Fivefold Bleed is an offensive Inner Way in Where Winds Meet that adds a bleed-style damage-over-time effect to all of your attacks. It comes from a short but easy-to-miss quest line in Kaifeng involving the Lamp-lighting Monk and his wayward disciples.
What Fivefold Bleed does and why it matters
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Inner Way (general, works with any weapon and martial path) |
| Trigger | Each hit has a chance to apply a Weeping Blood stack |
| Base chance | 10% chance per attack to apply Weeping Blood |
| Effect per stack | Deals bleed‑style damage over time for a short duration |
| Max stacks | 5 stacks of Weeping Blood |
| On reaching 5 stacks | Weeping Blood is removed, dealing a burst of piercing damage |
| Interaction with other bleeds | Weeping Blood is separate from weapon-based bleed (for example, Strategic Sword) |
With fast weapons or multi-hit skills, Fivefold Bleed stacks reliably and adds constant chip damage plus periodic bursts when targets hit five stacks. It is especially useful early on, before you gain access to more specialized Inner Ways, and it pairs well with bleed-focused arts like Strategic Sword or Heavenquaker Spear since their damage-over-time effects can run in parallel with Weeping Blood.
Prerequisites: reaching Kaifeng and the Grand Imperial Temple
You cannot reach the Lamp-lighting Monk at the start of the game. To get to him and unlock Fivefold Bleed, you need to:
| Step | Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finish the first main chapter | Progress through the early story until the game sends you toward Kaifeng. |
| 2 | Reach at least around level 32 | This is roughly where the game opens up the second main region, Kaifeng. |
| 3 | Enter Kaifeng City | Follow the main route to the city once the region is unlocked. |
| 4 | Find the Grand Imperial Temple | Located on the right-hand (eastern or middle-right) side of Kaifeng City, behind tall red walls with green/emerald roof tiles. |
Inside the Grand Imperial Temple, you will see an Exploration Quest marker named A Faltering Flame. That quest is the key to Fivefold Bleed.
Starting A Faltering Flame with the Lamp-lighting Monk
The Lamp-lighting Monk is the quest giver and anchor NPC for this entire chain.
| Location detail | Description |
|---|---|
| Region | Kaifeng |
| City | Kaifeng City |
| Area | Grand Imperial Temple / Daxiangguo Temple complex |
| Placement | Inside the main shrine area, toward the back; marked by a green Exploration Quest icon |
Walk up to the Lamp-lighting Monk and start a conversation. He explains his struggle to keep the temple’s lamps lit and asks for help tracking down three companions or disciples within the temple grounds. Agreeing to help starts the Exploration Quest, A Faltering Flame, and sets your journal objective to find the first monk.
How the disciple searches work (time and quest flow)
The core loop for A Faltering Flame is simple:
| Loop step | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Talk to the Lamp-lighting Monk in the shrine. |
| 2 | Follow the quest marker to one disciple in the temple complex. |
| 3 | Resolve a short conversation (sometimes with dialogue choices). |
| 4 | Escort them back indirectly by returning yourself to the Lamp-lighting Monk. |
| 5 | Play a lamp alignment minigame with the returning disciple. |
| 6 | Adjust in-game time and repeat for the next disciple. |
Only one disciple can be recruited per in-game day. If you want to finish the quest quickly, open the menu, use the Clock icon, and fast-forward to the specified time window before searching for the next monk.
Some descriptions point to specific Chinese hour names such as “Zi hour” or “Chou hour,” but the key pattern is that each step is tied to a different in-game day. If quest markers do not appear immediately, advancing time by one full day and re-tracking the quest in your journal typically resolves it.
First disciple: Benevolent Li near the big tree
The first companion you’re sent to find is Benevolent Li, who waits just outside the shrine.
| Detail | Benevolent Li |
|---|---|
| Relative location | Exit the Lamp-lighting Monk’s shrine, walk straight toward the opposite building, then turn left toward a large tree. |
| Map cue | Green quest icon appears as you approach the tree. |
| Interaction | Conversation with a short riddle-like dialogue; his answers determine whether he agrees to return. |
During the conversation, choose responses that reflect gratitude toward the Lamp-lighting Monk and acknowledge that the monk wants him to come back. Specific wording can vary slightly by localization, but picking options along the lines of “You thanked the Lamp Monk” and “He wants you to turn back” leads Li to accept and head for the shrine.
After the dialogue, return to the Lamp-lighting Monk. Benevolent Li will now be present, and the first lamp minigame begins.
First lamp minigame: moving a single glowing lamp
Each disciple’s return is followed by a simple board puzzle themed around temple lamps. The first puzzle is the easiest.
| Minigame aspect | First lamp |
|---|---|
| Goal | Move the glowing lamp to a highlighted empty position on the board. |
| Board complexity | Only one lamp behaves as the “key” piece; others slide out of the way. |
| Controls | Click or select lamps and drag/shift them along fixed paths until the key lamp reaches its target. |
Once the glowing lamp reaches the equally glowing socket, the game accepts the solution, the lamp lights up, and the quest advances to the next day’s search.
Second disciple: Mingniang inside the side building
After completing the first lamp, you need to push time forward to the next in-game day. Only then will the quest marker for the second NPC appear.
| Detail | Mingniang |
|---|---|
| Relative location | From the Lamp-lighting Monk’s shrine, exit and head to the building on the left-hand side. |
| Exact spot | By the front entrance inside that building, usually standing against the left wall. |
| Character note | A blind NPC who speaks briefly and then agrees to go to the shrine. |
Talk to Mingniang once; there are no complex dialogue branches here. After the conversation, return to the Lamp-lighting Monk to trigger the second lamp puzzle.
