Ill-gotten Wealth is a key quest item in Where Winds Meet, especially if you want to join the Well of Heaven or take certain choices in the overlapping Nine Mortal Ways storyline. The game treats it as physical proof that you’re willing to take dirty money from the corrupt and put it to better use.
What Ill-gotten Wealth is used for
| Use | Requirement | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Join Well of Heaven (primary route) | 3 pieces of Ill-gotten Wealth + 200 Adventurer Slips | Accepted by Zhang Yihao, unlocks Thundercry Blade and Well of Heaven membership |
| Overlapping Nine Mortal Ways path | Large pile of jewelry and Ill-gotten Wealth choices | Can choose to join Nine Mortal Ways instead if you follow the fake elder |
| Black Market Goods chests | Open “Black Market Goods” items | Grant Ill-gotten Wealth items of various types |
You unlock sects at level 10. From then on, you can open the Sect menu, choose Join Sect, pick Well of Heaven, and track its “entry clue”. That eventually leads you to Zhang Yihao, who demands three Ill-gotten Wealth items and 200 Adventurer Slips before he will accept you as a disciple.
Despite some in-game wording and player confusion, you do not need three different “types” of Ill-gotten Wealth. Three total pieces are enough; they can all be the same kind.
How to trigger the Well of Heaven initiation and Ill-gotten Wealth requirement
The quest chain that introduces Ill-gotten Wealth unfolds in a fixed order around Harvestfall Village in western Qinghe:
| Step | Location / NPC | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anywhere | Reach level 10 and open the Sect menu to view sect clues. |
| 2 | Harvestfall Village – restaurant | Talk to San Qian the waiter and pay 200 coins for information. |
| 3 | Road out of Harvestfall | Meet the supposed “Well of Heaven Elder” under a tree; pay his bribe. |
| 4 | Near Harvestfall – hillside | Follow the marker to Zhang Yihao, the real Well of Heaven recruiter. |
| 5 | With Zhang Yihao | Accept his terms: bring 3 Ill-gotten Wealth + 200 Adventurer Slips. |
The first elder on the road is a Nine Mortal Ways con man. Zhang Yihao, further up the hill, is the genuine Well of Heaven member. Talking to him and accepting his conditions is what locks in the Ill-gotten Wealth requirement.
Easiest Ill-gotten Wealth sources around Harvestfall Village
The game deliberately lets you complete everything without leaving the immediate area of Harvestfall. Three specific NPCs are enough:
| NPC | Approx. location | How many Ill-gotten Wealth | How to obtain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fake Well of Heaven elder | Road out of Harvestfall, under a tree | 2 pieces | Win Gift of Gab twice, or steal using Celestial Seize. |
| San Qian (waiter) | Harvestfall tavern | 1 piece | Beat him in Gift of Gab or use Celestial Seize. |
| Wine merchant | Harvestfall or Blissful Retreat, depending on route | Multiple, via chests | Buy wine and drink it to roll for Black Market Goods, then open the chests. |
Two main methods are supported here: social manipulation and theft (Gift of Gab and Celestial Seize), or gambling with wine purchases.
Gift of Gab and Celestial Seize as Ill-gotten Wealth tools
Several NPCs around the initiation path carry Ill-gotten Wealth that you can see by activating Wind Sense. Once highlighted, you generally have two options:
- Gift of Gab: a conversation minigame where you out-argue the NPC to win their valuables.
- Celestial Seize: a Mystic skill that lets you snatch items at range if you stay out of their line of sight.
The fake Well of Heaven elder and San Qian are designed to be your first real tests of these tools. Each successful challenge yields one piece of Ill-gotten Wealth from them. The fake elder holds two; San Qian holds one.
Farming Ill-gotten Wealth through wine and Black Market Goods
If you prefer not to grind Gift of Gab, or you simply want extra pieces, wine sellers are a second route. Certain merchants sell wine that can randomly contain “Black Market Goods” when you drink it. Opening those Black Market Goods items gives you Ill-gotten Wealth of different categories, such as artwork, jewels, or silver.
| Step | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buy multiple bottles of wine from a merchant (for example in Blissful Retreat or Harvestfall). | Inventory fills with consumable wine items. |
| 2 | Drink the wine one by one. | Each drink has a chance to create a Black Market Goods item. |
| 3 | Open Black Market Goods. | Yields Ill-gotten Wealth, sometimes more than one piece over several chugs. |
Important caveats:
- Wine abuse can apply negative status effects, so you may need a healer afterwards.
