If you’re seeing the Well of Heaven recruitment option grayed out, with a message like “You must find the Great Hero of the Well of Heaven”, it feels really confusing. You walk up to the sect board or NPC ready to join, and the game basically says, “Nope, go find someone else first,” without actually telling you where or how.
Good news: you almost certainly did not permanently miss the quest. The game just hides the real starting point behind a slightly tricky chain. This guide will walk you through, step by step, how to:
- Start the Well of Heaven recruitment
- Find the so-called Great Hero of the Well of Heaven
- Fix things if you accidentally went toward Nine Mortal Ways instead
- Understand what you actually unlock by joining this sect
Let’s untangle the whole thing.
What Is Well of Heaven and Why Would You Want to Join?
Well of Heaven is one of the “good guy” sects in Where Winds Meet. Think of them as Robin Hood-style heroes:
- They protect commoners
- They oppose corrupt nobles and officials
- They care more about justice and courage than money or status
In terms of gameplay and fantasy, joining Well of Heaven means:
- You get access to sect-specific martial arts, including a signature blade art often treated as their main “heroic” weapon.
- You gain sect reputation, which unlocks shop items, cosmetics, and other rewards over time.
- Your character’s story and flavor in the world shifts toward the righteous wanderer archetype rather than trickster or villain.
So if your fantasy is “I want to be the chivalrous hero,” Well of Heaven is a very natural choice.
Why Your Well of Heaven Recruitment Is Grayed Out
Let’s deal with the main pain point first.
You walk up to the recruitment NPC or sect board, and instead of a normal “Join” option, you get:
- A blacked-out / grayed-out prompt
- A message saying you have to find the Great Hero of the Well of Heaven first
This usually means:
- The game expects you to meet a specific NPC first (the Great Hero).
- You haven’t triggered the proper recruitment chain in Harvestfall Village.
- Or you might have started the chain but took a path that leads you toward Nine Mortal Ways instead of Well of Heaven.
In other words, the board is not bugged. It’s just locked until you prove yourself to the real Well of Heaven master.
So who is this “Great Hero”? And where do you find him?
Who Is the “Great Hero of the Well of Heaven”?
The “Great Hero” the game keeps hinting at is tied to a man named Zhang Yihao.
He is:
- The key NPC that represents the true ideals of Well of Heaven
- The one who tests whether you really belong with them or not
- The person you must talk to properly if you want the sect to unlock
The problem is, the game introduces him in a slightly deceptive way, through another NPC who pretends to be a Well of Heaven elder, then sends you on a shady task. If you follow that shady task exactly as told, you slide toward Nine Mortal Ways instead of Well of Heaven.
So the recruitment is half story test, half morality test.
Step-by-Step: How to Start the Well of Heaven Recruitment
Here’s the clean, complete walkthrough for joining Well of Heaven the intended way.
1. Go to Harvestfall Village (Solo Mode Recommended)
- Travel to Harvestfall Village in Qinghe.
- It’s easier to do this whole sequence in solo mode, so other players don’t distract you or change NPC states around you.
Once you’re in Harvestfall, keep your eyes open for any mention of:
- A “coin rain”
- A mysterious hero throwing money around
- Rumors of someone redistributing wealth
That rumor is your breadcrumb trail to Well of Heaven.
2. Talk to the Waiter San Qian in the Tavern
In the middle of Harvestfall, there’s a tavern / inn. Inside, find the waiter:
- His name is usually shown as San Qian or something very close.
- When you talk to him, he’ll hint that he knows things about the coin rain and the hero.
- He will clearly expect bribes in the form of coins before sharing information.
Even if it feels a bit off, go ahead and:
- Pay his bribe (typically a modest coin amount).
- Get the rumor that points you toward the next NPC outside the village.
This step is required to push the story forward.
