In Where Winds Meet, Nine Mortal Ways is the trickster sect: a faction built around deception, pranks, and social chaos. Joining it is deliberately obscured behind what looks like the entrance exam for a very different sect, Well of Heaven. The game hints that “fate” will lead you there; in practice, it’s a tightly scripted bait-and-switch.
How to join Nine Mortal Ways: quest flow overview
| Step | Action | Key details |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travel to Harvestfall Village | Head to Harvestfall Village in western Qinghe. |
| 2 | Find San Qian | Locate the waiter San Qian in the village. |
| 3 | Pay a small bribe | He only shares information after a cheap bribe. |
| 4 | Go to the elm tree camp | Seek the “Well of Heaven” elder near an elm tree at the top of the village. |
| 5 | Accept the elder’s request | He asks you to steal a large pile of jewelry from an “old friend”. |
| 6 | Visit the old friend | Follow the marker to the target NPC in the village. |
| 7 | Use Wind Sense | Hold the right stick to activate Wind Sense and inspect the NPC’s possessions. |
| 8 | “Request” the Large Pile of Jewelry | Select “Large Pile of Jewelry” in the inventory view and choose the request option. |
| 9 | Return to the first elder | Bring the seized jewelry back to the fake elder near the elm. |
| 10 | Choose your sect | After the reveal, either join Nine Mortal Ways or walk away to pursue Well of Heaven instead. |
Step 1: Reach Harvestfall Village in western Qinghe
The path into Nine Mortal Ways begins as if you were trying to enter the honor-focused Well of Heaven sect. Travel to Harvestfall Village, which sits on the western side of Qinghe. This small settlement doubles as a hub for several early Jianghu stories, and it’s where the sect bait-and-switch plays out.
Once inside the village, look for San Qian, the local waiter. He is your information broker for this entire setup.
Step 2: Talk to San Qian and pay his bribe
San Qian refuses to be helpful until you grease his palm. Speak to him and pay the small bribe he asks for. In return, he explains that a Well of Heaven elder recently passed through Harvestfall Village and is now camped near an elm tree at the top of town.
Everything at this point is framed as a straightforward Well of Heaven recruitment lead. That framing is part of the trick.
Step 3: Meet the “Well of Heaven” elder by the elm tree
Climb to the upper section of Harvestfall Village and look for the elm tree San Qian mentioned. Nearby, you’ll find an elder‑type NPC. Speak with him and ask to join Well of Heaven.
He quickly agrees in principle but attaches a single condition: before you can be accepted, you must steal a pile of jewelry from his old friend. For a sect whose core slogan is heroic righteousness, this is a clear red flag, but the quest expects you to play along.
Accept the task. This formally kicks off the sequence that leads into Nine Mortal Ways.
Step 4: Locate the elder’s “old friend” and prepare Wind Sense
Follow the quest marker toward the target NPC, described as the elder’s old friend. You remain in and around Harvestfall Village; the job is not a distant heist but a local setup.
As you approach the target, you’ll need one specific tool: Wind Sense, the perception mode that lets you inspect and “request” items from NPCs.
- Get close enough for interaction prompts to appear.
- Hold the right stick to activate Wind Sense.
Step 5: Use Wind Sense to seize the Large Pile of Jewelry
With Wind Sense active, you can browse the target NPC’s inventory. Among the entries, look for the item labelled Large Pile of Jewelry.
| Action | In-game operation |
|---|---|
| Scan inventory | Hold right stick to open Wind Sense view. |
| Select the valuables | Highlight “Large Pile of Jewelry”. |
| Take the item | Choose the “request” interaction on the jewelry. |
At this moment, the story quietly flips: the man you’re robbing is actually the real Well of Heaven elder. The “master” who sent you is the imposter. Regardless of that reveal, the game lets you successfully obtain the jewels by using the request action.
Step 6: Return to the first elder and trigger the reveal
Once the jewelry is in your possession, go back to the elder by the elm tree. Hand over the Large Pile of Jewelry, and the dialogue changes tone.
