Fountainhead Palace | Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Wiki

Fountainhead Palace Walkthrough

Players arrive at the Fountainhead Palace after collecting all items that Kuro needs and making their decision regarding respecting the Iron Code or staying loyal to Kuro. This will take you to Mibu Village, to the point where the Palanquin awaits to take you to the wedding destination. This is marked as the Wedding Cave Door Idol.

Palanquin/Shimenawa (Strawman w/ Rope)

Enter the Palanquin and select Pray. An enormous rope, also known in the Shinto religion as a Shimenawa, will carry you up to a new destination. When you regain control of Sekiro, walk forward on the straw and take its right arm to drop to some stairs leading to 2x Pellet. Now make your way past its hands to commune with the Fountainhead Palace Idol.

 

Boss Fight: Corrupted Monk

The Corrupted Monk is here now for real (not an illusion) and you must defeat her to press on. This can be a challenging fight, so check out the video below for tips on how to approach her, or see the Corrupted Monk page for several strategies. Defeating her yields 8000 XP, 1x Dragon's Tally Board, and 1x Memory: True Monk.

 

The Flooded Palace

Walk forward from the monk fight and you'll be treated to a gorgeous vista of the celestial palace. Go forward and grapple to the ledge ahead, and continue until you reach the palace level. Walk toward a tree to pick up 2x Spirit Emblem, and into the nearby structure to get 1x Mibu Balloon of Soul.

Be mindful of the approaching flute enemy, which looks much like the Fountainhead Palace Noble. These drop 87 Sen, 570 XP and it has a chance to drop Lump of Fat Wax or Pellet.

The next room has more spirit emblems by another enemy, and one hiding behind a destructible screen. Now go outside to explore and you'll find 1x Lump of Grave Wax by an enemy on a broken wooden bridge before the lake.

You cannot linger here as you'll be killed by a Okami Warrior - Naginata so let's head toward the waterfall

Waterfall

A nest by the waterfall has 1x Light Coin Purse. The masked enemies you see ahead of you fight similar to the monkeys, and drop 513XP and may drop Adamantite Scrap. Defeat them and then spot the flute-player nearby. Eliminate it and pick up 1x Mibu Balloon of Wealth. The rooftops above you have 2x Okami Warrior (Bow) and 1x regular masked enemies. Be careful of their perilous attacks and stay aggressive to win.

Large Courtyard

Continue making your way forward and you'll find 3x Ceramic Shard atop the wall of a large courtyard with several beasts and items. Use Shuriken to defeat them and you'll get 278XP. The items ahead are 1x Ungo's Sugar and 1x Heavy Coin Purse.

The building to your left has a flute player and some beasts, make sure to have enough shuriken for them as they will shoot lightning at you. Pick up 1x Adamantite Scrap and then continue across the bridge. Nearby, 3 beasts guard 2x Eel Liver. You can also pick up 1x Yashariku's Sugar from a nearby tree.

Mibu Manor Idol

The gate ahead has the Mibu Manor Idol.

Go into the building and defeat 1x palace noble and then talk to the Old Woman NPC, the first of the Daughters of the Carp Attendant, who warns you that there are many nobles ahead and you should go around to avoid them. Talk to her again and she'll ask you to kill the Great Carp to free her father, the Great Carp Attendant, from the carp's bewitching powers. Sneak behind the dividers to get 2x Bite Down.

Noble Courtyard

Go outside and take a left, defeat a noble then quickly move out of range by going to pick up 3x Ako's Sugar from the nearby tree.

You'll have to fight the noble by the bridge then stealth into the room nearby to stealth a masked one. There's 1x Eel Liver behind it. The pathway in this house leads to another flute player and 4x Yellow Gunpowder. Exit this room from near the Eel Liver location and press on toward the next item you see in the distance. A patrol of a noble and 2 masked warriors approaches, you can hug the wall to stealth-takedown.

Take a right at the first intersection then a left and you'll arrive at a chamber with 1x Lump of Grave Wax.

Divine Confetti

The item you saw glowing in the distance when you headed this way was 2x Divine Confetti.

