How to Get the Crimson Forest Sha-Chi Tower Key in Phantom Blade Zero

What the Sha-Chi Tower Key Unlocks

Deep in the Crimson Forest stands the Shattered Tower — the game refers to it as the Crimson Forest Sha-Chi Tower — and near its summit sits a locked gate. The item that opens it is the Crimson Forest Sha-Chi Tower key, and tracking that key down stumps a lot of players for two completely separate reasons.

The first problem is that the key follows a genuinely strange spawn mechanic. It does not simply sit out in the world waiting to be collected. The key will not spawn in at all until you have done one very specific thing — a step tied to an NPC quest found at the top of the tower itself. If you beeline straight to the spot where the key is supposed to be, you will most likely find nothing there, and that is exactly how the mechanic is designed to work.

The second problem is that just reaching the tower is its own puzzle. The route only opens up late in the game, after story progress reshapes the entire region. This guide covers both halves of the problem: the full path from the Mirror Wood entrance all the way to the top of the tower, and the quest step that finally makes the key appear in the world.

How to Reach the Shattered Tower

Progress Through Pang Zhen First

Before any of this becomes possible, you need to be quite far into the game. Keep pushing the story forward into Pang Zhen until you unlock the Mirage Estate. That story beat completely changes how the Crimson Forest looks — a large portion of the region freezes over — and that transformation is precisely what opens the way forward. The passage that used to be blocked off becomes a direct pathway to the Shattered Tower, so if you remember this area being sealed during an earlier visit, that is why.

The Right-Wall Route from the Mirror Wood Entrance

Once the region has frozen over, the run to the tower is surprisingly painless:

1. Start at the Mirror Wood entrance bell and climb down the ladders.
2. Continue through the section just beyond them. From this vantage point you can see the ladders on the left, a cave on the right, and the tower itself in the distance — head toward it.
3. From this point on, follow one simple rule: take every single right turn that you can take. Stick to the right wall and you basically cannot get lost.
4. Use the grappling hook point to pull yourself up the ledge, then keep hugging the right wall as you run down the path.
5. Eventually you will arrive at the next bell. From that bell, keep running in the same direction until the trail forks.

That fork is the last real decision of the trip:

Take the right branch. This corridor was blocked off previously, but after the Mirage Estate unlocks the region, it becomes the direct pathway to the tower — just follow it to the entrance.

Climbing to the Top of the Tower

Arriving at the base of the tower does not settle the key question yet. You first have to progress all the way to the very top before the key side of things even becomes relevant, because the key does not spawn in until a very specific thing has been done — and that thing only happens at the summit. Here is what the climb looks like:

• Inside the tower, head to the left and start running upward. The route to the top is relatively straightforward, and it will make a lot of sense as you are doing it.
• Expect enemies along the way. The video shows the path with the enemies already defeated, but you will have to fight your way through them on your own run.
• There is a lot to explore, find, and do inside the tower, so feel free to break away from the direct line. If you only care about speed, keep following the same upward route and it will guide you straight to the top. If you ever feel lost, the video route from the beginning can be followed turn by turn.

The top of the tower is where everything comes together, and three things are clustered right there:

1. The gate. The locked gate — the one the Sha-Chi Tower key opens — is located at the very top of the tower.
2. A bell. The Crimson Forest Sha-Chi Tower sixth floor bell sits nearby, giving you a checkpoint at the summit.
3. The Severed Mine Seal NPC. The quest giver is standing here, and he once again has a job for you: he wants you to bring him a Primal Stone.

The Primal Stone Quest

Pick Up the Quest and Ride the Lift Down

Talk to the Severed Mine Seal NPC at the top and accept his quest to retrieve the Primal Stone. Once you have it, look for the door where the lift is located and take the lift all the way down. That lift is your shuttle between the summit and the quest area below, and you will end up riding it more than once before this whole errand is finished.

Finding the Primal Stone

After you step out of the lift on the lower level:

1. Follow the pathway in the direction shown — it hugs around the side of the area as it winds forward.
2. Pick up the bell along this stretch; there is another one you can grab at this location.
3. Climb the ladder you reach. It leads up to a platform.
4. Ride across from that platform to the far side.
5. Right where you arrive is the spot where you can open up the container and collect the Primal Stone.

Making the Key Spawn

Here is the part that confuses absolutely everyone. At the Primal Stone location, pay attention to the right side of the area: there is a glowing item sitting there, and that glowing item is the Crimson Sha-Chi Tower key.

The catch — and the reason this key has earned its weird reputation — is that the glowing item appears to be conditional. The video's creator is adamant that it was not there the very first time he ran through this area. The most likely explanation is that it only shows up after you have handed the Primal Stone over to the NPC waiting at the top of the tower.

So if you ride the lift down, collect the Primal Stone, and see no glowing item anywhere nearby, do not start second-guessing your route. The intended flow looks like this:

1. Collect the Primal Stone from the container.
2. Return to the lift and ride it all the way back up to the top.
3. Give the Primal Stone to the Severed Mine Seal NPC.
4. Take the lift back down one more time.
5. On this second visit, the glowing key will be waiting at the spot on the right — pick it up.

That delivery step is the very specific thing the key is gated behind. It does not spawn early under any circumstances; it only appears once the quest has been turned in.

Opening the Gate at the Top

With the key finally in hand, head back the way you came. From the Primal Stone area, jump up to the ledge, then drop down on the far side — the lift is right there. Ride it all the way back up to the summit, walk over to the gate, and use the key on the lock.

The gate opens and grants you access to the rest of the tower. Everything beyond it is now yours to explore at your own pace, and given how much there is to find inside this place, that is a genuinely worthwhile unlock.

Tips

• Hug the right wall. From the Mirror Wood ladders all the way to the tower approach, taking every single right turn makes the route nearly impossible to mess up.
• Do not expect the key on your first trip down. The glowing item is tied to Primal Stone quest progress. Deliver the stone first, then ride the lift down a second time.
• Grab the bell near the lift exit. The extra checkpoint on the lower level saves you a painful re-run if anything goes wrong along the pathway.
• Fight through the tower at your own pace. The video skips past the enemies for clarity, but clearing them yourself is expected — and there is a lot worth exploring and looting on the way up.
• Double-check the fork. Left is pure exploration; right is the tower. If you suddenly find yourself wandering into side areas, you took the left branch by mistake.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the Sha-Chi Tower key not at the glowing spot?

The key does not spawn in until you have done one very specific thing: handed the Primal Stone over to the Severed Mine Seal NPC at the top of the tower. The video confirms the glowing item was absent on the first trip down and only appeared afterward, so if it is missing for you, deliver the stone and take the lift back down.

How do I even get to the Shattered Tower in the Crimson Forest?

Progress the story late into Pang Zhen and unlock the Mirage Estate. That freezes over much of the Crimson Forest and opens the previously blocked pathway. Enter at the Mirror Wood bell, descend the ladders, pass the cave on the right, and then take every right turn — the right branch at the fork leads straight to the tower.

Where is the lock that the key opens?

At the very top of the Shattered Tower, right next to the Crimson Forest Sha-Chi Tower sixth floor bell and the Severed Mine Seal NPC. You have to climb all the way up the tower to reach it.

Can I skip the Primal Stone quest and just grab the key?

Almost certainly not. The key's spawn appears to be gated behind turning in the Primal Stone, and the quest giver is standing right beside the gate anyway, so there is no reason to skip him.