- This method still costs coins, just in a different way than bribing NPCs.
Beyond Harvestfall, other NPCs in markets and hamlets also carry Ill-gotten Wealth that shows up through Wind Sense. Example reports include porcelain dealers in Finesteed Hamlet, Bu Wen in Horsesteed Hamlet during the late morning, and shady traders at Ghostlight Market. In all of those cases, the interaction is the same: scan them with Wind Sense, then either ask, argue, or steal.
General Ill-gotten Wealth locations outside Harvestfall
Ill-gotten Wealth is defined broadly: forged artwork, hoarded silver, jewelry, valuable wine, and similar luxuries held by dishonest people. You’re meant to find it in places where corruption and greed are obvious.
| Area | Example target | How to identify | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| General's Shrine (Qinghe) | Jin’s caravan goods near the tournament grounds | Lootable containers around his wagon | Early-game location many players revisit when they first need Ill-gotten Wealth. |
| Horsesteed Hamlet | Bu Wen (around 11 a.m.) | Wind Sense shows bags of Ill-gotten Wealth on him | Carries two pieces you can obtain via interaction or skills. |
| Finesteed Hamlet | Art/porcelain seller | Wind Sense reveals valuables with high pickpocket odds | Best approached with Celestial Seize for high success chance. |
| Ghostlight Market | Untrustworthy trader NPCs | Items visible in Wind Sense | Celestial Seize can pull multiple Ill-gotten Wealth items here. |
Clarifying the “three types” confusion
One of the most common pain points with this questline is the wording around the requirement. The UI can make it look like you need “three types” of Ill-gotten Wealth, which sounds like three distinct categories—say, one jewel, one painting, and one wine-related item.
In practice, the counter for Zhang Yihao’s demand advances on quantity, not variety. Three pieces of the exact same Ill-gotten Wealth item work.
Why players get stuck:
- They turn in two pieces from the fake elder, one from San Qian, and see “1/3” or “2/3” if the requirements UI hasn’t updated.
- They forget to track the sect entry requirement in the Sect menu, so the questline panel lags behind their inventory.
- They assume each piece must be a different sort of trinket and start hunting for “types” that don’t exist as hard categories.
If your Ill-gotten Wealth total seems not to register, open the Sect menu, go to Join Sect → Well of Heaven → Entry Requirements, and refresh the tracking. Once that panel shows 3/3 Ill-gotten Wealth and 200 Adventurer Slips, Zhang Yihao will accept whatever three pieces you have.
Getting the required 200 Adventurer Slips
Ill-gotten Wealth is only half of Zhang Yihao’s ask. The other half is 200 Adventurer Slips, which are earned by playing casual co-op activities.
| Activity type | Example | Approx. reward | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wandering Paths co-op mission | Heart of the Healer | 100 Adventurer Slips per clear | Short, low-pressure mission; two clears reach 200. |
| Leisure co-op games | Pitch Pot, Madiao, wrestling | Variable, counts towards bond-related quotas | Good for Well of Heaven’s weekly “Widespread Bonds” goal later. |
For the initiation itself, one of the quickest options is simply running Heart of the Healer twice. It takes around ten minutes per run and is difficult to fail. After that, your Slips requirement is done, and you can return to Zhang Yihao.
Handing in Ill-gotten Wealth and joining Well of Heaven
Once you have three Ill-gotten Wealth items and 200 Adventurer Slips in your inventory, go back to Zhang Yihao at the tree above Harvestfall and choose the dialogue option tied to apprenticeship or joining the sect.
He will consume the three Ill-gotten Wealth pieces and the Slips, then confirm your entry into Well of Heaven. The moment you join, you gain access to:
- Thundercry Blade as a new martial art.
- Well of Heaven sect titles and weekly elections.
- The Well of Heaven sect shop, including its cosmetic set, once you rank up.
From there, sect duties revolve around co-op play and earning Widespread Bonds, which line up naturally with the activities you already used to gather Adventurer Slips.
If you later decide the sect isn’t for you, you can leave via the Sect menu by choosing Betray Master, then clearing the required Severance Trial in Perception Forest. Your outfits and weapon unlocks remain, but titles and internal sect roles do not.
Once you understand how Ill-gotten Wealth is scattered through Jianghu’s shadier corners—and that “three types” really just means three items—the Well of Heaven initiation becomes less of a puzzle and more of a character test: are you willing to steal from villains to aid the oppressed?