From here, you can walk alongside the wall and follow it to a hole in the ground that allows you to dive.

Secret Room

From the diving hole, you'll emerge in a room with several treasures. These are: 3x Treasure Carp Scale, and a large treasure chest containing 1x Water of the Palace.

This item can be used back at Mibu Village - if you go to the NPC in the building before the Wedding Cave Door Idol. Give it to him to receive 1x Dragonspring Sake and then rest and kill him to get 5x Treasure Carp Scale.

Now if you want the other items in the courtyard, you'll have to defeat several enemies. It's a dangerous proposition as they can inflict the Enfeebled status abnormality.

The Red Noble

The house you haven't explored near the hole in the ground has 1x masked guard with a polearm, and a red-robed noble.

Defeat them both to pick up 1x Adamantite Scrap and 1x Divine Grass from a treasure chest. The tree in the middle of the courtyard has 2x Pellet.

The Lightning Warrior

By the exit, you'll face 1x Fountain Palace Noble and a Okami Warrior - Naginata. Execute the flute first, then focus on overwhelming the lightning-wielder with combat arts. After this, you'll get 1060XP from it.

The gate nearby leads to the next idol: Flower Viewing Stage.

Flower Viewing Stage Idol

From this idol, you can port to Mibu Village to complete the thirsty NPC quest, then return here to proceed. To the left of the idol, the pagoda has 3x Divine Confetti hidden behind it, and the opportunity to grapple to the rooftops. You can sneak your way all the way to the previous idol through the rooftops, and explore nearby to find a mini-boss.

Mini-boss: Sakura Bull of the Palace

The Blazing Bull returns! Try and stay behind it by sprint toward it to get past as it charges you. You can also perform an aerial deathblow from the roofs to remove half of its health before the fight begins.

Keep your attacks to two quick hits and make use of Shinobi Firecracker to stun it. Defeating this boss gives 1x Prayer Bead, A Beast's Karma skill, and 2290 XP. Near the boss there are some items: 1x Adamantite Scrap, 1x Bulging Coin Purse and 1x Yasharuku's Sugar and 2x Pellet on the side passage leading onward.

 

Across the Bridge

As you approach the bridge from the idol, the Great Colored Carp will destroy it. You can grapple across then drop down to your left to pick up 1x Mibu Balloon of Soul.

Go around this building and grapple up to a branch so you can jump up and sneak behind an Okami Warrior (Katana) for a deathblow. Then carefully jump back onto the roof of the building you came from and defeat another one.

From here, go toward the nearby waterfall and grapple onto the branch ahead. It will land you near and behind two enemies. Defeat them and then head toward the main area, you'll find 2 more enemies to ambush.

Grapple to the rooftops and backtrack to the waterfall area to find 1x Gokan's Sugar on a nest on the roof.

Go left and back and jump across the ledge to land on a rock. Make your way down so you're behind two guards. You'll want your Bloodsmoke Ninjutsu for this one, as there are two more guards who can see you. After clearing them, approach the enemy ahead playing Kemari (football) and defeat her and the Okami Warrior - Naginata.

Drop to ground level

From the balcony overlooking the lake, drop down to ground level and make your way past the pillars. 2 Beasts await on the other side next to 1x Light Coin Purse. Around a branch here there's also 1x Heavy Coin Purse. Be careful not to fall into the water and make it back to the shallow ground to go toward 2x Spirit Emblem.

Mini-boss: Shichimen Warrior

Ahead from you, a mini-boss Shichimen Warrior awaits. Go left from it in stealth to get close, you can jump up on some stone ledges with pillars. You can use this platform to get a falling deathblow on him to make the fight easier, then use the same tactics as before to knock off the last life. Defeating it gives you 1x Lapis Lazuli and 2905XP. There's 1x Bundled Jizo Statue behind it.

Under the Platforms

After defeating the mini-boss, explore the nearby waterfall and pick up 2x Mibu Possession Balloon under the platforms that you traversed earlier to find 3x Ceramic Shard and further down this path 1x Mibu Balloon of Soul. Back toward the waterfall, 1x Eel Liver can be picked up before grappling to a higher platform to continue the level.

