Faith Against Odds is an Encounter side quest in Where Winds Meet set in Qinghe, around Sundara Land and Buddha Fort. It revolves around a Humble Monk captured by bandits, a Dharma text called Three Thousand Queries of Dharma, and a short combat-focused sequence capped by a moral twist. The quest pays out Echo Jade, Qinghe Exploration, coins, Stored EXP, Enlightenment Points, Jade Fish, and a personal copy of the Dharma book.
Faith Against Odds requirements and location
Faith Against Odds does not appear early. It is gated behind a Mystic Skill and an outpost clear, and it can also be picky about in-game time when the eavesdrop objective triggers.
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Region | Qinghe — Sundara Land / Buddha Fort area |
| Mystic Skill | Lion's Roar (unlocked by ringing four copper bells in Qinghe) |
| Combat prerequisite | Conquer Buddha Fort Outpost (16 Rogue Monks plus an elite) |
| Encounter trigger | Walk toward the camp where the Humble Monk is being held once Lion's Roar and Buddha Fort clear are done |
| Time sensitivity | If the encounter marker will not start, shift in-game time from afternoon toward late afternoon or night |
On the map, the encounter sits in Sundara Land, near structures associated with Buddha Fort. When the prerequisites are met, a question mark/Encounter marker appears close to a tower where the monk is tied up and guarded by bandits.
How to unlock Lion's Roar Mystic Skill
Lion's Roar is mandatory: the game checks for it before Faith Against Odds will start, and the final fight explicitly asks you to use it.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. General's Shrine bell | Travel to the General's Shrine in Qinghe and locate the first copper bell near the shrine; use a charged attack to ring it. |
| 2. Cliff bell near General's Shrine | From the same area, move to the nearby cliff where a second bell sits and ring it the same way. |
| 3. Buddha Fort bell | Head to Buddha Fort at the top of the regional map and find the third bell inside the fort; ring it. |
| 4. Wraith Village bell | Go to Wraith Village in Moonveil Mountain, near the Ruined Temple, and ring the final copper bell. |
After all four bells are struck with a charged attack, Lion's Roar unlocks automatically and becomes equippable in your Mystic Skill slot. Once this happens you will see the Faith Against Odds encounter become available when you approach the Buddha Fort area.
How to trigger Faith Against Odds (and fix non-trigger issues)
Once Lion's Roar is unlocked, clear Buddha Fort Outpost. This means killing all sixteen Rogue Monks, plus the elite enemy, and capturing the outpost. Afterward, move toward the camp section where the quest marker sits; nearby enemies and a tied-up monk mark the correct spot.
If Faith Against Odds still will not appear, even though Lion's Roar is unlocked and Buddha Fort is cleared, the in-game time is usually the culprit. The encounter is tied to a specific window:
- Change the time from afternoon to late afternoon or early night.
- Players report reliable triggers around Hai or Chen hours and after ~8 p.m. game time.
- Stand near the low broken stone fence by the roadside next to the tower; when you are in the correct position and time window, an eavesdrop prompt appears.
Move slowly along that broken wall until the interaction key for eavesdropping pops up. If you out-level the quest or let it expire for the day, the prompt can temporarily disappear, but cycling time forward into the correct slot generally restores it.
Faith Against Odds full walkthrough
Step 1 — Eavesdrop on Tongchang and Tongbian
At Sundara Land near Buddha Fort, find the tower where the Humble Monk is bound above a campfire. Two bandits, Tongchang and Tongbian, are arguing about what to do with him and preparing to burn him.
- Approach the area quietly from the roadside and stand behind the broken stone fence.
- Use Wind Sense if needed to highlight the interaction and press the eavesdrop key when prompted.
- Listen to their short conversation about how the monk has been lecturing endlessly since capture.
After their dialogue finishes, the objective advances automatically and the fight begins.
Step 2 — Defeat the two bandits and rescue the monk
Once the conversation ends, Tongchang and Tongbian turn hostile.
- Fight them normally; no special tactics are required here, and Lion's Roar does not yet have to be used.
