pangzhen, Mandate Encampment, Meigu Lake and the Mountain of Imprisonment, and three are sold by Quick Hand Zhang for 100,000 Remnant Dust each. On Nov 13, 2026, 31.5% of Steam players had cleared all five trees.
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CollectiblesPowerPyx counts 564 collectibles in Phantom Blade Zero, plus 30 side Tales: 161 bells, 129 Memory Flower fragments, 80 accessories and medicines, 43 tempering materials, 42 weapons and Phantom Edges, 40 Sha-Chi Amber shards, 40 Blackstone shards, 16 Treasures and 13 challenge locations. Half of Steam players had 10 Memory Flowers by Nov 9, 2026; about one in seven had 10 Blackstones or 10 Ambers.
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EndingsPhantom Blade Zero has four documented endings: Final Battle (the True Ending), Long's Roar, Annihilation (the default) and Undying Grudge, which only the 66 Days mode reaches. The True Ending needs every purple-icon quest done, ten of them before you enter Mirage Estate, and leads to a last fight with Zuo Shang after Meng Hua.
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Heartless RemnantsHeartless Remnants is Chapter 5 of Phantom Blade Zero in the Village of Lu: secure the Mandate Encampment's outer gate, enter the village past Zhuo Bi or the cliffs, sever the red threads, and beat Master Bi Yuan, Master Bi Hai, Yuzan and Mu Xiaokui. Finish the Young Mistress ribbons first to unlock Mu Xiaokui's secret third phase.
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How Long Is Each ChapterChapters 4, 5 and 7 of Phantom Blade Zero hold half its story time. In Gamer's Little Playground's 100% True Ending run, timed from its own chapter markers, Snake's Reflection took 3h 29m, The Heart's Trail 3h 24m and Heartless Remnants 3h 1m of 19h 49m to the first ending, while the prologue and Chapter 1 together took 21 minutes. Scaled to HowLongToBeat's 24h 43m main story average of Nov 13, 2026, Chapter 4 is about 4h 21m.
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MissablesPhantom Blade Zero's biggest point of no return is beating Bai Chilian in Chapter 4, which turns the Outpost and Thieves' Camp people into enemies. Entering Mirage Estate closes the True Ending, and leaving Quick Hand Zhang in his cage loses his shop and quests.
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OutfitsPhantom Blade Zero has eight outfits for Soul. Two are worn from the start, two belong to the Digital Deluxe Edition, and four are tied to finishing the game: The Hunt, Kindred, Blizzard and Legacy. Guides disagree on which ending gives Blizzard, and one finished run got it with the True Ending. All eight are cosmetic and are changed under Character, Appearance.
See also
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The HuntThe Hunt is a required Phantom Blade Zero boss fought twice: on the wagon after the prologue, then in two phases at the Great Waterfall in Weeping Creek Valley before Crimson Forest. Parry blue flashes, dodge red ones and his hook, and in the rematch use the Scarlet Wraithblade and Jagged Steel. He drops the Hunter's Chain Sickle.
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Diverging PathsDiverging Paths is Phantom Blade Zero's prologue in Weeping Creek Valley: watch Soul and Zuo Shang's duel, learn to move and fight 16 years earlier, beat Zuo Shang twice, then take the Tainted Heart that gives Soul 66 days. It has one boss, Zuo Shang, and no rewards.
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Against the FlowAgainst the Flow is Chapter 2 of Phantom Blade Zero in Weeping Creek Valley: follow the river upstream, get the Sanguine Twin, beat Jagged Steel, enter the Outpost and beat Peng Meng for the Dread Axe. Talk to Yu'er and the Outpost's people first, since five side quests start here.
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Steel and SteamSteel and Steam is Chapter 3 of Phantom Blade Zero in Weeping Creek Valley: break through to the Creek Valley Plains, clear the Ruthless Archer Camp, climb the Valley Sha-Chi Tower, and beat The Hunt at the Great Waterfall for the Hunter's Chain Sickle. The optional Hua, Deadly Betrothed waits under the tower, and The Gold-Masked One's first trial is nearby.
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Town of DeathTown of Death is Chapter 6 of Phantom Blade Zero, the arrival in Pangzhen: out of the tunnels, across the rooftops, past the Shadow Warden captain Blaze and the mounted Cavalrybane, through a hidden passage to Myst's Tavern, where Soul Tempering opens, and on to the backstreets.
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