Great Sakura Idol

The door nearby is locked, and an idol awaits at the end of a dangerous pathway with many enemies. Stealth is not much of an option here, so you can try to run through and activate the idol to give yourself a respawn.

Before you go forward, you can consider if you want to pick up the 2x Pellet that is on a platform to the right of where you are right now.

Go toward the 2x Spirit Emblem and past the two guards who come over, then keep dashing forward past another Spirit Emblem. Jump over the fence and dash past the dancing masked enemies towards the Great Sakura Idol, then REST to reset them.

Great Sakura Branch - Okami Leader Shizu

Grapple onto the massive Sakura tree nearby and make your way to the Okami Leader Shizu who was preventing you from going into the water. She gives you 1887XP, 261 Sen and 1x Prayer Bead. Her health & posture are low but she can throw lightning at you as you approach so be prepared to use lightning reversal.

Look down from this point and you'll spot a branch with 1x Bulging Coin Purse in a nest.

Old Woman NPC

From the nest branch, you can spot an NPC on the roof of a building in the lake. Jump down to the water and swim to her. Talk to her and she'll ask if you're going to the palace, and recommends that you use the underwater cave to get in, that is currently occupied by a Great Carp. She says the palace gates have been closed for a long time and she hopes you'll be able to open the doors for her.

Exploring Underwater first

Dive under the building with the NPC to pick up 1x Lump of Grave Wax. Now go back up and go toward the palace area you have not yet explored. You cannot get to the ground floor there, but you can dive and grab items.

Dash forward when you spot a Treasure Carp and obtain 1x Treasure Carp Scale, then obtain 1x Precious Bait by some underwater flowers between the beams that hold up the palace structures.

Toward the Moon

Now swim toward the moon and keep the wall on your right to go past a group of aggressive fish and obtain 1x Light Coin Purse and 3x Scrap Magnetite.

Dive a bit further down here, and you'll obtain 1x Red Lump (this would be under the bridge the carp broke by the Flower Viewing Idol).

Nearby, a half-sunken building has 1x Adamantite Scrap on its roof. Keep the wall to your right and follow it to 4x Treasure Carp. A nearby building has 3x Treasure Carp Scale.

Return to the idol you rested at and make sure to bank your Sen, as you'll be facing underwater Headless next. Drop back into the water and go to the middle of the lake. You can get 2 Treasure Carps here and then dive further down into the pit.

Mini-boss: Headless

There are two underwater Headless enemies by a Fish skeleton with glowing green worms. These are different fights underwater, as you cannot buff divine confetti underwater and your attacks are limited. Use the dash button during the fight to avoid the attacks. You will get 1x Yashariku's Spiritfall and 2840XP.

Underwater Prayer Bead

By the dead fish, there are 2x Treasure Carp Scale and 1x Prayer Bead in a chest.

As you make your way back up, you'll spot 1x Precious Bait, and then 1x Light Coin Purse inside a sunken building. Across from here, there's another 1x Precious Bait.

Into the Cave

Go back to the rooftop with the woman NPC and dive in the opposite direction of the moon. This cave leads to the Great Carp. Pick up 2x Ceramic Shard.

From here, you'll want to use the passageways to hide from the Great Carp as it will one shot you if it sees you. Be mindful that the structures will not protect you if it does spot you, so you need to get by path.

You can do this whole segment by sticking to the right, then at the last stretch enter the stronger structure through the middle window that is slightly up from where you were.

Up the Waterfall

You'll emerge at the foot of a waterfall. Grapple up to the branches ahead and to your left, and commune with the Palace Grounds Idol.

Inside the building ahead, you'll find several Red Nobles. Defeat them and then open the Castle Door to unlock a shortcut.

Resting after this will have the Old Woman from earlier entering the palace (if you hadn't killed the red nobles yet yourself, she will have killed them now). You'll find her killing the red nobles, complaining about fooling her father and calling them beasts. She then dies. Continue into the palace and open a treasure chest for 1x Gourd Seed.

