Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame is the second subquest in Chapter 5: Act 1, Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn, an Archon Quest in Genshin Impact. This walkthrough will guide you through all objectives of Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame Archon Subquest.
Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame is unlocked automatically when you finish Bedtime Story.
Region: Natlan
Area: Stadium of the Sacred Flame
Quest Giver: Automatically given after completing Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame
Requirement: Complete subquest Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame
Recommended Level: 45
Reward: 66,150 Mora, 5 Hero’s Wit, 10 Mystic Enhancement Ore
Mission Description: Watch Kachina and Maulani compete in the tournament.
Objectives:
- Meet up with Kachina and the others
- Talk to Lamanai
- Collect Contending Sparks (3)
- Return to the Stadium of the Sacred
- Prepare for the individual matches
- Fight the duel with Nkunga
- Finish the duel with Maulani
Starting Location: Stadium of the Sacred Flame
Meet up with Kachina and the others
You can find Kachina and the others just outside of the Weary Inn.
Talk to Lamanai
Lamanai stands immediately in front of you when you regain control.
Before talking to him, be aware that the game locks you out of several aspects of the game while the tournament takes place. This is because you play as Maulani and Kachina, and you cannot switch back to the Traveler.
You also cannot open the map, use your Adventurer’s Guide, or access the Quest menu. When you talk to Lamanai, you are locked into the tournament.
When you’re ready, talk to Lamanai.
The contestants get sent off to complete the challenge.
Collect Contending Sparks (3)
Contending Spark Location #1: From the start, head west, and a flare directs you to a fire tower right in front of you.
When you get close, Zeila and her gang ambush you. Use this as an opportunity to get used to fighting with Maulani and Kachina.
For Maulani, using her Elemental Skill over and over does a ton of damage.
For Kachina, activate her Elemental Skill and them spam the attack button. She continually slams the ground, damaging everyone around her. This also builds up here Elemental Burst.
Once you take out the enemies, interact with the fire tower to take the first Contending Spark.
Contending Spark Location #2: Continue west until a second flare pulls your attention to your right.
Climb up to where the flare shot up.
Amumu attacks you with two geovishaps. Take them out.
Once done, interact with the nearby fire tower to collect the second Contending Spark.
Contending Spark Location #3: Continue west underneath a wooden bridge until a third flare shoots up at the top of a tall mountain face.
Walk toward it until dirt covers your screen and you get ambushed by Izapa and company. Defeat them.
Run to the rock face. A group of enemies are fighting each other. You can skip them or take them on if you wish.
At the rock face, switch to Kachina. Then, hold her Elemental Skill to call out her drill and then get into it.
While in her drill, run toward the wall. You automatically start to climb it. Climb up partway until you reach a crevice that looks like lava.
Interact with it, and you get automatically pulled to the top of the cliff.
Here, another group attacks you.
Defeat them, and then approach the third fire tower. Unfortunately, it’s empty.
Continue west up a wooden bridge.
At the next ridge, Kwila attacks you.
Defeat him and then continue west until you reach a camp where two teams are fighting one another. Deal with them like the others.
Then, approach the fire tower on the west side of this camp to collect the third Contending Spark.
Return to the Stadium of the Sacred
From here, the path turns southerly. Follow the path until it reaches a fancy house.
Right outside is a Spiritway, which Maulani can ride using her Elemental Skill.
Activate Maulani’s Elemental Skill and approach the glowing end of the Spiritway. Maulani automatically surfs it all the way to the Stadium of the Sacred Flame.
Once back at the stadium, run forward to the fire tower. Open the fire tower to deposit the three Contending Sparks and clear the stage.
After a short celebration, Maulani and Kachina get separated for the individual stage.
Prepare for the individual matches
When you regain control, go straight ahead and around the corner to the right.
Interact with the door ahead of you to begin.
Fight the duel with Nkunga
This fight is rather straightforward. Nkunga uses Geo and melee attacks that are quite choreographed and easy to interpret. Just avoid his slow attacks and chip away at his health.
If you happen to die to Nkunga, you are not disqualified. In fact, you revive with a good portion of health while Nkunga stays at the health he had when you died.
A few scenes go by of Kachina fighting other opponents. Eventually, you get paired up against Liliuo.
Liliuo is more formitable than Nkunga was. She uses an ice cannon both as a hammer and as a gun. She also has more health and teleports around the arena from time to time.
Once you get her to 2/3rds health, she channels Cryo crystals that sit on top of two towers.
She also fires Cryo shots at you. You can see where they will land by the Cryo circles that appear on the ground.
Use Kachina’s Elemental Skill to ride up one of the towers.
Once at the top, attack the crystal to destroy it.
Liliuo falls back to the ground, allowing you to attack her again. This time, though, she charges her cannon with Cryo damage, allowing her to inflict Cryo on you with melee attacks. To boot, her projectiles track you; thankfully they do less damage to compensate.
At about 1/4th of her health, Liliuo spawns a rock tower in the middle of the arena. Again, she channels Cryo projectiles at you.
Avoid them and then use Kachina’s Elemental Skill to climb up the tower.
Once at the top, attack Liliuo until the cutscene ends the fight.
During the next break, Kachina learns that her final opponent is none other than Maulani.
Finish the duel with Maulani
Just as before, head forward and then around the corner to the right. Interact with the door to begin the last round.
Here, you’re treated to a great fight scene between the two.
Finishing this cutscene completes Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame subquest.
Also, by completing this subquest, you gain access to Natlan’s reputation quests.
