Phantom Blade Zero Blackstones come as Fragments — four shards make one whole Blackstone, and each whole Blackstone permanently raises Soul's base Attack Power and Guard Break by 10%. There are 40 fragments spread across the eight regions, which is 10 whole stones and +100% damage. The achievement "Leave No Stone Unturned" asks for 10 Blackstones, so the full set means collecting every fragment in the game.
How a Phantom Blade Zero Blackstone is found and used
Blackstone Fragments are dark shards that glow with purple energy. They are found in chests, dropped by enemies, rewarded for clearing an encounter or handed over as a boss reward. A few whole Blackstones also exist intact in the world.
You cannot consume them directly. You apply a whole Blackstone at any Bell by opening the Skills/Stats screen, and whole stones also act as prerequisites for advanced Ability tree nodes — Redirect Force needs two, Masterful Flow needs one, and a node that asks for four Blackstones needs 16 fragments in total.
Where the fragments are
| Region | Fragments |
|---|---|
| Pangzhen | 12 — the most in the game, worth three stones and 30% damage |
| Mount Soulrend | None |
| Other six regions | The remaining 28 fragments, worth seven stones |
Some specific locations, since the counts alone do not tell you where to look:
- Weeping Creek Valley — one behind a locked Cell Door near the Outpost, which needs the Cell Key found on the elevated house area; another in the Ruthless Archer Camp; another in the Sha-Chi Tower sub-level reached through the "Deep in the Valley" quest; and one in a chest by the water past the tower.
- Crimson Forest — the Abandoned Main Road waystation, a cavern near Quick Hand Zhang, a settlement north of the Thieves' Camp, and the Cliffside Lodge underground cells.
- Village of Lu — a purple chest near Zhuo Bi's arena, the coffin pond, the Kuye Temple river chest, and a side room near the Puppet Testing Grounds lift.
Six fragments open the Discordance
The Blackstone Fragments have a second job beyond damage. Collecting six of them grants entry to the Discordance, an altered version of a frozen shoal fishing village, and their locations there are spread across the fishing village, the prison area, Meigu Lake and the Mountain of Imprisonment.
Two of those fragments are behind obstacles rather than in plain chests. Fragment #3 sits behind a false wall — break the crates at the Shrine Outer Gate and a slide-down wall opens beside the stone steps. Fragment #6 needs a frost-infused Powderkeg blown up in the prison area, next to a Memory Flower. The secrets page covers the rest of the hidden areas, including the Illusory Pipa.
Recovering what you missed
The game has very few points of no return, so almost every fragment remains collectable on a return visit. If a fragment seems to be gone, check the quest log rather than the map — tracked side quests are the things that genuinely expire.