Mandate Encampment or Pangzhen First?

Go through Pangzhen first if the Mandate Encampment gate is still locked, because its Outer Gate Key is obtained beyond the Gu Wangyue encounter there. Once you have the key, return to the Village of Lu gate and explore the encampment before pushing past later optional-story deadlines. The initial choice is constrained by access, not simply by which region sounds easier.

The locked gate tells you what is missing

You encounter the encampment entrance on the eastern side of the Village of Lu. The collected key guides place the required item in Pangzhen after the well route beyond the boss arena. Searching every nearby village building will not replace that progression dependency.

Check your inventory for the full Outer Gate Key name before returning. The Mandate region has other keys inside it, and a similar-looking item is not proof that you can open the exterior entrance. Following the specific key route avoids confusing an internal locked door with the gate that controls first access.

Why you should return once access opens

The Mandate Encampment contributes the Illusory Pipa Backplate through Yubi at the Training Grounds. The same area also contains a portal interaction for the Herald's Illusion. Those links make the region relevant to the wider optional story and not merely a detour for an extra equipment reward.

The encampment also contains Red's choice-dependent encounter and the associated later pendant route. Review that consequence before treating every optional fight as something to finish immediately. Your order of actions within the region can matter even after the broad question of which region to visit first has been resolved.

Separate preparation from access

A player can own the gate key and still find an encounter difficult. In that case, improve the available weapons, medicine and defensive setup rather than interpreting difficulty as evidence that the route is inaccessible. The collected sources do not establish a mandatory character level that every player must reach before entering the region.

Use the Sunset Path and subsequent Bells to break the exploration into manageable sections. The side challenge near the entrance is distinct from the main route toward the northern Training Grounds. If you struggle with that challenge, it does not mean you must abandon every other objective in the encampment.

Review before the later estate transition

The safe planning point is the warning about unfinished business before Mirage Estate. Finish available optional-story dependencies in the encampment and other regions before committing to that transition. Some objectives continue later by design, so the goal is to complete what is currently available rather than invent an impossible all-items checklist before entering the estate.

Let the missing Pipa component guide the return

When choosing between the encampment and Pangzhen, check the repair progress instead of treating the two regions as isolated alternatives. Yubi's Backplate and Myst's repair conversation perform different jobs, so reaching the tavern does not remove the need to obtain the parts. A useful next destination is the one that resolves the named dependency currently blocking the instrument.

The same reasoning applies to the Outer Gate key, which is obtained through a later Pangzhen route and used back near the village. A locked entrance can therefore be a reason to continue elsewhere rather than evidence that your original order was wrong. Keep a return note and avoid confusing an intentional loop with a permanently missed objective.

Understand the Pipa route that links the regions

Myst repairs the Illusory Pipa at her tavern in Pangzhen after you recover its Head, Backplate and Strings. The parts come from Dusk in the Village of Lu, Yubi in the Mandate Encampment and Yan Qiansui at Meigu Lake. Finding the broken instrument starts a longer journey; it does not mean all three repair pieces are available beside its starting location.

The restored instrument has an exploration role as well as a combat role. It clears the relevant mist and wind barriers, including the route toward the Mountain of Imprisonment, where several other quests continue. This makes the Pipa a useful way to understand why a journal objective can remain unresolved while you progress elsewhere.

Treat each newly opened area as a reason to recheck your existing quests. The mountain connects to the Herald's Illusion, Cui's family search and the wider mysteries around the lake, while the Mandate Training Grounds contribute both a Pipa part and another portal interaction. Following those dependencies saves more travel than searching every region again without a specific missing item in mind.

Keep the later story checkpoint separate

The Mirage Estate warning concerns the larger mystery and ending route, not the earlier settlement change after Bai Chilian. Published ending guides recommend completing the available purple story quests before entering the estate. If the game warns about unfinished business, review the journal before continuing rather than assuming that the ability to fast travel makes the warning harmless.

The important connected threads include the Illusory Pipa, the Herald's Illusion and Secrets at the Heart of the Lake. These lead through optional regions, the Acolyte Masks and the Crystal Puppet Eyes, so progress can be blocked by a missing prerequisite somewhere else. A quest being marked optional means the main story can continue without it; it does not mean the quest is irrelevant to the ending you want.

Some objectives continue inside the estate, including later steps involving Long Pillars and Quick Hand Zhang. The practical rule is to finish every currently available prerequisite, then continue those ongoing objectives when the next area makes them accessible. Avoid turning a guide's shorthand about finishing everything first into an impossible demand to collect an item located beyond the checkpoint itself.

Return when your traversal tools change

A blocked route often means you need a later tool, not that you overlooked a nearby key. The Feather Bow can interact with certain hanging objects, Flaming Mane clears damp brambles, and the Tiger Cannon breaks the rock barriers associated with it. Their discovery order is part of the exploration structure, so an early map can legitimately contain a passage you cannot open yet.

The Illusory Pipa is another important example because its repair spans multiple regions. Once restored, it clears specified mist and wind barriers and opens access to further exploration, including the Mountain of Imprisonment route. Keep the name of the obstacle and the nearest Bell together in your notes so you can return with the right tool.

Opening a physical route and preserving a quest are separate concerns. A new Phantom Edge may let you revisit a chest later, while a story event can already have changed the NPC who would have given you a reward. Before advancing a major quest, check the journal and the relevant missable conditions instead of assuming that fast travel makes every unfinished objective recoverable.