- When both are down, climb the ladder or stairs up the tower to reach the Humble Monk.
- Interact with him to free him from his ropes.
The Humble Monk reacts with mild annoyance that you used violence and interrupted his attempt to "reform" the bandits. Instead of thanking you with a clean exit, he insists that you help him in his own way.
Step 3 — Read the Three Thousand Queries of Dharma to the bandits
The monk explains that true correction comes from Dharma, not blades, and asks you to read to the captured bandits from the text Three Thousand Queries of Dharma. He tells you to recite the Chant Sutras to them.
- Head back down from the tower to where Tongchang and Tongbian are lying.
- Interact with the downed bandits to begin reciting the Chant Sutras as instructed.
During this sequence, the tone shifts from a standard rescue into something closer to a forced meditation session, underlining the monk's strict but oddly compassionate approach to punishment.
Step 4 — Fight Zhao Maokang using Lion's Roar
As you finish dealing with the two bandits, their leader, Zhao Maokang, arrives on the scene. He is not impressed by the Dharma reading and represents the last burst of resistance in the camp.
- Equip Lion's Roar in your Mystic Skill slot before this point if you have not already.
- Engage Zhao Maokang in combat. The objective specifically calls for using Lion's Roar during this battle.
- Trigger Lion's Roar at opportune moments to break his stance and control the fight.
Once Zhao Maokang is defeated, a short cutscene plays. After being reprimanded, he apologizes, and the Humble Monk actually entrusts the Three Thousand Queries of Dharma to him as part of his ongoing "discipline." This twist is the core of the encounter’s theme: the worst offender walks away carrying the sacred text.
Step 5 — Ask the monk for your own copy
After Zhao Maokang departs, speak to the Humble Monk again. Your character asks for a copy of the Three Thousand Queries of Dharma.
- The monk explains that he only had one copy at the camp and already gave it away.
- He directs you to a bookseller at the docks in Bamboo Abode (near the Northern Bamboo Grove Boundary Stone), where another copy can be obtained.
This conversation sets the final travel objective and also reveals more of the monk's strict but consistent worldview: even gifts like the Dharma text can function as penance.
Step 6 — Visit the bookseller at Bamboo Abode docks
The last leg of Faith Against Odds is a simple delivery-style interaction.
- If you have discovered it, fast travel to the Northern Bamboo Grove Boundary Stone to shorten the trip.
- From there, follow the quest marker down to the docks at Bamboo Abode.
- Find and speak with Bu Gan, the bookseller indicated by the marker.
Bu Gan provides a copy of the Three Thousand Queries of Dharma for free. During the dialogue, he shares extra background on the monk’s reputation and his severe methods of "reprimanding" people — for some, being forced to listen to Dharma for hours is a fate worse than any beating.
Once the conversation with Bu Gan ends, Faith Against Odds is complete and your rewards are granted.
Faith Against Odds rewards
Rewards are spread across progression and completion, but can be treated as a single bundle.
| Reward | Amount / Notes |
|---|---|
| Three Thousand Queries of Dharma | 1 × book item obtained from Bu Gan at the docks |
| Echo Jade | 50 |
| Qinghe Exploration | 50 |
| Character EXP / Stored EXP | 15,000 Character EXP (also surfaced as Stored EXP in some interfaces) |
| Coins | 15,000 Zhou Coins |
| Jade Fish | 150 |
| Enlightenment Points | 100 |
Combined with the Lion's Roar Mystic Skill you unlocked beforehand, this encounter gives a solid early bump in Qinghe regional progress, currency, and Talent progression, while also tying the Humble Monk into other encounters and rhetoric-focused quests elsewhere in Qinghe.
Once Faith Against Odds is done and the Dharma text is in your hands, there is nothing more to do mechanically with the encounter. If the eavesdrop or encounter marker misbehaves in a later playthrough, re-check that Lion's Roar is unlocked, Buddha Fort is cleared, and that you are approaching the tower area during a late afternoon or night time slot while hugging the broken roadside wall until the interaction appears.
