A Strange Story in Konda
The very first quest that you need to complete to start the Sacred Sakura Cleansing chain is Strange Story in Konda. You can find a Shrine Maiden near a Kitsune Statue after exiting Ritou Island. Talk to the maiden and apply the Electro element to the Kitsune statue, then take the Ward that appears in front of it.
Ask the locals for more information
After getting the Ward, the Shrine Maiden will tell you that you are the “Destined One”. Go to Konda village to ask for more information. Below are the three NPCs that you need to talk to: After getting the three pieces of evidence, go to Konda Densuke and present them. You need to look for his Diary on the rooftop and go to the zone indicated in the book to look for the Old Key that will open up the well underneath the wooden planks in the middle of the area. You’ll need to fight some enemies along the way. Go back to the village and unlock the well. Descend onto the well where you can find an exquisite chest, and break the wall of rocks on the right side to open up a pathway to a new zone.
Exploring the Well
You will see an electro Seelie here and following it will unlock the chest. There are two common chests here, including the one you unlocked. After opening the chests, go to the Thunder Sakura Bough and summon the Electrogranum to proceed to the next area protected by an Electro barrier. You will notice a Notch that needs purifying, go ahead and use the Ward you received from the Shrine Maiden before. Adjust the notches until it matches the number of notches for each shrine above. For example, 3 notches mean that the sign above the shrine should have 3 notches or semicolon icons. Pray to the first notch that you purified. You will summon an enemy called Ochimusha which, when defeated, will summon the Maiden and complete the quest.
Getting the Key
Before you get out of the well grab the rust-worn key to save you the hassle of going back to the well later. You will find a Thunder Sakura Bough near a cliff that you can climb. Summon the Electroganum and go through the electro barrier on the cliff. You can also find an Electroculus here. You’ll encounter a locked gate that you can open using the mechanism on the left of the gate. You will find another rust-worn key on one of the tables in this room. There is also a luxurious chest on the left corner of the room, and a stone slate item. Get both of these items and go to the abandoned shrine near the Konda Village. Talk to the mysterious shadow and it will disappear.
Sacrificial Offering
Once you get to the abandoned shrine, talk to all the mysterious shadows to make them disappear and head to the temple with an Electroculus. On the right side of a temple, you will find the mysterious shadows standing behind the kitsune statue, and your goal is get all three of them there. Talk to the mysterious shadow at the end of the path. A statue will appear on the rooftop of the temple. Talk to the shadow again and she will go to the tree south of the kitsune statues. Once you talk to her for the last time, they will all disappear and 3 precious chests will appear. Investigate the item at the center of the kitsune statues to get the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Summary.
Going to Narukami Shrine
If you have not unlocked the Narukami Shrine yet, you can climb the stairs near Kamisato state. Unlock the waypoint here and you will see multiple Thunder Sakura Boughs that will take you to the Narukami Shrine. Use the Electroganum to climb the mountain to the Shrine and talk to the Shrine Maiden called Inagi Hotomi, who will give you the Memento Lens. Unlock the waypoint here so you can go back to the Narukami Shrine anytime.
Return to the Abandoned Shrine
After getting the Memento Lens, you can fall from the Narukami Shrine to investigate the Abandoned Shrine once again. Use the Memento Lens on the Kitsune statue near the first shrine to see an Old man. Next, there is a Kitsune statue sheltered by a mini temple, use the lens over there as well. Just before the gate near the temple, you will see three kitsune statues, use the Memento Lens on the smallest statue. The next Kitsune statue is near the three statues, slightly off the pathway. Use the Memento Lens to investigate the statue. Lastly, go south from the three kitsune statues where you got the summary before and use the Memento Lens on the small statue near it. Below are the scenes and kitsune statues that you need to investigate:
The first abandoned shrine is at the beginning of the pathway. A kitsune statue protected by a small shrine. Near the temple gate by the three kitsune statues. East of the main shrine, outside the pathway. Near the tree where the mysterious shadow was before. The glowing kitsune statue near the three statues where you got the chests previously.
Reciting the lines to the Sky Kitsune Statue
Go to the Sky Kitsune Statue east of the shrine and recite the following lines in the correct order: After reciting the words, a Ward will appear in front of the statue. Get the Ward and find the gate to open using the Rust-worn key.