He admits the truth:
- He is not a Well of Heaven elder.
- He is a member of Nine Mortal Ways using a disguise.
- By stealing the jewelry, you have already acted on behalf of Nine Mortal Ways.
This confession is the formal entry point into the sect. From here, the game gives you a clear choice between staying with the tricksters or correcting course.
Step 7: Decide between Nine Mortal Ways and Well of Heaven
After the reveal, you have two branching options:
| Choice | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Join Nine Mortal Ways | You become a disciple of the trickster sect and gain access to its martial art and activities. |
| Reject the deception | You can walk away and return to the real Well of Heaven elder to pursue that sect instead. |
If you choose to embrace Nine Mortal Ways, the game confirms your new affiliation and unlocks the sect’s mechanics immediately.
Rewards for joining Nine Mortal Ways
Taking the Nine Mortal Ways route grants both combat and progression benefits built around chaos and mischief.
| Reward | Description |
|---|---|
| Mortal Rope Dart | A melee DPS martial art tied to Nine Mortal Ways, with its own skill line and ultimate. |
| Sect activities | Access to pranks, tricks, and sect‑specific tasks that generate reputation and “Fun Points”. |
| Sect progression | Ranking up within Nine Mortal Ways by annoying or deceiving others successfully. |
The Mortal Rope Dart is the signature combat style for this sect, complementing its identity as nimble, disruptive tricksters rather than straightforward front‑line fighters.
How Nine Mortal Ways works after you join
Nine Mortal Ways behaves like other sects in Where Winds Meet in structure—there is a reputation track, rules, and a sect shop—but the actions it rewards are very different.
| System | How it works in Nine Mortal Ways |
|---|---|
| Core theme | Deception, pranks, social manipulation; often at others’ expense. |
| Main currency/metric | “Fun Points” and sect Value/Precept metrics tied to mischief. |
| Positive actions | Posting fake messages, sending fake money packets, cheating and bluffing in Madiao cards, disguise play. |
| Negative actions | Failed tricks, getting caught and jailed, or otherwise botching schemes reduce sect Value. |
| Key rule: A Thousand Faces | Participate in disguise activities to “experience diverse lives” as different personas. |
| Key rule: Deceiving Heaven | Each failed trick or stint in jail deducts 10 Value from your standing. |
To lean into this playstyle, you’re encouraged to cause small-scale chaos: trolling in card games, misleading others with fake communications, and abusing the disguise system to infiltrate situations you “shouldn’t” be part of.
Using disguises and Yu Xiaoyao’s Half-Face Makeup Shop
Disguise play is central to Nine Mortal Ways, both mechanically and thematically. To engage with this system at scale you’ll need access to more outfits and masks.
- Disguises are purchased from Yu Xiaoyao’s Half-Face Makeup Shop, which appears on your map once the sect is active.
- Wearing disguises in the right contexts contributes to sect reputation and fulfils the A Thousand Faces rule.
Disguise-focused side quests around Jianghu also feed directly into Nine Mortal Ways progression, making them an efficient way to climb the sect ranks while exploring alternate identities.
Nine Mortal Ways in the wider sect system
Nine Mortal Ways sits alongside other sects such as Well of Heaven, Silver Needle, Midnight Blades, and Raging Tides as part of the broader factions system. Every sect provides:
- A distinct martial art or weapon focus.
- A set of behavioral rules that define how you earn or lose Value.
- Access to sect shops and cosmetics at higher ranks.
Where Well of Heaven rewards chivalrous deeds and Midnight Blades leans into open violence, Nine Mortal Ways champions misdirection. It favors players who like social engineering, trick mechanics, and role‑playing a wandering prankster rather than a traditional hero.
If that tone matches your character concept, following the Harvestfall Village con all the way through and choosing the tricksters over the upright elders is the most direct route into one of the game’s most unusual sects.
