The Roots of All Evil

The Roots of All Evil takes you from Takamura to the corrupted village of Toribeno. You must seal three Rifts, then destroy the plant spreading Malice. This route includes the wall-running tutorial, the paths between arenas and basic responses for Dohatsu-ten. It does not cover every treasure or nearby Curious Case.

The displayed PlayStation inputs are Cross (×) for interactions and wall running, Square (□) for sword attacks and Circle (○) for evasion. Use your displayed bindings if you have remapped them.

Speak to Takamura and enter Toribeno

At a Spirit Mirror, choose Travel → Eastern Kyoto → Rokudo-chinnoji Temple. Enter the temple room and speak to Takamura beside the altar. Finish the conversation, then leave the building. Continue Shizuka's exchange until the objective becomes Purify Toribeno.

Leave through the temple's front gate. Facing out toward the street, turn right and follow the golden trail uphill between the houses. Continue past the raised wooden structure into the fields and thatched huts. Clear the Genma on the village road, including the archers firing from higher ground.

Follow the road uphill toward the watchtower, pass between the huts and enter the open area beside the large white plaster-walled building. The next Spirit Mirror is against the rocky, bamboo-lined side of this area. Activate it, then climb the stone steps immediately beside it.

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Use Oni Agility at the broken bridge

At the broken bridge, approach the golden surface on the right-hand cliff wall. The Oni Agility tutorial explains the new traversal ability:

• Press Cross near a golden wall to start wall running.
• Press Cross while wall running to jump to another wall when one faces you across the gap.

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Cross the gap along the right-hand wall and land on the opposite path. Continue through the huts and past the broken cart toward the large corrupted plant. After the exchange, the objective changes to Seal the Rifts — 0/3.

Reach and seal the first Rift

Follow the rocky edge to the red-fog chasm. Deal with the enemies across the gap before crossing; the bow lets you reach the archers without standing on their narrow platform.

Use the golden wall on the left side of the gap to reach the sloping bamboo roof. Walk across the roof and take the next curved golden wall to the rocky enemy platform. Clear the swordsmen and remaining ranged enemies, then wall run across the next gap.

A red-veined Malice barrier blocks the path at the landing. Approach it and hold Cross at Use Oni Power until the barrier breaks. Go through and climb the stone staircase to the first Rift arena.

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Defeat the Genma around the red sphere. When L2 — Absorb Rift appears, stand near it and hold L2 until the sphere breaks apart. Check that the objective has advanced to 1/3 before moving on.

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Find the statue passage toward the second Rift

Leave the first arena by the descending rocky steps. Cross the next fog-filled gap on its golden wall and clear the enemies on the landing. Continue past the hut, where more Genma wait beside the large red plant growth.

The small hut contains pickups. To continue the Rift route, return to the golden walls beside the rocky passage and wall run across, using Cross to switch to the facing wall. Land beside the white flowers, clear the floating heads and follow the path around the large plant roots.

Climb the stone steps into the next group of huts and defeat the enemies in the village. Look for the opening between two huts, marked by two small stone pagodas. Enter toward the standing stone figures and the brazier. With the brazier on your right, turn left into the narrow rock passage beside the statues.

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Cross the walls and climb to the rooftops

The next tutorial, Countering While Wall Running, adds a defensive option: press L1 while wall running to block. Blocking just before an attack lands can counter it.

Start on the golden wall to your right. Press Cross to switch between the facing golden walls as you advance through the passage. Continue to the bright opening at the far end and land on the path.

Outside, take the steps upward, clear the floating head and go around the rock to the short wooden footbridge. Cross it and climb the low rock ledges beyond. Pass through the short rocky opening to find a ladder beneath the bamboo roof.

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Climb the ladder, cross the roof ridge and jump the small gap to the next roof. Clear the enemies on the roofs, then descend into the courtyard beneath the red Rift. Finish the remaining Genma and hold L2 to absorb the sphere when the prompt appears. Its disappearance advances the counter to 2/3.

Take the small temple route to the third Rift

Leave the second arena along the path beside the white flowers and large roots. Climb the stone steps and use the next golden wall to land on the wooden walkway beside a small temple.

You can investigate the altar while passing through. Continue around the building on its outer wooden balcony, then step down onto the rocks at the balcony's end. Take the short wooden bridge beside the stone lantern to the next rocky path.

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Follow the path between the stone figures and lanterns, past the chest and down the steps into the open courtyard. Approach the third Rift to begin the fight with Dohatsu-ten — Heaven's Bane.

Defeat Dohatsu-ten

Stay on the open ground so you can see Dohatsu-ten's sword and retreat from a follow-up slash. His blade can draw your blood to replenish his power, so avoid trading long attack strings with him.

Against his advancing sword swings, hold L1 and press Cross just before the blade connects to Deflect. Be ready for the next slash instead of attacking after every single counter. When he pulls back and the sequence ends, close the distance for a short series of Square attacks, then face him again.

When his blade becomes heavily coated in red energy and he advances into a broad slash, prepare to evade with Circle just before the hit. Avoid spending the whole opening on a long combo; his follow-up can reach you while you are still attacking.

Keep building pressure with short punishments and successful counters. When he staggers and a Square prompt appears on the glowing weak point, move close and press Square. Continue fighting after the weak-point strike if he gets back up. The fight ends when he collapses, the boss display disappears and the Rift becomes available to absorb.

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Absorb the third Rift and destroy the plant

Approach the darkened sphere and hold L2 at Absorb Rift until it breaks apart. A short scene shows the plant's barrier disappearing. The objective now reads Destroy the Malice-emitting plants.

Cross the arena to the exposed red core embedded in the plant-covered rock wall. Attack the core with Square until it breaks. This is a separate step after the third Rift; the battle and absorption alone are not the endpoint.

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Finish the following scene until Story Complete — The Roots of All Evil appears. The next story is Bloodbath on the Bridge, with the objective Head for Gojo-ohashi Bridge.

Optional return to the Shrine Grounds

After finishing this story, you can revisit Travel → Oni Refuge → Shrine Grounds for an Oni Stone. From the arrival mirror, climb the rocky stairs to the ladder beside the gate. Climb the ladder and use Cross at the golden wall to cross onto the cliff route.

Continue up the steps and shimmy along the narrow rock ledge. Follow the path down to the lower wooden bridge, cross it and enter the short cave. Take the cave's stairs upward, then pass through the ruined gateway at the top.

The ornate black-and-gold chest beside the waterfall contains Oni Stone × 1. Press Cross — Examine to open it. The ordinary chest nearby contains Iron × 1, so check the item notice to identify the Oni Stone chest. Return along the path to the torii gate and Spirit Mirror when you are ready to resume the next story.