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Unveiling the Legendary Sun Wukong: The Myth, Powers, and Legacy of the Monkey King
Last Updated on September 14, 2024 by Scribbling Geek

Are you playing Black Myth: Wukong? Here are 25 things to know about the Great Sage who inspired the game.

It is not an exaggeration to say Sun Wukong (孙悟空), the Chinese Monkey King, is the most famous Chinese mythological character around the world.

Beloved by the Chinese for his audacity, mischief, loyalty, and fiery temperament, Wukong's legendary exploits have long transcended cultural boundaries. It is difficult to even begin to compile the numerous games, Anime series, TV fantasy series, novels, animated features, and movies that feature him as a lead or use characters based on him. Notably, even the world-famous Sun Goku from Dragonball was directly modelled after him.

Interestingly, Sun Wukong is not an actual Chinese god, too, though he is now worshipped in many Chinese communities. The Great Monkey King was a fictional character written about by Ming Dynasty writer Wu Cheng'en (吴承恩) in his magnum opus, Journey to the West (Xiyouji | 西游记). One of the four Classic Chinese Novels, or Four Great Chinese Novels, Xiyouji depicts the adventures of Wukong as he journeyed from being a cunning trickster to a headstrong rebel, before faithfully accompanying the monk Xuanzang on the latter's pilgrimage to the West (Central Asia and India) to obtain Buddhist sutras.

In just a few hours, yet another game inspired by the Monkey King will hit the scene—Black Myth: Wukong by Game Science is set for release on August 20, 2024. Before diving into this latest adventure, how about familiarising yourself with the Monkey King's origins, most notable escapades, and his incredible influence on international popular culture?

Without further ado, here are 25 facts to know about Qitian Dasheng (齐天大圣), the “Great Sage, Equal to Heaven,” who once made the heavenly armies tremble.

1. Sun Wukong Was Born from a Magical Stone
Sun Wukong's origin is as fascinating as his character. According to Journey to the West, he was born from a mystical stone atop the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit (Huaguoshan | 花果山) that was over 30 Chinese feet tall. This stone absorbed the essence of both Heaven and Earth for centuries before splitting apart to reveal an egg that transformed into a stone monkey upon the wind blowing on it.

The stone monkey, i.e., the future Wukong, then became the leader of the other monkeys on the mountain. Together, they discovered the blissful Water Curtain Cave (Shuiliandong | 水帘洞). Thus became the mythic story of the Chinese Monkey King.

2. He Mastered the 72 Transformations and the Somersault Cloud from Puti Zushi
Sun Wukong's extraordinary abilities were taught by the immortal sage Puti Zushi (菩提祖师); Wukong sought the guidance of the sage in his quest for immortality. Under the master's mentorship, Wukong mastered the amazing 72 Transformations. He also learned the secret techniques of the Somersault Cloud (Jindouyun | 筋斗云), a skill that enabled him to travel shiwan baqianli (108,000 Chinese miles) in a single leap.

Wukong's name was also given by Puti Zushi.

Who is Puti Zushi?
Puti Zushi's description in Journey to the West befits that of a Taoist immortal. However, the word Puti is associated with Buddhism and is the Chinese transliteration of “Bodhi.”

Most readers thus interpret the immortal as Subhūti, one of the ten disciples of the Buddha.

Notably, Puti Zushi foresaw Wukong's egoistical downfall. He therefore instructed the Monkey King never to reveal their relationship. Wukong faithfully obeyed this order throughout his adventures.

3. Wukong “Stole” His Signature Weapon from the Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean
Sun Wukong's signature weapon, the As-You-Wish Cudgel (Ruyi Jingubang | 如意金箍棒), was originally a pillar in the court of Aoguang (敖广), the Dragon King of the Eastern Ocean. The legend goes that it was previously a measuring pin used by the Great Yu during the Great Flood of China—thus the weapon's alternate name of “Ocean-Pinning Needle” (Dinghai Shenzhen | 定海神针).

Sun Wukong “acquired” this needle from Aoguang after being advised by his monkey followers to visit the dragon court for a suitable weapon. In his hand, the pin could morph to incredible sizes or shrink to a small pin for Wukong to hide in his ear.

The cudgel was also indestructible and the perfect weapon for the Monkey King's agile, unpredictable fighting style.

A Mysterious Weapon Full of Secrets?
Jingubang is the key plot device of Disney+'s American Born Chinese. In this modern reimagination, the cudgel is described as containing great powers and secrets.

4. Wukong Erased His Name from the Book of Life and Death
Despite mastering magic from Puti Zushi, Wukong did not gain immortality. After a banquet, he fell asleep and was taken by agents of the Chinese underworld to the nether realm.

Realizing his fate, the enraged Monkey King used his cudgel to bash the agents and demanded to see the Book of Life and Death. He then erased his name and those of his simian followers, granting his followers and himself immunity from natural death.

This daring act solidified Wukong's reputation as a rebel who would defy even the authority of heaven and the natural order. It also placed the Monkey King on the radar of the heavenly pantheon.

