Unbound Cavern in Where Winds Meet is more than a spooky side dungeon under Kaifeng City. It’s a campaign quest that unlocks one of the most coveted defensive Inner Ways in the early game: Rock Solid.
Unbound Cavern campaign basics
Unbound Cavern is categorized as a Campaign side quest tied to the Kaifeng region. Campaigns are special side quests that:
- Play as curated dungeon-style scenarios.
- Unlock persistent boss battles in the open world once cleared.
For Kaifeng, the relevant campaign entries look like this:
| Campaign (Kaifeng) | Location | Key Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Unbound Cavern | Kaifeng City | Rainwhisper Set ×2, Unbound Cavern Cosmetic Chest, Crimson Leaves Chest, Stonesplit Might Tips ×2, Oscillating Jade ×2, Coin, Character EXP |
| Ever-Normal Granary | Granary of Plenty | Ivorybloom gear, cosmetic chest, Crimson Leaves Chest, Silkbind Deluge Tips ×2, Oscillating Jade ×2, Coin, Character EXP |
| Jinming Pool | Jadewood Court | Swallowcall gear, cosmetic chest, Crimson Leaves Chest, Bamboocut Wind Tips ×2, Oscillating Jade ×2, Coin, Character EXP |
| Furnace of Righteousness | Kaifeng City | Greaves, cosmetic chest, Crimson Leaves Chest, Martial Arts Custom Tips ×2, Oscillating Jade ×2, Coin, Character EXP |
The Unbound Cavern run also feeds directly into a boss fight against Dao Lord in the Ghost Light Market, which is where Rock Solid comes in.
How to unlock Unbound Cavern in Kaifeng City
Unbound Cavern is accessed through Kaifeng City rather than the wilderness around it. To reach it, you first need to be in the Kaifeng chapter of the main story (the “Universal Furnace” arc). Once Kaifeng is open, the general path looks like this:
- Progress the story and local side content in Kaifeng until Campaigns for the region begin appearing.
- Pick up the Unbound Cavern Campaign quest from its entry point in Kaifeng City. This is flagged in the Campaign list under the Kaifeng tab.
Once started, the quest pulls you into the Unbound Cavern itself, a self-contained space under the city controlled by the Unbound Cavern faction.
Enemies you’ll face in Unbound Cavern
The dungeon is patrolled by dedicated Unbound Cavern enemies that define how each combat encounter feels.
| Enemy | Type | Combat style | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unbound Cavern Crossbowman | Unbound Cavern | Rapid ranged crossbow bolts, dagger strikes at close range, aggressive bandit behavior without restraint. | Unbound Cavern |
| Ghost Mistress of Unbound Cavern | Unbound Cavern | Small, twin-blade users that move in eerie, crawling groups, attacking in swarms while crying softly. | Unbound Cavern |
Both enemy types drop generic upgrade materials at various loot tiers as you scale up through Beginner, Emerging/Observe/Roaming, Dreamscape/Clarity/Understanding, and Untouched/Nature’s Way/Unbound/Beyond Mortal. Specific drop tables are not exposed; treat them as standard fodder for character and gear upgrades rather than targeted farming.
Rock Solid Inner Way: what it is and why Unbound Cavern matters
Rock Solid is an Inner Way – a passive-style internal art that slots into your build through tomes. It sits in the same group as options like Sword Morph, Royal Remedy, Steadfast Stance, and Art of Resistance.
You do not loot Rock Solid from a random chest or mob. It is tied directly to the Unbound Cavern campaign:
- You obtain the Rock Solid tome by completing the Unbound Cavern Campaign quest.
- The quest culminates in a fight with Dao Lord in the Ghost Light Market area.
Only after that clear can you claim Rock Solid and add it to your Inner Way lineup.
How to get the Rock Solid tome
The route to Rock Solid is strictly quest-gated. There is no alternative vendor or drop route.
| Step | Action | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reach Kaifeng in the main story and unlock access to Kaifeng City. | Campaigns for Kaifeng, including Unbound Cavern, become relevant. |
| 2 | Start the Unbound Cavern Campaign from its entry in Kaifeng City. | You are sent into the Unbound Cavern dungeon controlled by the Unbound Cavern faction. |
| 3 | Progress through the dungeon, clearing Unbound Cavern Crossbowmen, Ghost Mistresses of Unbound Cavern, and other faction members. | Path opens deeper toward the Ghost Light Market arena. |
| 4 | Reach Ghost Light Market and fight Dao Lord as the Campaign boss. | Defeating Dao Lord completes the Unbound Cavern Campaign quest. |
| 5 | Claim the Campaign completion rewards, which include the Rock Solid Inner Way tome. | Rock Solid is added to your Inner Ways list and can be equipped in your build. |
Players who go looking for Rock Solid earlier in the level-cap cycle will simply not find it; the tome is not obtainable until Unbound Cavern itself becomes available with the relevant progression unlocks.
Dao Lord and Ghost Light Market: what to expect
Dao Lord is designated as a Campaign Boss for Kaifeng with a high difficulty rating. To fight him at all, Unbound Cavern must be completed once through the Campaign flow. After that, Dao Lord’s Campaign version can be challenged again in the Kaifeng City area as a repeatable boss encounter.
The Ghost Light Market phase of Unbound Cavern uses more complex patterns than the hallway fights that precede it. Dao Lord’s second phase highlights one of the fight’s signature mechanics:
- Dao Lord splits into three copies with separate health bars.
- All three can attack at once, creating dense overlapping threats.
- At intervals, the copies submerge into the ground and then pop up briefly into the air to strike.
Ranged attacks are strongly favored during those windows. Using the bow to shoot Dao Lord’s copies as they surface in the air allows you to punish the mechanic rather than passively dodge it, shaving down health across the split forms.
Once Dao Lord is defeated here, the Campaign is flagged as complete, Rock Solid is awarded, and Dao Lord can be revisited later in Kaifeng City as a stand-alone Campaign boss fight.
Relationship between Campaigns, Bosses, and Inner Ways
Unbound Cavern is a good example of how Where Winds Meet interlocks different progression systems:
- Campaigns sit under Side Quests but behave like compact dungeons with curated bosses.
- Finishing a Campaign both unlocks a boss in the wider world and pays out high-value rewards such as full gear sets, cosmetic chests, tips for martial arts, and sometimes key tomes like Rock Solid.
- Inner Ways like Rock Solid are often tied to these set pieces rather than to free-roam drops or merchants, making them easy to miss if Campaigns are ignored.
For Kaifeng specifically, Unbound Cavern is the Campaign that connects this loop: you enter a hidden faction space, clear faction-specific enemies, defeat Dao Lord in the Ghost Light Market, and walk out with a new Inner Way that fits the defensive, “hold the line” fantasy that Rock Solid’s name suggests.
For anyone planning a build around sturdy frontline play, the path is straightforward but non-negotiable: push the story into Kaifeng, trigger Unbound Cavern, and see the fight with Dao Lord in Ghost Light Market through to the end.