Rooftops

Open the door by the Gourd Seed and grapple onto the rooftop. Walk the rooftop in the direction of the lake, sticking to your left side.

You'll spot a grappable branch. From the branch, drop and grapple onto a rooftop and then jump alongside the rooftops to reach the portion of the outer palace that you could not access from the water.

In this area, you'll find 2x Ako's Sugar behind the main building.

Follow the waterfall down to the lowest level (before the actual water) and go to the bridge to kill a masked enemy and pick up 1x Heavy Coin Purse.

Feeding Grounds Idol

Jump to the platform and commune with Feeding Grounds Idol, then go up the staircase to pick up 2x Ungo's Sugar. Here you'll meet the father of the woman you met much earlier, the Great Carp Attendant. He tells you to feed the noble fish.

Ring the nearby bell and feed the Great Carp with Precious Bait 2 times. You can feed it more but it's useless. Talk to the father and you'll get 4x Treasure Carp Scale. Feeding the carp also makes him not hostile so you can loot the items in the cave early, or just to not kill the Carp and get in the cave safely anyway.

Palace Grounds Idol

Return to the Palace Grounds Idol and go out the shortcut gate, toward the incense pot that has 2 guards. Defeat them and then look up to a grapple point.

Go up and left then grapple across to other rooftop and then across to a cave. There are lizards on this cave so beware of their ambush. Past the cave, jump and grapple onto the nearby rooftop and you'll be on top of the area you could not reach after Flower Viewing Idol.

Grapple to 3x Spirit Emblem. Commune with the Near Pot Noble Idol and then talk to the NPC.

Pot Noble Koremori

This is Pot Noble Koremori, he will tell you not to talk to the other pot noble, who is a traitor and a villain. If you buy all of his items, he will mention his scales have returned and that it's thanks to you. He will ask you to listen to his secret. Accept and he will give you Truly Precious Bait, that he asks you to give to the Great Carp.

Near his pot, there's 2x Divine Confetti. You can now port to Hirata Estate and talk to Pot Noble Harunaga. You can now pick which noble you want to support. Go back to the Feeding Grounds Idol and pick one item or the other to determine the noble's fates.

Either one kills the Great Carp and transforms the noble into a carp NPC.

Free the Father

Rest and talk to the father and he will be very upset, you can then port to pick up items from the pot nobles, and then go to the Bodhissatva Valley Idol to find the body of the Great Carp and 1x Great White Whisker.

Then port back to Feeding Grounds and talk to him and give him the item. He is now free from his duties, and you will obtain 1x Divine Grass.

If you rest, he will be dead and his daughter will be by him and tell him both she and her sister will be by him. She then dies as well.

You can now dive into the cave where the Great Carp was and pick up 1x Adamantite Scrap and 1x Light Coin Purse.

Palace Grounds

Go back to palace grounds and into the palace area, you can pick up 3x Mibu Balloon of Soul by the waterfall.

Then Grapple up to the top of the waterfall and up the stone stairway, there will be several masked enemies to fight. Just turning right to continue up the stone stairs after the enemies, you will find a Dragon's Blood Droplet on a rock to the left. Further up the stairs to the right, you'll then unlock the Sanctuary Sculptor's Idol.

At the end of the steps, you'll find yourself inside a sanctuary where you can interact with a shrine maiden sleeping soundly against a rock - selecting to pray will initiate the Divine Dragon boss battle.

Boss Fight: Divine Dragon

This is the Divine Dragon fight. It has two parts, which are explained in detail in the Divine Dragon page.

Defeating the dragon gets you the Gracious Gift of Tears trophy, and 1x Divine Dragon's Tears and a Memory: Divine Dragon well as XP.

Kuro's Room

As you return, Emma is kneeling by Isshin, who has died from his illness. She will give you 1x Secret Passage Key, and tell you to follow through the moat in Ashina Reservoir. You can do Ashina Outskirts Revisited or proceed to the Endings. See the New Game Plus page for things to do before moving on.

 

 

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Map

 

Trivia & Notes:

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