The Emerald Hall
Keeper of the Flaming Mountains火焰山土地
- What it inflicts
- No status effect
- Phases
- 2 phases2 health bars: the Keeper, with Zhu Bajie as an ally at first and Ma Tianba's body at the end, then the Yin-Yang Fish
- Equipment
- One setno shrine or checkpoint between the phases
Recommended gear
With what you can get before this boss, in your first cycle.
Editor's pick Set up for both health bars: against the Keeper, mostly use your weapon and heavy attacks, and save your spells, transformation and Mana for the Yin-Yang Fish. The Misty Cloud, Cloudy Mist spirit moderately reduces the Mana cost of Cloud Step, which leaves you more for Immobilize, and the Supreme Gourd, obtained just before at Rakshasa Palace, gives one more sip to heal before the Fish's aerial barrage. Golden mask and shirt, Non-Pure gauntlets and greaves: 6 Fine Gold Thread in all, otherwise keep your Loongscale pieces.
- Weapon attack
- 80
- Armor defense
- 188
- Resistance: Poison
- +8
Base values, before upgrades, from the registry.
- Weapon
Chitin Staff Crafting: Venomous Hair × 1, Refined Iron Sand × 4, Yaoguai Core × 8, 20,000 WillOtherwise: Visionary Centipede Staff
- Headgear
Golden Mask of Fury Crafting: Cold Iron Leaves × 4, Fine Gold Thread × 2, 6,600 WillOtherwise: See No Evil
- Chest
Golden Embroidered Shirt Crafting: Cold Iron Leaves × 5, Fine Gold Thread × 2, 8,000 WillOtherwise: Loongscale Battlerobe
- Arms
Non-Pure Gauntlets Crafting: Cold Iron Leaves × 1, Fine Gold Thread × 1, 3,600 WillOtherwise: Loongscale Armguard
- Legs
Non-Pure Greaves Crafting: Cold Iron Leaves × 2, Fine Gold Thread × 1, 7,200 WillOtherwise: Loongscale Greaves
- Vessel
- Spirit
Otherwise: Wandering Wight
- Transformation
- Spells
- Curios
- Gourd
Otherwise: Medicine Buddha Gourd
- Soaks
The fight
A single encounter with 2 health bars, with no pause. The Keeper takes you into a black-and-white illusion, where Zhu Bajie fights by your side at first. He mostly attacks from range: white and black light projectiles and orbs, pillars of light, and, up close, palm strikes and sweeps. At around 60 to 70% of his health, he summons revenants from the air, where you can't hit him; at around 30%, Zhu Bajie leaves. Almost beaten, he summons Ma Tianba's body, with its own health bar, like a regular enemy; once Ma Tianba is down, he drops the Yin-Yang Fish into the water, and the fight only ends when the Fish dies.
One set: no shrine or checkpoint between the Keeper and the Yin-Yang Fish; it has to hold up for both health bars.
Spells, transformation and soaks are set at a Keeper's Shrine (soaks also with the Shen Monkey), never during a fight: what you bring into a fight stays until the end. One spell per category: Cloud Step and Rock Solid exclude each other, pick one before the fight.
What it inflicts
- No status reported: white and black light projectiles and orbs, a black explosion, pillars of light, palm strikes and sweeping arcs. Ma Tianba strikes with his whip, which spreads ink over a large area.
Attacks to watch
- Rise and volley: he rises and fires 7 projectiles in a line, which spread out with distance. Move away, or dodge forward as they form.
- Homing projectiles: they form in the air, then chase you at high speed, and come back even after a first dodge. Run, and keep an eye on them.
- Orbs and explosion: many orbs rise, then come down as pillars of light over a large part of the arena; stand where there were none, or dodge at the right moment. Up close, he spins around, then creates a black explosion around himself: get away at once.
- Reinforcements: he rises out of reach and summons club-wielding warriors and archers; as long as they are standing, he doesn't come back down.
- Ma Tianba: he often chains 3 very fast, long-range whip strikes; seen from the side, the third one is barely visible. Dodge 3 times in a row, and only then attack.
What works
- Close the distance: he mostly fights from range. Hit him relentlessly while he is on the ground; frail, he is easily stunned by charged heavy attacks.
- Against him, mostly use your weapon: save your spells, transformation and Mana for the Yin-Yang Fish, especially enough to immobilize it. Immobilize
- Against the reinforcements, take out the archers first: quick to kill, they are the most annoying. The Keeper comes back within reach once they are all gone.
Strategy
- Zhu Bajie fights by your side until the Keeper is down to around 30% health: attack as fast as you can while he is there.
- Supreme Gourd: at Rakshasa Palace, just before, talk to Yuan Shoucheng, the old man in the small temple, with your Medicine Buddha Gourd, then touch the fire in the middle of the room: it becomes the Supreme Gourd, with 10 sips. You may also need to have talked to him in the previous chapters. Supreme Gourd, Medicine Buddha Gourd
Access
Furnace Valley, The Emerald Hall shrine: go left and up the stairs. A long cutscene starts: turned into a cicada, you see Pingping talking to her mother, Rakshasi, with the Keeper; he binds Pingping, "Rakshasi" turns out to be Zhu Bajie in disguise, and the fight begins. Mandatory: a story boss.
What it gives
- to obtainYin-Yang Daoist Robe
- to obtainCelestial Ribbon
- to obtainFine Gold Thread × 2
Everything drops at the end of the encounter, when the Yin-Yang Fish dies: the Yin-Yang Daoist Robe, a Celestial Ribbon and 2 Fine Gold Thread. Will: 3,107 or 3,132 depending on the records.
The robe, with no set bonus: above half your health, it moderately reduces the damage you take, but you can no longer land a Critical Hit; below half, it massively raises your Critical Hit Chance, but also the damage you take.
The Celestial Ribbon, the rarest armor material, is used to bring a piece of armor up to Mythical rarity.
Updates
No published update changes this boss.
In NG+
In NG+, you keep your gear, spells, transformations and spirits, and bosses are tougher. Key items don't carry over: the chapter's quest items must be taken again.
Page checked on October 17, 2026.