3. Follow the Road Out of Harvestfall to the “Elder” by the Stone Circle
Leave Harvestfall by the main path that goes southwest (or generally out past the martial training area). As you walk:
- You should see a small stone circle by the side of the road, often associated with Tai Chi or swirling leaves.
- Near that stone circle, there are usually two NPCs.
- One of them calls himself a Well of Heaven Elder.
Talk to that elder.
- He will also ask for more bribes.
- Pay him as well, even though it feels suspicious.
- He will then give you a task: go steal jewelry from someone he calls his “old friend” up the hill.
This is the setup for the fork.
4. Go Up the Hill and Find Zhang Yihao
Follow the path up the hill in the direction the elder describes (usually to the east or slightly uphill from where you met him). You’ll eventually reach:
- A man named Zhang Yihao.
- He does not act like a villain. He’s calm and straightforward.
This is where the story quietly tests you.
The fake elder told you:
- Don’t talk about Well of Heaven.
- Just steal the jewelry and bring it back.
If you obey that instruction fully, you lean toward Nine Mortal Ways, the trickster sect. If you break that instruction and speak openly, you step onto the Well of Heaven path.
5. Very Important: Talk to Zhang Yihao About Well of Heaven (Do NOT Just Steal)
When you meet Zhang Yihao, you have two basic paths:
- Steal the jewelry silently
- This will send you toward Nine Mortal Ways, not Well of Heaven.
- It is effectively the “I followed the shady guy’s orders” route.
- Talk to Zhang Yihao and mention Well of Heaven and your wish to join
- This is the correct path if you want Well of Heaven.
- Zhang Yihao calls out the elder’s behavior as unworthy.
- He reveals that the recruitment test was essentially a trap to filter out the greedy.
You want option 2.
Choose dialogue that:
- Expresses interest in Well of Heaven
- Questions the morality of stealing from an innocent
- Shows you are more loyal to justice than to quick money
Once you do that, Zhang Yihao steps into his real role as the Great Hero of the Well of Heaven and gives you the true recruitment task.
This conversation is what unlocks the “Great Hero” requirement. Without it, your recruitment option stays grayed out, and the board keeps telling you to find him.
The Real Recruitment Task: Adventure Slips and Ill-Gotten Wealth
After you choose the righteous path in your conversation with Zhang Yihao, he gives you a more serious task. The exact numbers can vary slightly by source, but the structure is consistent:
You will usually be asked to bring:
- Around a few hundred Adventure Slips
- Exactly 3 pieces of Ill-Gotten Wealth
Here’s what they are in simple terms.
Adventure Slips
- A kind of co-op currency earned by doing cooperative content and certain activities with other players.
- You get them by:
- Running co-op missions
- Helping other players in events
- Participating in activities tied to “heroic deeds”
The idea is that you show, in gameplay terms, that you act like a hero, not just talk like one.
Ill-Gotten Wealth
- Items that represent stolen or dirty money.
- You obtain them from content that involves punishing bandits, dealing with shady dealings, or similar situations where wealth has a questionable origin.
- The goal is to recover these pieces and bring them to Zhang Yihao, proving you can handle moral gray areas while still serving justice.
Once you have:
- Enough Adventure Slips
- All 3 Ill-Gotten Wealth items
Return to Zhang Yihao and hand them over.
At this point, you are officially accepted into Well of Heaven.
Your recruitment option should no longer be grayed out, and the “Find the Great Hero” line is effectively resolved.
What If You Already Picked the Wrong Option and Went Toward Nine Mortal Ways?
This is a super common mistake:
- You steal the jewelry like the shady elder asked.
- You return it to him and continue his path.
- Later, you realize you’re being pulled toward Nine Mortal Ways, not Well of Heaven.
If this happened, you are not ruined, but you need a few extra steps.
1. Leave Nine Mortal Ways
Inside the sect system, you can:
- Open the sect interface
- Follow the option or quest line that lets you leave your current sect
Leaving may come with some penalties (loss of rep, delay on joining a new one), but it frees you to pick another sect.
