Short Answer

Farm with a route you can clear safely from a shrine, then stop as soon as the upgrade problem is solved. The best farming build is not the highest damage build; it is the one that turns repeated kills into Will, materials, and upgrade decisions without burning medicine or focus on messy fights.

Use farming to remove a specific blocker: one weapon craft, one armor upgrade, one Spirit cultivation, one medicine restock, or one Spark target. Open-ended grinding is how a useful route becomes a time sink.

Route Loop Template

Build every farming loop the same way:

  1. Start at a shrine with full gourd, mana, and Qi.
  2. Kill the nearest low-risk enemies that give the resource you want.
  3. Break nearby pots or collect quick gatherables only if they are on the path.
  4. Skip enemies that require long chases, bad camera angles, or expensive spells.
  5. Return to the shrine and rest to respawn the route.
  6. Repeat until the upgrade target is funded, then leave.

The route should be short enough that you can remember every enemy position. If you need to heal more than once per loop, the route is too dangerous or the build is too greedy.

Farming Setup

Use gear that reduces mistakes and speeds up repeatable kills:

  • Stance: choose the stance that ends normal enemies quickly without long recovery.
  • Spell: keep one reset spell for double pulls or bad terrain; do not spend mana on every enemy.
  • Spirit: use a fast Spirit for elites inside the loop, not for trash enemies.
  • Transformation: reserve it for a route enemy that would otherwise break the loop.
  • Armor: use set bonuses that help the route, such as Will gain, poison control, focus flow, or reliable defense.
  • Curios: choose Will gain or route comfort before boss-only damage.
  • Medicine: keep common cures for status routes, but do not depend on damage pellets.

If the loop only works when you use a rare item, it is not a farming loop. It is a one-time cleanup route.

Upgrade Priorities

Spend materials in this order unless your current wall clearly says otherwise:

  • Weapon or staff craft that raises baseline damage or fits your main stance.
  • Gourd, drink, or soak improvements that make every fight safer.
  • Armor pieces for a set bonus you actually use, not a set you plan to test later.
  • Spirit cultivation for the Spirit you land consistently.
  • Medicine restock for the status or boss you are fighting now.
  • Extra armor upgrades after the core weapon and survival tools feel stable.

Weapons and armor pull from overlapping upgrade pressure: Will, materials, and chapter-gated drops. Before spending, check whether the upgrade changes the next fight or only makes the inventory look cleaner.

Material Bottlenecks

Think of materials in three groups:

  • Common route materials: gathered, bought, or earned from normal enemies near shrines.
  • Upgrade materials tied to bosses, chapters, chests, or specific encounters.
  • Special materials that belong to weapon trees, armor upgrades, Spirit cultivation, or gourd improvement.

Common materials are safe to spend when you need them. Boss and chapter materials deserve a plan. If a material came from a named fight or a late-chapter reward, do not spend it on a side option until you know whether your main weapon, armor set, or Spirit needs it.

When the game offers a new craft after a boss, compare the effect to your build before buying. A weapon with a smaller number can still be valuable if its effect fits your stance or phase plan. An armor set with lower raw defense can still be worth upgrading later if its set bonus solves your route.

When To Stop Farming

Stop farming when one of these is true:

  • You can afford the upgrade that started the route.
  • You gained enough Will to buy the needed shrine materials or medicine.
  • The next improvement requires a boss, chest, chapter completion, or quest instead of more normal enemies.
  • The route has become sloppy because you are rushing.
  • You are farming “just in case” without a specific purchase in mind.

The strongest long-run account is not the one with the most banked Will. It is the one that keeps pushing chapters, opening new recipes, and converting resources into the next meaningful upgrade.

Failure Recovery

If a farming loop starts killing you, reset the build before repeating it:

  • Dying to normal enemies: shorten the loop and remove the risky pull.
  • Spending too many gourd charges: upgrade survival or choose an easier route.
  • Running out of mana: stop casting on low-value enemies.
  • Missing materials: check whether the material is bought, gathered, enemy-dropped, boss-tied, or chapter-gated.
  • Losing time to elite enemies: skip the elite unless it drops the target resource.

Do not answer a bad farm loop with more medicine. Answer it with a shorter path, cleaner enemies, or a different target.

Practical Loop Examples

Early Will loop: in Chapter 1, use the Black Wind Cave stretch from the Bodhi Cave Keeper’s Shrine back toward Outside the Cave. Clear the axe-wielding enemies and lesser wolf guai you can approach safely, then reset from the shrine path. Use this only when you need a small Will cushion for shrine-store purchases, medicine, or a current craft; stop as soon as the purchase is funded.

Mid-game route: in Chapter 2, Rockrest Flat is a better test loop because the shrine sits near a compact group of Stone Man and Spearbone enemies. Run the circle from the shrine, keep one fast Spirit or spell for the Spearbone that gives you trouble, and return before the route turns into a gourd drain. This is a Will-and-Sparks loop first; spend the Will on a known need such as shrine-store materials, a weapon craft, an armor craft, or medicine for the next boss.

Material bottleneck example: if the upgrade menu is waiting on a named material such as Mind Core, Tadpole, Blood of the Iron Bull, or Luojia Fragrant Vine, stop farming ordinary shrine enemies and check the material’s source. Those bottlenecks are tied to bosses, gathering, or specific progression sources, so more Will loops will not solve them by themselves.

Late-game stop condition: after you unlock more weapon and armor choices, use a shrine loop only to fund the Will side of the upgrade. If the next staff path, armor upgrade, Spirit cultivation, or gourd improvement asks for a boss, chapter, chest, or gatherable material you do not have, leave the loop and route for that material instead.

FAQ

Should I farm before every boss?

No. Farm when a clear purchase changes the fight. If your issue is timing, more Will will not fix it.

Should I upgrade armor or weapon first?

Prioritize the weapon or staff if damage is making every phase longer. Prioritize armor, gourd, or cures if you die before reaching the phase you need to practice.

Should I sell gold items?

Sell currency items when they fund a current upgrade or medicine restock. Do not sell useful equipment or uncertain materials just to increase the number at the shrine.

Sources