Dragon Keys — also called Loong Keys — sit at the center of one of Where Winds Meet’s most important early-game systems: hidden weapon dojos buried under Qinghe. With only a handful of keys available and multiple weapon styles locked behind them, treating each one as a strategic resource is essential.
What Dragon Keys (Loong Keys) do in Where Winds Meet
Dragon Keys are consumable items used to open specific, sealed entrances in the world. These locked spots usually appear as ornate “Dragon Pillars” or pedestals in front of underground sanctums and dojos.
Spending a Dragon Key on one of these entrances lets you infiltrate a hidden area, typically to:
- Reach a weapon master for the Skill Theft system.
- Unlock a new weapon martial art for your account.
- Pick up extra rewards or complete a related mission underground.
Once used, the key is gone, which is why players often describe them as limited or rare. The weapon sanctums in Qinghe that rely on Dragon Keys include some of the game’s most popular martial arts, so each key materially shapes your early build options.
How to get Dragon Keys (Loong Keys)
There are three consistent ways to obtain Dragon Keys in Where Winds Meet:
| Method | How it works | Notable details |
|---|---|---|
| Skill Theft quest | Complete an early Skill Theft mission in Qinghe. | Quest name varies (“Unlearned Lesson” / “Rightful Acquisition”), unlocked around level 8. |
| Outposts | Clear specific Outposts for a first-time clear reward. | Tiger Fort, Gourmand’s Grove, Bloomveil Monastery are confirmed; other Outposts can drop keys from chests. |
| Breakthrough rewards | Advance your level cap and claim rewards from the Breakthrough menu. | Reaching Breakthrough Level 2 (“Emerging”) grants a Dragon Key. |
Skill Theft quest: your first guaranteed Dragon Key
Your first reliable Dragon Key comes from the Skill Theft questline in Qinghe. The relevant mission unlocks once your character reaches around level 8.
- Head to Peace Bell Tower in southwest Qinghe, the tall spire visible on the horizon once the region is opened.
- Start the Skill Theft tutorial there, which introduces the stealth minigame for copying martial arts from masters.
- Completing the early Skill Theft quest grants a Dragon Key and sends you toward a locked dojo that uses it.
That first key is effectively part of the Skill Theft onboarding: it guarantees you can see how a Dragon Key–gated dojo works without grinding side content.
Required setup: Touch of Death and stealth tools
Some Skill Theft missions tied to weapon unlocks expect you to remove guards quietly. For that, you need the Touch of Death Mystic Art.
- Touch of Death comes from the Jianghu legacy quest “The Realm Endures” in Verdant Wilds.
- The quest starts near the Ruined Fort in the Bamboo Forest area of Verdant Wilds.
- Finishing its underground puzzle and combat encounters rewards Touch of Death, which enables stealth takedowns from behind.
Veil of Stillness, gained earlier from the Skill Theft tutorial in Qinghe, helps with infiltration, but Touch of Death is the tool that lets you actually thin out patrols on the way to the dojo masters.
Dragon Keys from Outposts in Qinghe
Once that first key is spent, Outposts become your main repeatable way to build a small stockpile.
| Outpost | Region | Dragon Key behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Tiger Fort | Qinghe | First clear grants a guaranteed Dragon Key. |
| Gourmand’s Grove | Qinghe | First clear grants a guaranteed Dragon Key. |
| Bloomveil Monastery | Qinghe | First clear grants a guaranteed Dragon Key. |
A few rules shape how Outposts feed Dragon Keys into your inventory:
- Each listed Outpost gives a guaranteed key the first time you fully clear it.
- Re-running the same Outpost will not yield another guaranteed key.
- Other Outpost chests across Qinghe can drop Dragon Keys as a random reward, but not on a fixed schedule.
This makes Outposts a finite but crucial source: three guaranteed keys from named locations, plus a trickle of extra keys if you farm chests while exploring.
Dragon Keys from Breakthrough (level cap progression)
The game also ties one Dragon Key to your long-term leveling path through the Breakthrough system. Early on, your character level is capped at 15. Progress past that cap requires a Breakthrough challenge, which then increases your level ceiling and unlocks rewards.
- Reaching Breakthrough Level 2, labeled “Emerging,” awards a Dragon Key in the Breakthrough reward tab.
- You access this through the character progression menu once Breakthrough becomes available.
Unlike Outposts, this is a one-time account milestone; you cannot repeatedly earn Breakthrough keys. Still, it’s one of the most reliable ways to add a key without any RNG.
Where to use Dragon Keys in Qinghe
Dragon Keys are only required for specific sanctums in Qinghe. Kaifeng weapon sanctums usually use quests or other conditions instead of keys.
In Qinghe, Dragon Keys unlock weapon dojos tied to these martial arts:
| Weapon martial art | Rough location | Role / style |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic Sword | Near Encircling Lake, by a Dragon Key–locked sanctum. | Melee DPS, focuses on stacking bleed with sustained attacks. |
| Heavenquake / Heavenquaker Spear | Wildsmane Ranch area, across the river from General’s Shrine. | Long-reaching spear DPS with spinning combos and bleed potential. |
| Infernal Twinblades / Infernal Dual Blades | Crimson Cliff, near the Starfall Spring area. | Fast dual-blade DPS using a Karmic Flame resource. |
| Panacea Fan | Near the Northern Bamboo Grave Boundary Stone. | Ranged support, focused on healing and survivability. |
| Inkwell Fan | Buddha Village, at the northwest edge of Sundara Lands in Qinghe. | Ranged DPS, juggling enemies and buffing your dodge and ranged damage. |
At each of these locations, a Dragon Key pedestal or Dragon Pillar sits between you and the underground dojo. Interacting with it consumes one key and opens the way in.