Second lamp minigame: more locked lamps
The second board puzzle adds a small twist by constraining some lamps.
| Minigame aspect | Second lamp |
|---|---|
| Goal | Again, bring the correct lamp to its destination slot so the configuration matches the glowing hint. |
| Board complexity | Two lamps are locked in place, forcing you to work around them. |
| Approach | Move free lamps in a loop until the glowing lamp can slide into the correct channel. |
Despite the extra locked pieces, this puzzle stays short. If something feels stuck, backtrack a few moves and work from the edges inward so the target lane clears.
Third disciple: Deng Santong and the duel
With two lamps lit, you once again need to advance time to a new in-game day. The final disciple, Deng Santong, appears back near the tree where you first met Benevolent Li.
| Detail | Deng Santong |
|---|---|
| Relative location | Exit the shrine, cross toward the opposite building, then go up the stairs near the big tree. |
| Quest cue | Green icon appears close to the stairway landing. |
| Interaction | Very short dialogue followed by a duel once he returns to the shrine. |
After speaking to Deng Santong, go back to the Lamp-lighting Monk. Before the third lamp puzzle starts, Deng challenges you to a fight inside the shrine.
The duel behaves like a standard NPC encounter: use your usual weapon arts, watch his attack patterns, and defeat him. There are no special mechanics tied to this fight beyond winning cleanly.
Third lamp minigame: connected lamps
The final lamp game is the most complex on paper, but still quick once you see the pattern.
| Minigame aspect | Third lamp |
|---|---|
| Goal | Light the last lamp by moving a pair of connected lamps into the correct configuration. |
| Board complexity | Two lamps move together as a linked piece; other lamps may be fixed. |
| Approach | Treat the connected lamps as a single long block and rotate it around the board until the highlighted tile lights up. |
Once you complete this final minigame, speak to the Lamp-lighting Monk again to formally wrap up A Faltering Flame. At this point, many players assume Fivefold Bleed should drop directly into the inventory, but the game hides it behind one more layer.
Claiming the Fivefold Bleed tome from your journal
Finishing the Lamp-lighting Monk’s quest does not automatically place the Fivefold Bleed tome in your bag. The reward is stored in the exploration journal and must be claimed manually.
| Menu step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open the main menu and go to the Journal (story or log tab). |
| 2 | Switch to the Wandering Tales section, which lists Exploration Quests. |
| 3 | Look for the entry related to A Faltering Flame (it can also appear as a “Fairgrounds Part 10” entry, depending on your menu text). |
| 4 | Highlight that entry and press the Claim button. |
| 5 | Receive the Fivefold Bleed tome along with Echo Jade, coins, EXP, and exploration progress. |
Only after using this Claim function does the tome appear in your Inner Way inventory, ready to be learned. Skipping this step is the reason many players think the quest is bugged; the tome is simply waiting in the journal unclaimed.
Once claimed, open the Inner Way interface, find Fivefold Bleed, and unlock or equip it to start applying Weeping Blood with any build.
How Fivefold Bleed scales with Breakthrough tiers
Like other Inner Ways, Fivefold Bleed gains extra effects as you invest Breakthrough tiers into it. These upgrades turn a modest passive into a more meaningful source of damage.
| Breakthrough tier | Enhancement | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Increases the piercing damage triggered at 5 stacks by 100% | Each Weeping Blood “pop” hits about twice as hard. |
| Tier 2 | Increases Max Physical Attack based on Solo Mode level | Improves your general attack power, not just bleed damage. |
| Tier 3 | If Weeping Blood expires before reaching 5 stacks, there is still a 20% chance to deal piercing damage | Partial stacks can still cash out in a burst even on highly mobile targets. |
| Tier 4 | Raises the chance to apply Weeping Blood to 15% | Bleed stacks build faster, especially for multi-hit weapons. |
| Tier 5 | Increases Crit Damage Bonus by 3.5% | Flat boost to critical hit multipliers across your kit. |
| Tier 6 | After the piercing damage triggers and Weeping Blood is removed, 1–2 stacks are retained | Makes it easier to rebuild to 5 stacks repeatedly during longer fights. |
Early tiers focus on making the burst more threatening and more consistent, while later tiers add general offensive stats and a way to maintain momentum once stacks detonate.
Where Fivefold Bleed fits in your builds
Fivefold Bleed is a universal, low-maintenance pick that fits best in loadouts built around rapid hits or multiple damage-over-time effects.
- Fast weapons and arts: Styles like Infernal Twinblades or other rapid-combo sets trigger Weeping Blood often, reaching five stacks reliably and benefiting the most from Tier 1 and Tier 4 upgrades.
- Bleed-centric weapons: Strategic Sword’s own bleed stacks and Fivefold Bleed’s Weeping Blood can run in parallel, punishing enemies with two separate damage-over-time effects and an added burst when Weeping Blood detonates.
- DoT amplifiers: Skills such as Heavenquaker Spear that amplify ongoing damage interact well with Weeping Blood, making every stack more valuable.
On its own, Fivefold Bleed does not completely redefine a build, but it raises baseline damage in any encounter where you can keep hitting the same target. For players still collecting more specialized Inner Ways like Morale Chant, it is a strong early and midgame option that stays relevant once you start stacking Breakthrough tiers.
Once you know to talk to the Lamp-lighting Monk, follow his trail of disciples across a few in-game days, and claim your reward from the Wandering Tales journal, Fivefold Bleed becomes one of the more straightforward Inner Ways to add to your toolkit.
