The Old Crone, the Shinobi Kite, and the Sunken Valley Cavern
Now that you’ve got Rice straight from the Divine Child, head back to the first temple building where the Old Crone was pointing off across the cliff to the other side. Give her the rice, and she’ll mumble something about “winding the puppet to fly a kite”.
As it turns out, we know there’s a Shinobi Kite back at the entrance to the Senpou Temple, the one Blackhat Badger says the other assassin won’t use. But now since we’ve defeated the Folding Screen Monkeys, we have the Puppeteer Ninjutsu. Be sure to return to Blackhat Badger and tell him you have an idea!
Try putting it to use by equipping the Ninjutsu, and then getting a Stealth Deathblow on the Senpou Assassin by the kite, and watch as he goes about his job to release the kite higher into the air! Be sure to tell Blackhat Badger about this development, and he’ll go use the kite to attend to whatever business he has – and you should go as well.
Return to where the Old Crone is and grapple up to the huge tree nearby, and move along the farthest branch until you can see the kite flying in the middle of the ravine, and use it as grappling point to boost you all the way to a platform on the other side.
Grab the Snap Seed here, and then head along the ledges grappling between branches to boost yourself down to where some giant snakeskin is, as well as some Scrap Magnetite. Down below you’ll finally reach the Sunken Valley Cavern Sculptor’s Idol, and nearby is Blackhat Badger who is standing in front of a grave. He’ll thank you for helping him get here, and give you a warning about Ashina Castle before planning to head back there later – but we won’t see him again so soon.
If you head past him, you’ll find a passage exiting into the Sunken Valley Cavern along with a Mibu Balloon of Spirit, and if you’ve already been to the Sunken Valley, you’ll find this is where the Great Serpent attacked you a second time.
If you survived this encounter, you’ll now find the serpent wrapped up around a spire below you – and a narrow plank puts you right over him. Time to end this.
Jump down from the perch and wait for the red icon to appear to unleash the mother of all Plunging Deathblows. After a truly brutal display, you’ll land nearby as the Great Serpent perishes, and you’ll get the Fresh Serpent Viscera… a very interesting Key Item. Since you’ve landed on the other side of the bridge, it’s best to check out this path to find a Mibu Balloon of Soul, and a nearby cave holds a corpse with two items in front of it – a Dragon’s Blood Droplet and Bundled Jizo Statue.
Now that you’ve completed your tasks – use your Homeward Idol to return back to Lord Kuro and update him on your progress. In turn he has something new for you. Speak to him twice and he’ll give you the Okami’s Ancient Text, a note that mentions a fragrant stone within the depths of Ashina – a place one must throw themselves to find.
If you found the Bottomless Pit in the Abandoned Dungeon, the Old Crone there said something similar – and there’s also passage from the Sunken Valley’s Bodhvista Valley we can take as well. Before you leave, be sure to check in on old Isshin Ashina, and show him the Mortal Blade for his take. As you leave, you may notice you can eavesdrop on him when out of eyesight – so listen in to hear some interesting musings on a second sacred blade.
Now it’s time to choose your path, and then embark for the Ashina Depths.