To track any of these weapons in-game:
- Open the main menu and go to Develop.
- Switch to the Weapons tab.
- Highlight the weapon you’re interested in and press the Obtain button shown on the bottom-right of the screen.
- The map will zoom to the relevant clue or sanctum location; if it’s in Qinghe, assume a Dragon Key is needed at the entrance.
How Dragon Keys connect to Skill Theft and Sects
Unlocking weapon martial arts in Where Winds Meet generally follows two main paths:
- Steal the martial art from its master using Skill Theft.
- Join the weapon’s associated sect and learn it as a disciple.
Dragon Keys mainly support the first option. Many Qinghe sanctums are built as stealth missions where you infiltrate an underground base, evade or silently remove guards using Veil of Stillness and Touch of Death, and then perform Skill Theft on the master inside.
Examples:
- The Strategic Sword Sanctum and Heavenquaker Spear Sanctum sit behind key-locked entrances and hold sword and spear masters you can rob of their techniques.
- The Inkwell Fan and Infernal Twinblades sanctums operate similarly, each themed around their respective sects but still accessible through Skill Theft if you’d rather avoid joining those factions.
Sect membership offers alternate, sometimes later, routes to the same martial arts, but Dragon Keys let you front-load your arsenal without committing your character’s faction identity too early.
Weapons that depend on Dragon Keys
Not every weapon in Where Winds Meet asks for a Dragon Key, but several marquee martial arts do. Grouping them together helps when planning which sanctum to prioritize.
| Weapon | Primary use for Dragon Key | Alternative unlock path |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic Sword | Unlocking the sanctum near Encircling Lake for Skill Theft. | Joining the relevant sect also grants it later in the game. |
| Heavenquaker Spear | Entering the sanctum across the river near Wildsmane Ranch. | Available via the Raging Tides sect. |
| Infernal Twinblades | Accessing the Midnight Mercy–themed sanctum near Crimson Cliff. | Joining Midnight Mercy or selecting it as a reward from Qi Sheng. |
| Panacea Fan | Opening the sanctum near Northern Bamboo Grave. | Joining Silver Needle or choosing it from Qi Sheng. |
| Inkwell Fan | Unlocking the Silver Needle sanctum near Buddha Village. | Joining Silver Needle. |
Kaifeng weapons such as Vernal Umbrella, Thundercry Blade, Soulshade Umbrella, and Mortal Rope Dart revolve more around city quests, disguises, and social infiltration than Dragon Keys. By the time you’re focusing on them, you can often conserve your keys entirely for Qinghe sanctums or keep a spare for any remaining Dragon Pillars you’ve skipped.
How many Dragon Keys you realistically get
Looking only at fixed, guaranteed sources during early progression, you can count on:
- 1 key from the Skill Theft quest in Qinghe.
- 1 key from Breakthrough Level 2 (Emerging).
- 3 keys from first-time clears of Tiger Fort, Gourmand’s Grove, and Bloomveil Monastery.
That gives you at least five Dragon Keys you can plan around, with a chance for more from random Outpost chest drops.
Since five is fewer than the total number of Dragon Key–gated weapons in Qinghe, you cannot open every sanctum immediately without relying on RNG drops. Prioritization matters.
Which sanctums to unlock first with Dragon Keys
Because each key is consumed, it helps to decide which martial arts matter most for your build and for your team.
| Priority goal | Suggested Dragon Key target | Why it’s strong early |
|---|---|---|
| Stay alive in tough open-world encounters | Panacea Fan sanctum | Provides reliable heals and ranged safety when potions and medicine are limited. |
| Aggressive melee DPS playstyle | Infernal Twinblades or Strategic Sword sanctum | Both offer strong sustained damage; Twinblades are faster, Strategic Sword leans on bleed. |
| Hybrid or spear-focused build | Heavenquaker Spear sanctum | Wide reach, good crowd control, and bleed synergy with other melee options. |
| Ranged DPS pairing with mobility | Inkwell Fan sanctum | Compliments weapons like Vernal Umbrella and supports kiting-heavy play. |
One additional lever sits outside Dragon Keys entirely: Qi Sheng, the collector of Oddities in Qinghe. After turning in your first Oddity, you can choose one of several free martial arts, including Panacea Fan, Thundercry Blade, Infernal Twinblades, or Vernal Umbrella.
This means you can sometimes save a Dragon Key by:
- Selecting Panacea Fan or Infernal Twinblades from Qi Sheng instead of unlocking their sanctums immediately.
- Reserving keys for weapons that lack comparable early alternatives, such as Strategic Sword or Heavenquaker Spear, depending on your build path.
Treated as a finite currency, Dragon Keys quietly decide which weapon fantasies you get to live out first in Where Winds Meet. By picking up the early Skill Theft quest, clearing the right Outposts once, and pushing to Breakthrough Level 2, you secure a small stack of keys. Spend them deliberately on the sanctums that align with your preferred role — whether that’s a fragile melee brawler, a shielded frontline spear fighter, or the healer everyone whispers about in Qinghe’s taverns.
