The Velvet Shade sect is the most unconventional sect you can join in Where Winds Meet. Introduced in the Timeless Bond update, this faction is only for players who value high fashion, humanitarianism, and living for pleasure, and you can even have multiple spouses at once. It won’t get you any extra goodies in the game, but it’s a good side activity for the high-society group. If you’re drawn to the hedonist lifestyle and want access to their exclusive weapons, cosmetics, and sect shop, here’s how to get a Velvet Shade invitation to join the sect and what to expect once you’re part of it.
How to Join Velvet Shade in Where Winds Meet
To join Where Winds Meet’s Velvet Shade sect, you need to be at Level 10 or above and must have reached the Kaifeng region, because the sect clues are linked to Kaifeng’s side quests Shadows in Bloom and Gathering of Heroes. Once the requirements are met, Velvet Shade will appear in the sect menu, but once you click, it won’t track a quest or side activity that happens when you join other factions. Instead, you’ll get a special invitation from the sect after completing specific requirements.
There are two ways to join the Velvet Shade sect in Where Winds Meet:
- Method 1 – The Partnership/Divorce: This is currently the best way.
- Method 2 – Elegance Points: Equip as many cosmetics as possible to earn Elegance Points, and Velvet Shade is supposed to reach out to you automatically.
Join Velvet Shade Through The Marriage and Divorce
You need a friend or random player to partner with and take a vow at Crimson Cliff by speaking with Shi Yimo to complete the marriage. Once done, talk to Shi Yimo again and formally sever the partnership with divorce. Here’s step by step process:
- Switch to Online Mode and team up with another player. Your Intimacy with them needs to be minimal at the Companion level before the next step matters.
- Travel to Crimson Cliff in Qinghe and find Shi Yimo at Red Maple Forest. To form a partnership together, set your characters for the pictorial and complete the oath to finalize the marriage.
- After that, return to Shi Yimo and select Sever Partnership to divorce the partner.
- Wait 24 real-life hours for the cooling period to end, then head back to Shi Yimo, choose Sever Partnership again, where you’ll get two options: Unilateral Severance or Negotiated Severance. Pick either one as you like.
- Once the severance ends, you will instantly receive the Velvet Shade invitation in the menu. Follow the short quest related to it and officially join the Velvet Shade in WWM.
If the invite doesn’t appear after the divorce, restart the game and check your inventory again. If it’s still missing, you’ll unfortunately need to repeat the partnership and divorce process from the start.
Earn Elegance Points
Velvet Shade values elegance and appearance above everything else. To qualify, your character must have the required Elegance, which you can collect by wearing different cosmetics. To earn Elegance Points, equip as many cosmetics as possible until the Velvet Shade notices your style and sends an invite. That includes outfits, hairstyles, accessories, capes, and cosmetic weapon skins. A few other ways to collect these points are to pet cats during exploration, complete side activities/encounters, and unlock event and achievement cosmetics.
In the Chinese game version, players reported invitations to arrive with the collected Elegance Points in between 800 and 2000, and many received the sect message with around 1,700–1,800 points. In the global version, some players have exceeded 5,000+ Elegance but haven’t received the letter. Currently, this method is probably bugged or not introduced in the global version of Where Winds Meet. Keep an eye on patch notes to see when this goes live for worldwide servers.
Velvet Shade Member Benefits
Every Velvet Shade member is part of the Flowers in Bloom ranking system with five tiers, from lowest to highest:
- First Crimson Blossom
- Twin Lotuses
- Charming Trio
- Four-Fragrance
- Flower Messenger (highest)
Titles connected to these ranks are exclusive to sect members and disappear if you betray the master.
Sect Shop Access
Once you’re a member, the sect shop will unlock, where you can buy anything sect-related using Reputation and Coins based on your ranks. Cosmetics you buy remain yours permanently, even if you abandon the faction later. Here’s what’s available by rank:
| Rank Required | Item Details | Price |
| First Crimson Blossom | Murmurs of Spring (Player Avatar) | 450 Reputation |
| Pose: Wall Trap | 10,000 Coins | |
| A Spark of Spring / Skyward Rocket / Blooming Fireworks | 8,000 Coins each | |
| Twin Lotuses | Murmurs of Spring (Hairstyle) | 2,500 Reputation |
| Murmurs of Spring (Outfit) | 6,000 Reputation | |
| Charming Trio | Reputation Giftbox | Free |
The Vernal Umbrella
Sect membership immediately grants you the Vernal Umbrella. The weapon’s skills include:
- Spring Sorrow
- Apricot Heaven (Charged Skill)
- Unfading Flower (Special Skill)
The umbrella excels at wide charged hitboxes and pairs very well with ranged secondary weapons like the Inkwell Fan.
Voting Rights and Elections
Active participation in weekly Sect elections dictates who becomes Flower Messenger and holds the top spots.
| Rank (Highest to Lowest) | Voting Rights | Election Eligibility |
| Flower Messenger | 4 Votes | Current titleholder (Cannot run again immediately) |
| Four-Fragrance | 4 Votes | Eligible to run (Requires 10,000 coin fee) |
| Charming Trio | 3 Votes | Not eligible |
| Twin Lotuses | 2 Votes | Not eligible |
| First Crimson Blossom | 1 Vote | Not eligible |
Sect Values and Rules
- Rule: Drunk on Flowers – “How can one only steal a single heart when drunk on a thousand flowers?”
The Velvet Shade’s main rule is Full Bloom: collect Charm Points, follow your heart, trade affection for loyalty. Every week, members must accumulate 100 Charm Points, which they can do when they form partnerships with other players, earn likes on their profile page, and receive gifts from others. Don’t sleep on this, as falling behind on sect activities can have consequences depending on how strictly the rules are enforced for your rank.
How to Leave Velvet Shade Sect
Want to leave? Go to the sect menu, find the Betray Master button in the bottom right corner, and confirm. You’ll receive a severance letter telling you the consequences. To exit Velvet Shade, you must complete a Severance Trial by finishing one round of Perception Forest. You can join any other sect during the trial period, but the trial will continue until that Perception Forest match is done.
