Deep in the Valley starts with a Mandate soldier next to the Creek Valley Plains Entrance bell, who lost a key. After beating The Hunt and getting the Hunter’s Chain Sickle, grapple to the top of the Sha-Chi Tower and pick up the Llave de la puerta del campamento base de la torre del Sha-Chi. It is a purple quest: it counts for the true ending and is lost if you cross into the Mirage Estate without finishing it.
Where does Deep in the Valley start?
In Weeping Creek Valley, during the chapter Steel and Steam. As you leave the Mandate Outpost, a distressed Mandate disciple waits next to the Creek Valley Plains Entrance bell, in front of a locked door. He tells you he lost the key near the top of the Sha-Chi Tower. There is no requirement to accept it, but you will not be able to finish it until you have the sickle.
Step by step
- Talk to the soldier (part 1)Next to the Creek Valley Plains Entrance bell. The journal asks you to look for the key at the top of the Sha-Chi Tower.
- Get the Hunter’s Chain SickleFollow the story to the Waterfall Bridge and beat The Hunt and his Sixfold Scythe form at the Great Waterfall. Without the sickle you cannot reach the key.
- Go back to the Sha-Chi Tower (part 2)Travel to the Valley Sha-Chi Tower Summit bell and look for the grapple point above it.
- Grapple to the last ledgeThe key is on the highest disc of the tower, above the bell. Pick it up: it is the Llave de la puerta del campamento base de la torre del Sha-Chi.
- Open the doorGo back to the door next to the Creek Valley Plains Entrance (the soldier is no longer there) and open it. The quest is completed and the southeast area of the Valley opens.
Rewards
The quest does not give an item of its own: its reward is the area it opens. Behind the door there are upgrade materials, the herbs for the tale Apprentice Healer, the path to the first Long Pillar and the lift that leads to the Crimson Manor. Vandal (Spanish guide) points out that this key is needed for several more quests.
Like all purple quests, it fails if you cross from the Green Serpent House into the Mirage Estate without finishing it, and with it you lose the true ending. There is a shorter deadline that also affects you: according to games.gg, some of the herbs for Apprentice Healer are behind this door, and that tale fails when you beat Jing Ye. Open the door as soon as you have the sickle, before moving on to the Crimson Forest.
Why isn’t it progressing?
- I can’t reach the key: on your first visit to the tower it cannot be reached. You need the Hunter’s Chain Sickle, which The Hunt gives you at the end of the chapter.
- I can’t find the grapple point: it is above the summit bell. According to an English guide, the grapple prompt appears near the friendly Shadow Warden, the one from A Severed Mindseal.
The rest of the game’s cutoffs are in the area order and points of no return, and the 11 purple lines in the purple quest list.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Deep in the Valley key?
On the highest ledge of the Valley Sha-Chi Tower, above the summit bell. You can only reach it by grappling with the Hunter’s Chain Sickle.
Can I do it on my first visit to the tower?
No. Accept it from the soldier and come back after beating The Hunt at the Great Waterfall.
What does the base camp door open?
The southeast area of the Valley: herbs for Apprentice Healer, materials, the first Long Pillar and the Crimson Manor lift.
Does it count for the true ending?
Yes. It is one of the purple quests and you have to finish it before crossing into the Mirage Estate.
