The quick answer
Cloud Steps comes from investigating a corpse at the foot of the long stairs beneath General’s Shrine during Echoes in the Shrine. Start the quest with Zhang San, open the suspicious floor with Mighty Drop and follow the underground route using fire arrows and the explosive barrel.
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Start Echoes in the Shrine with Zhang San
At General’s Shrine in Qinghe, find Zhang San kneeling before the shrine. Speak to him, wait for his collapse and interact again; the gentle response continues his explanation. Inspect the booklet he leaves behind and follow the clue toward the suspicious floor.
Use Mighty Drop on that floor to open the underground entrance. Activate the travel point below before continuing. This gives you a useful return location if you leave for supplies or accidentally pass the skill pickup.
Get through the underground barriers
- Collect the early chest and select fire arrows with your bow.
- Burn the vines blocking the passage and continue through the ruins.
- Clear the enemies on the route; explosive containers can help when enemies are standing beside them.
- Burn the vines holding the bridge so you can cross.
- At the blocked passage, carry the available explosive barrel to the rubble, step away and ignite it with a fire arrow.
A normal arrow and a fire arrow do different jobs here. If a vine barrier remains intact, check your selected ammunition before looking for another route. Stay clear of a barrel before shooting it.
Stop at the corpse before climbing the stairs
Continue through the opened route and clear the next room. At the foot of the long stairway, look for the kneeling corpse and use Investigate. This is the Cloud Steps pickup. Do not treat it as background decoration and run straight upstairs.
Open the Mystic Skills menu after the interaction and confirm Cloud Steps is learned. That menu check is more reliable than assuming every chest in the room contained the manual. The unlock is tied to the corpse interaction, not to defeating the later boss.
The skill pickup is before the end of the quest
You can continue upstairs to finish the bandit encounter and the rest of Echoes in the Shrine. The later statue and bowing sequence belongs to the remaining treasure objective; it is not the location of the Cloud Steps manual.
If your only immediate goal is the skill, confirm the unlock before deciding whether to continue. If you want the quest completion as well, keep the quest tracked and finish its later objectives instead of leaving when the skill notification appears.
Equip the skill and resolve a missing unlock
| Problem | What to do |
|---|---|
| Cannot enter the ruins | Finish Zhang San’s dialogue, inspect the booklet and use Mighty Drop on the suspicious floor. |
| Passage covered in vines | Select fire arrows and shoot the obstruction. |
| Rubble blocks progress | Place the explosive barrel against it and ignite from a safe distance. |
| Reached the upper encounter without Cloud Steps | Return to the corpse at the foot of the long stairs. |
| Learned but cannot cast | Assign Cloud Steps to an active Mystic Skill slot. |
Cloud Steps is an active Mystic Skill with its own attack behaviour. It is not the same unlock as a general Lightness travel ability. Read its targeting and casting description, then practise it before relying on it for a difficult encounter.
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Common questions
Must I beat the shrine boss to learn Cloud Steps?
The manual is obtained from the corpse before the later encounter. Investigate it and check the Mystic Skills menu.
Is the manual inside the final statue chest?
No. Look at the corpse at the foot of the long underground stairs.