Finding the Barrier
You can find the gate in the area indicated above. You can get here by going down the cliff near the abandoned shrine. You will find a gate that requires the rust-worn key that we got earlier. Open the gate using the key and you will find an Electroculus near the entrance. Go further in and purify the small shrine by the entrance with help from the photo above. After cleansing the first shrine, adjust the middle shrine to two notches. All the other shrines need to be adjusted to three notches to destroy the barrier. Pray to the first shrine and a Mysterious Samurai will appear. Defeat the samurai and Kazari will appear again, thanking you. This marks the end of the Sacrificial Offering quest and you will receive 40 Primogems as a reward.
Cleansing Defilement
After completing the Sacrificial Offering, you now have to cleanse three barriers in three different places. You can complete the rituals in any order, but we will start with the Chinju forest. There is a waypoint here that you can unlock. Upon entering the forest, you will hear a strange voice, and you need to search for the source of the strange voice in the forest.
Chinju Forest/Hayashi of Tanuki in the Forest
Go up the mountain pathway and on the left side, you will see a Tanuki statue surrounded by Hilichurls. After defeating the Hilichurls, talk to the statue named Ioroi and he will ask you to play with three tanukis. You can find the first tanuki by going down the pathway that you were following earlier. Follow the tanuki and attack them when they transform into objects.
Playing with the tanuki
The second tanuki can be found near the Electroculus that can be seen on the quest map. You will find a barrel on top of the smaller hill. Investigate the barrier and a tanuki named “Kichiboushi” will appear, completing one of Ioroi’s quests.
Getting Ioroi’s Ward
The third tanuki can be found in this area, on top of a small rock. Follow the tanuki all the way to the river and attack the torches. Go back to Ioroi and you will find the three tanukis near him. Talk to him and he will give you a Ward. Head over to the area of the barrier and a cut-scene will occur, with one of the tanukis helping you out.
Breaking the Barrier in Chinju Forest
After the tanuki unlocks the area, you need to place the ward on the shrine to begin the purification. There is another cleansing puzzle here that you need to solve. First, go to the nearest shrine next to the first shrine and adjust the order until there are four notches on the shrine. Climb up the huge branch and go to the shrine on the right of the temple gate. Adjust the order of the shrine once to get two notches above the shrine. Next, go down from the huge branch and you will find a shrine at the very bottom, adjust the order twice until you get three notches above the shrine. Now, pray to the first shrine, and another samurai enemy called Ochimusha will appear. Defeat the enemy and Kazari will appear again, complimenting your efforts.
Kamisato Estate
Go back to the Kamisato Estate and go to the beach near it. You will notice a Kitsune statue nearby that is glowing purple. Use your memento lens to find the fox hiding a Ward. Use an electro character and attack the statue with the element to reveal the Key-shaped Ward. Go to the Waverider point near this area and summon your Waverider. Go to the small island near the Waverider point and you will find another Earth Kitsune. Use your memento lens to reveal a pathway down to a cave.
Cleansing Tidal Flats
Just like in the previous quests, use the Key-shaped ward on the first shrine to activate and purify it. This cave will give you the Balethunder effect, damaging your characters over time, so be sure to bring a healer with you and summon the Electroganum in the area. The photo above will show you the number of notches you need above each shrine to complete the puzzle.
The abandoned shrine south of the shrine you first activated needs two notches so adjust the order accordingly. Both the east and west shrines by the temple gate need three notches. The shrine northeast of the temple gate needs two notches. Pray at the first shrine where you put the Key-shaped ward.
Araumi
To start with the Araumi cleansing, go to the location on the map. You will find a sakura tree with an Electro pillar. Activate this pillar using the Electro element and you will notice a light underneath the sealed mechanism at the center of the tree. The next electro pillar you need to activate can be found southeast of the sakura tree, by a small stone platform. Still facing the tree, head straight and move slightly to the east. You will find Ruin Sentinels guarding the electro pillar. Defeat them and activate the pillar. The last electro pillar can be found west of the sakura tree. You will find 5 electro cubes that you need to hit with Electro to activate. Hit the upper-right cube three times to complete the puzzle. This will unlock the electro pillar and the exquisite chest. Activate the pillar using the Electro element to unlock the mechanism and reveal the precious chest inside the broken tower.
Checking the Earth Kitsune Statues
Next to the precious chest are three Earth Kitsune Statues. Use your memento lens on all three of them and three buttons will appear on top of each statue. Activate all three buttons to reveal an underground tunnel. After going down the tunnel, use your Memento lens on the Kitsune statue near the electro barrier. It will reveal a Thunder Sakura Bough, allowing you to pass through the Electro barrier. Inside, you will find a fox statue with a Ward. Attack the kitsune statue to obtain the Scroll-shaped ward. Summon the Electroganum near the entrance to get past the Electro Barrier.
