You’ll face Headless Xingtian after completing Chiyou’s questline in Nine Sols. It is the corrupted version of Chiyou’s brother, whom you initially defeated in the Boundless Repository. The fight is similar to the previous one, but this time, he hits harder and has a few surprising additions to his repertoire.
Related: How to Beat Kanghui in Nine Sols
In this guide, we’ll discover what’s different in Headless Xingtian and what you should do to beat him once and for all.
Unlocking Headless Xingtian in Nine Sols
You initially faced Xingtian earlier in the Boundless Repository. Yi then meets his brother Chiyou, a sentient warbot. After some bonding, Chiyou moves into the Four Seasons Pavilion. Here, you’ll continue to buy items from him and give him key items to unlock more of his inventory and dialogues. He also appears in different locations as Yi ventures into new territories but is always present in the hub area.
You must complete Chiyou’s “questline” to unlock the fight against Headless Xingtian. This involves you buying all the stuff from him and giving him all the necessary items. He’ll then ask you to gather two particular things: Soul-Severing Blade and Firestorm Ring.
You must give them these items before reaching the Point of No Return.
Progress through the story and reach the series of events in Tiandao Research Center that lead to the finale of Nine Sols. While escaping the lab, you can take a detour and meet Chiyou one last time in the top left corner of Tiandao Research Center. He will request to put an end to his brother and give him peace.
Behind him is the room with Headless Xingtian (seen through the window). Access it to fight Headless Xingtian.
Headless Xingtian – Boss Strategy
The fight against Headless Xingtian is largely the same as in Nine Sols, although he is glitching and more twitchy now, which might throw you off sometimes. However, there are a few additions. First of all, during the battle, two mutants will join in to aid him. You must have already killed a few of these before, so take them out ASAP (using a Talisman explosion; otherwise, they’ll keep on revving), or else the encounter will get crowded.
As for Headless Xingtian’s attacks, here’s a list of everything you must prepare for:
| Attacks | Description | Counter |
| Crimson Axe Slam | He lifts his axe over his head and charges it with crimson energy. Then he slams it into the ground, sending a line of explosions in front of him. | The best thing to do is charge an Unbounded Counter when he’s charging his axe and release it when it’s about to land on you. This will stop the explosion from occurring. You can also dash behind him right before the axe slams. |
| Regular Axe Attacks | He’ll move towards you while slamming his axe continuously. Chances are he’ll twitch in the middle to change the slam’s pacing. The slams come out faster compared to the last time you faced him. | It is very easy to find the rhythm and parry. Just be careful of the twitch, which can ruin your parry rhythm. |
| Erratic Axe Attacks | He’ll attack while moving towards you but also attack behind him. | Easy to parry, but if you dash through him, chances are he’ll get you with his erratic attack. |
| Falling Blobs | Whenever he slams his axe, random mutation blobs will fall from the ceiling. | Keep an eye on the blobs’ falling path and stand in the safe zones. It’s harder to pull off since the boss doesn’t stop attacking, so get ready to dash to safety. |
| Healing Stance | He’ll hunch over and start healing his lost HP. He recovers HP at a surprisingly fast rate. This usually occurs when there are mutants in the arena to distract you. | You must prioritize staggering him out of this stance. You must interrupt him using a Talisman Explosion, Charged Strike, or Azure Blow: Cloudpiercer. |
The whole fight is about finding the cadence of his axe slams and parrying correctly. Jades and skills that deal damage while parrying, like the Hedgehog Jade, will prove helpful in inflicting damage even when you are defending. You can beat him without any need for aerial combat.
The whole fight could be boiled down to you standing near him and attacking while parrying his incoming attacks. Just dash away for any falling blobs and take care of the mutants, and you are good to go.
The fight against Headless Xingtian is relatively straightforward compared to the craziness you have already beaten up to this point in Nine Sols. Make sure to follow Chiyou’s questline; otherwise, you’ll miss out on this optional boss and a fantastic story arc of a robot finding humanity.