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Welcome to one of many heavens in the Jade Empire universe. Your goal here is to speak with the Forest Shadow and make an important decision. Do you offer her your allegiance against The Mother? Or do you destroy her for the meddling she's done in mortal affairs? Along the way you'll pick up yet another follower and will have to deal with powerful demons that have found their way to this beautiful place.


1 - Arrival

Successfully completing the Ritual of Seasons in the Great Southern Forest will lead you to the Forest Shadow's home.


2 - Ceramic Urn

Spring the lid on this urn to find 210 silver pieces and an Intuition Gem.


3 - Zin Bu the Magic Abacus

Zin Bu is (or was) part of the Celestial Bureaucracy. His job was to "record, tabulate, and itemize" the destruction that you cause during your lifetime. Apparently the actions of everyone in the Jade Empire are recorded to determine their place on the Great Wheel. Since Zin Bu was unable to keep up with your antics, he has been demoted to trade and commerce.

His new position is actually a blessing for you, though, because he joins you as a follower and can be called upon at any time for any merchant needs you might have. The stock of essence gems, techniques, styles, and plot items that he has available changes as you make your way farther into the game, so you'll want to check back with him often. For a full list of everything he has for sale (broken down by chapter), check out his follower page.


4 - Ceramic Urn

This urn contains 20 silver pieces and another Intuition Gem.


5 - Spirit Font

Meditating at a Spirit Font will restore all of your character's Health and Chi.


6 - Fox Spirits

These Fox Spirits have been instructed to let you pass through to the Forest Shadow safely, but you'll still have to contend with the two Toad Demons that suddenly appear behind them. Once they've been dealt with, one of the Fox Spirits will answer your questions about the Forest Shadow and The Mother.


7 - Focus Shrine

Meditating at a Focus Shrine will restore all of your character's Focus.


8 - More Demons

A Toad Demon and a Horse Demon continue the assault on the Forest Shadow's domain. The Horse Demon attacks with fire and even erupts into an explosion when reduced to a minimal amount of health, so you'll be sustaining at least some damage during this fight. When they're both defeated, you'll automatically gain the Horse Demon transformation style.


9 - Bookstand

The text on this bookstand is entitled Jade Empire Bestiary, Volume 5.


10 - Ceramic Urn

Search this trapped urn to find a pile of silver and a randomly placed essence gem (such as a Greater Scholar's Gem of Fate


11 - More Demons

If you're playing the Xbox version of Jade Empire, then you'll face a Toad Demon and two Horse Demons in this area. If you're playing the PC version, though, you'll instead face a Toad Demon, a Horse Demon, and a Rhino Demon.


12 - Ceramic Urn

This urn contains 480 silver pieces and a randomly placed essence gem (such as an Inferior Intimidation Gem).


13 - Forest Shadow

After a lengthy talk with the Forest Shadow (and another audience with the Water Dragon), you will have a choice to make. Will you help the Forest Shadow and ultimately cure the sickened forest? Or are you here to kill her on behalf of The Mother and the cannibals?

If you choose to help her, you will be following the Open Palm route. This will lead you to a battle with The Mother inside the hidden Cannibal Caves. The Forest Shadow is able to open an entrance to the caves within the Pilgrim's Rest Inn, so that should be your next destination. To make your trek a little faster, the Forest Shadow will offer to transport you back to her domain's entrance at area #1. I wouldn't recommend this course of action unless you don't care about the bookstand sitting behind the Forest Shadow.

If you choose to slay her, you will be following the Closed Fist route. The Forest Shadow will head for the lower part of her domain and you'll have to do battle with her guardian Shining Tusk and three Fox Spirits. The Elephant Demon's powerful attacks can cause considerable damage, so try to always attack him from behind. When the fight is over, you'll need to backtrack your way toward the entrance portal and fight all of the Fox Spirits you simply walked past earlier. When you finally come face-to-face with the Forest Shadow, you will need to move quickly and attack from behind to stun her (as usual). Use your Focus Mode if you get into trouble. After she's defeated, you'll receive the Gem of Earth Power, after which you'll be teleported back to the Pilgrim's Rest Inn. After collecting your reward from the Innkeeper, you can always continue on and conquer the cannibals and The Mother too for additional loot and experience points. However, you've already met Lord Yun's requirement by killing the Forest Shadow, so you're free to just collect your Wind Map if you just want to move on with the game.


14 - Bookstand

The text on this bookstand is entitled The Celestial Order, Volume 1.