Cleansing the Araumi Barrier
Put the scroll-shaped ward on the shrine to purify it, restarting the cleansing puzzle. Before you start solving the puzzle, use your Memento Lens on the two kitsune statues to reveal two abandoned shrines. The photo above shows you the number of notches you need on top of each shrine to complete the puzzle. You can also follow the steps below:
Both shrines on the east and west of the gate need three notches. The abandoned shrines unlocked by the memento lens need two notches each.
Pray to the first shrine and an Ochimusha enemy will appear. Defeat the Ochimusha and go back to the abandoned well near the Konda Village to talk to Kazari. Report to Kazari to complete the Cleansing Defilement quest.
Yougou Cleansing
The last part of the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual quest is the Yougou Cleansing. Kazari tells you that you need to cleanse the Sakura Tree near Mt.Yougou as well, to complete the ritual. Go to the Grand Narukami Shrine waypoint and jump down to find Kazari near the entrance of Mt.Yougou. You will suffer continuous HP depletion while in this area so be sure to bring a healer character to your party.
1st Puzzle Solution
Talk to Kazari and she will open the seal to the Sacred Sakura Tree. Jump in and you will be faced with a “Miasmic Tumor” and an Ochimusha enemy. Defeat the enemy and solve the puzzle according to the photo above. Make sure to summon the Electroganum whenever you can to prevent HP depletion. After completing the puzzle, the tumor will go down and you can attack it a few times.
Pray at the first shrine near the thunder borough tree. In a clockwise manner, adjust the southeast shrine to two notches. Go to the northeast shrine and adjust it to three notches. Head over to the southwest shrine and adjust it to four notches. The last shrine in the northwest needs five notches.
2nd Puzzle Solution
After damaging the miasmic tumor, it will recover and summon another Ochimusha. If you damage the Miasmic tumor down to 33% of its health, it will start attacking you. Defeat the Ochimusha and solve the puzzle according to the image above.
Pray to the first shrine just like before, and we will activate the shrines counterclockwise this time. Adjust the southwest shrine to two notches. Go to the northwest shrine and adjust it to three notches. Head over to the southeast shrine and adjust it to four notches. The last shrine in the northeast needs five notches.
Pray to the shrine and the Miasmic tumor will fall again and will start firing laser blasts at you, so be careful and avoid these attacks while damaging the miasma.
3rd Puzzle Solution
After damaging the Miasma core for another 33% of its health, it will recover and summon two Ochimusha to attack you. The Miasma core will also fire blasts from above as you fight. Defeat the two enemies and break the barrier by solving the puzzle according to the photo above.
Pray to the first shrine just like before. Both the southeast and southwest shrines need to be adjusted to two notches. For the remaining two shrines, the northwest and northeast, you need to adjust them to three notches. Pray to the first shrine and the Miasmic tumor will fall.
Defeat the Miasmic Tumor and a cut-scene will play. Talk to Kazari and she will leave her mask behind, marking the end of the quest.
Rewards
The entire Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual quest is extremely lengthy and many players find it confusing with all the cleansing puzzles. However, finishing this quest can be rewarding. Aside from Primogems, there are numerous chests that you can find in the areas included in the quest. If you want to collect all the Electroculus in Inazuma, you also need to complete this quest to unlock the Mt.Yougou area.
“A Strange Story in Konda” Rewards
350 Adventurer’s EXP 20,000 Mora 40 Primogems
“Sacrificial Offering” Rewards
350 Adventurer’s EXP 30,000 Mora 40 Primogems 3 Hero’s Wit 6 Mystic Enhancement Ore
“Cleansing Defilement” and “Hayashi of Tanuki in the Forest” Rewards
500 Adventurer’s EXP 50,000 Mora 60 Primogems 5 Hero’s Wit 8 Mystic Enhancement Ore
“Yougou Cleansing” Rewards
400 Adventurer’s EXP 50,000 Mora 50 Primogems 5 Hero’s Wit Mystic Enhancement Ore 1 Mask of Memories (blueprint for Hakushin Ring)
Summary
The Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual quest is one of the longest quests currently available in Genshin Impact. It consists of multiple side quests and puzzles that you need to solve to help Kazari cleanse the areas in Inazuma. This quest is also necessary to unlock the Mt.Yougou area near the Grand Narukami Shrine. Finishing the quest will also give you the blueprint for the new catalyst weapon called “Hakushin Ring”, making this lengthy trial by fire worth the effort for anyone diving in.
