Dragon Keys (or Loong Keys) are Qinghe’s most important gameplay items in Where Winds Meet, because they’re the gateway to Weapon Martial Arts you can’t obtain through normal means unless you join the Sect that teaches them. These keys open the hidden sanctums used in Skill Theft infiltration missions—stealth ways where you observe a Sect master and steal their signature Wuxia technique. Since keys are limited and each unlock consumes one, you have to know where to find Dragon Keys in Where Winds Meet, and how they work.
- Total guaranteed keys in Qinghe: 5
- Use: Unlock Dragon Pillars to access Skill Theft sanctums
- Optional: You can skip key use if you join a Sect
- Not shared between regions: Kaifeng Martial Arts doesn’t require Dragon Keys
- Not farmable: Every source rewards a key once
How to Get Dragon Key in Where Winds Meet
Dragon Keys are limited in the game, and there are three sources to get your hands on them: clear a few specific outposts, as a Skill Theft quest reward, and the early Solo Mode breakthrough.
Outpost First-Clear Rewards
Three specific Qinghe outposts give a Dragon Key the first time you clear them. These are guaranteed key rewards, not RNG drops:
- Bloomveil Monastery — east of Bodhi Sea, towards the north of Verdant Wilds
- Gourmand’s Grove — close to Jadebrook Mountain, southwest of Sundara Land
- Tiger Fort — the southwestern part of the Qinghe, to the southwest of Moonveil Mountain
Clearing each outpost once adds a single key to your inventory alongside many other rewards. After that, outposts won’t drop keys again, so they can’t be farmed in a loop. Some other outposts can also net the same key after you clear them out, but these are random based on your luck.
Skill Theft: Unearned Lesson Exploration Quest
The non-violent Dragon Key can be earned by completing the Skill Theft side quest Unearned Lesson, located southeast of the Moonveil Peak Boundary Stone on Moonveil Mountain. To unlock the quest, you must be at Character Level 8 to start it. You first talk to Master Qiu Yuehai just south of Peace Bell Tower and then observe a master performing Veil of Stillness martial arts, and at the quest’s end, you receive a Dragon Key.
Solo Mode Breakthrough: Level 2
In Solo Mode, your Character Level 15 breakthrough to Solo Mode Level 2: Emerging awards another Dragon Key. This milestone is part of Solo Mode’s progression and is guaranteed once you reach the required level. If you naturally play Solo, explore, and complete different quests, it won’t take long before you earn the key.
How to Use Dragon Keys in Where Winds Meet
Dragon Keys are used to open Dragon Pillars, stone mechanisms outside hidden sanctums of the Sect. These entrances lead to Skill Theft infiltration missions where you steal Weapon Martial Arts by observing masters using skills in secret, and this way, you don’t need to join that Sect to earn the Mystic Art skill. Dragon Key is consumed once you interact with the door pedestal, and once it opens, you can enter the sanctum and attempt the infiltration as many times as needed.
These are Mystic Arts along with their locations that require Dragon Key access in the region:
- Infernal Twinblades — Midnight Mercy Sanctum, southwest of Verdant Wilds
- Inkwell Fan — cliffside sanctum east of the Floral Expanse Beyond, to the northwestern end of the Sundara Land in Qinghe
- Panacea Fan — Silver Needle Sanctum, southwest of Bamboo Abode
- Strategic Sword — south Qinghe between Palace of Annals and Encircling Lake
- Heavenquaker Spear — northeast edge of Qinghe, north of the river near General’s Shrine
Should You Use Dragon Keys or Join the Sect?
Dragon Keys are optional. If you join a Sect, it will teach you its martial art for free. So we recommend using a Dragon Key only if you don’t want to join that Sect, you need the skill early, or when you don’t meet the dojo’s entry criteria. There are enough keys in Qinghe to unlock every compatible Martial Art via Skill Theft, so you won’t lock yourself out of anything.
To find out the sanctum locations, open the menu, go to the Develop, select Weapons, move the mouse over any weapon, and choose Obtain, which zooms the map to the location hint for that weapon.
Recommended Skills Before You Visit Sanctums
Skill Theft infiltration missions instantly fail if you’re spotted—no fighting your way out—so stealth skills are essential. Touch of Death is a Mystic Art you earn from the “Echoes of Old Battles” side story, and it lets you instantly kill unaware enemies to make infiltration less hard. Veil of Stillness, learned from the Unearned Lesson Skill Theft quest, increases your stealth control and stability when you observe masters during tasks.