2. Go Back to Zhang Yihao
Once you are no longer committed to Nine Mortal Ways:
- Return to Zhang Yihao.
- If you never gave him the three pieces of Ill-Gotten Wealth before, you’ll eventually have to gather them.
- Talk to him about joining Well of Heaven.
He will offer a corrective path that lets you move away from Nine Mortal Ways and back toward Well of Heaven, usually involving helping people hurt by Nine Mortal Ways’ actions.
3. Complete His Tasks and Join Properly
He may send you:
- To help victims in specific areas
- To clean up messes caused by Nine Mortal Ways disciples
- To gather Ill-Gotten Wealth again and return it for good causes
Do the tasks, bring the items back, and you’ll finally be accepted into Well of Heaven and get access to their signature martial art.
Common Problems and Quick Fixes
Let’s directly answer the kinds of frustrations people have around this quest.
“The Well of Heaven recruitment prompt is blacked out and tells me to find the Great Hero.”
This means:
- You haven’t properly triggered or completed the Zhang Yihao conversation yet.
Fix checklist:
- Go to Harvestfall Village in solo mode.
- Talk to San Qian (tavern waiter) and pay his bribe.
- Talk to the supposed Well of Heaven elder by the stone circle outside the village.
- Go up the hill, find Zhang Yihao, and talk to him about joining Well of Heaven instead of silently stealing.
Once you’ve done this, and then completed his follow-up tasks, the recruitment should unlock.
“Did I miss the quest permanently?”
No, it does not seem like a permanently missable quest in the sense of “you can never become a member again.”
However:
- If you fully commit to the wrong choices, you might be nudged into Nine Mortal Ways first.
- In that case, you must leave that sect and then circle back to Zhang Yihao to repair the path.
As long as you’re willing to do the work, you can still join Well of Heaven.
“I have building and other systems unlocked. Does that matter?”
Not directly.
- The building system is about your home, plot, and structures.
- The Well of Heaven recruitment is about story choices, Adventure Slips, and moral decisions.
They are separate systems. Having building unlocked does not automatically unlock Well of Heaven. You still need to go through the Harvestfall chain and meet the Great Hero correctly.
Is Well of Heaven Worth Joining Compared to Other Sects?
This is more about taste and playstyle, but here’s a quick overview.
Well of Heaven is a great fit if you:
- Like the fantasy of heroic righteousness
- Enjoy helping weaker NPCs and standing up to corrupt ones
- Want a sect whose rules are about brotherhood and justice rather than greed or trickery
- Are okay with doing regular “good deeds” and co-op activities to raise your reputation
If you wanted a trickster, deceptive, prank-heavy experience, you’d lean into Nine Mortal Ways instead.
If you wanted to hunt players aggressively, you might join a more ruthless sect.
If you wanted to focus heavily on healing others, you’d look at healer-focused sects.
But if your heart is set on being the blade of justice, then yes, Well of Heaven is absolutely worth the effort.
Final Summary: How to Fix “Find the Great Hero of the Well of Heaven” and Join the Sect
To put it all in one place:
- The grayed-out recruitment and “find the Great Hero” message mean you still need to properly meet Zhang Yihao.
- Start in Harvestfall Village: talk to San Qian in the tavern, then the fake elder by the stone circle, then follow the path to Zhang Yihao.
- When you meet Zhang Yihao, talk to him about Well of Heaven instead of quietly stealing from him.
- Accept his real recruitment task: gather Adventure Slips and Ill-Gotten Wealth.
- Bring them back, and you’ll be formally accepted into Well of Heaven and unlock their sect rewards.
- If you accidentally went into Nine Mortal Ways, leave that sect and return to Zhang Yihao to fix your path.
Once you’ve done all this, that annoying “find the Great Hero” line should be gone, and your character will stand as a full member of the Well of Heaven, ready to carry out justice across Qinghe.