5. The Taoist Pantheon Tried to Subdue Wukong with a Grand Title
In an attempt to rein in the unruly Monkey King after his terrorizing of the Dragon Court and the Underworld, the Taoist Pantheon invited Wukong to heaven and conferred upon him the title of Bimawen (弼马温). The title roughly means “Marquis of Horse Protection.”

This grand-sounding title was, however, merely a guise for the lowly job of a stable boy for celestial steeds. Wukong did not react well at all upon discovering the truth, to say the least.

6. Wukong Was Conferred the Title of “Great Sage, Equal to Heaven” After Defeating Heavenly Forces
After Sun Wukong defeated the celestial army led by Li Jing (李靖) and Nezha (哪吒), the Jade Emperor (Yudi | 玉帝) again attempted to rein in the Monkey King by bestowing upon him the title of “Great Sage, Equal to Heaven” (齐天大圣).

The Great Sage was then invited to reside in heaven for a second time. Briefly, everything was peaceful with the Great Sage spending his days feasting and revelling with other immortals.

7. An Insult Led to Wukong Wrecking the Heavenly Peach Banquet and Stealing Laozi's Immortality Pills
Everything went south again when Wukong discovered he was not on the invite list for the Heavenly Peach Banquet, a celestial event much anticipated by all immortals.

Worse, a group of seven fairies mocked him for being too insignificant. In the 1961 animation, Havoc in Heaven, the fairies stated that even the lesser deities of the mortal world, such as Aoguang, were invited.

Stung and furious, the Monkey King trashed the banquet grounds and stole all the longevity-imbuing peaches. While on his way back to Huaguoshan, he also ransacked Laozi (老子)'s palace and ate all the elixirs of immortality the founder of Taoism was brewing.

The peaches and elixirs vastly strengthened the Monkey King's immortality and invulnerability. Without surprise, the crimes also incurred the full wrath of the Taoist pantheon. A full celestial army soon descends upon the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit to arrest Wukong.

8. Erlang Shen Fought Wukong to a Standstill
In one of the most memorable episodes of Journey to the West, Sun Wukong defeated several generals of the celestial army during the assault on his stronghold. Even the Four Heavenly Kings (Sida Tianwang | 四大天王) and their magical weapons were no match for the immortal monkey

Wukong also battled Erlang Shen (Erlang Shen | 二郎神), the nephew of the Jade Emperor who's considered the mightiest Taoist Warrior God. During this confrontation, both immortals constantly shapeshifted and though Erlang Shen could see through the monkey's changes with his third eye, he was unable to defeat the Monkey.

In the end, Laozi had to intervene. He ambushed Wukong by throwing a magical Iron Circlet while the Monkey King was preoccupied with fighting Erlang Shen. Wukong was knocked unconscious and captured.

9. Laozi Tried to Incinerate Wukong but Ended Up Granting Him a Formidable Skill
The Taoist pantheon attempted to execute Wukong but had no success at all because of the Monkey King's invulnerability.

Laozi then tried to incinerate Wukong in his elixir brazier with alchemic fire, burning the rebellious one for 49 days. Instead of succeeding, this method ended up cultivating the Huoyan Jinjing (火眼金睛 | Golden Eyes of Fire) skill in Wukong.

These eyes allow Wukong to see through practically any magical illusions. The ability will be invaluable during the Monkey King's later adventures.

10. Wukong Was Eventually Subdued by Gautama Buddha and Imprisoned for 500 Years
Sun Wukong's conflicts with the heavenly pantheon ended with his defeat by Gautama Buddha. The enlightened one was invited by the Jade Emperor to deal with the unruly monkey.

Famously, Wukong accepted a challenge to leap out of the Buddha's right hand. In the end, despite being convinced he has somersaulted tens of thousands of li, Wukong never even left the Buddha's palm.

The Buddha then trapped Wukong in a mountain formed by his fist. The mountain came to be known as the Five Elements Mountain (Wuxingshan | 五行山) and to prevent Wukong from escaping, a talisman with the Six-Word Mantra was pasted on it.

The Monkey King was forced to reflect on his actions till freed by the Tang Dynasty Holy Monk Xuanzang 500 years later.

11. As His Final Atonement, Wukong Was Ordered to Accompany Xuanzang on His Pilgrimage
After being freed from his 500-year imprisonment, Sun Wukong was tasked with escorting Xuanzang on a perilous pilgrimage to retrieve sacred Buddhist scriptures from the West. This journey was intended as a final act of redemption. It was also meant to be Wukong's formal quest for enlightenment.

To assist Xuanzang, Guanyin (Guanyin | 观音), the Goddess/Bodhisattva of Mercy gave Xuanzang a golden circlet, which the monk then succeeded in tricking Wukong into wearing. Impossible to remove, the circlet tightens upon Xuanzang reciting a mantra.

The immense agony that resulted forced poor Wukong to obey Xuanzang.

12. Xuanzang and Wukong Were Joined by Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the Dragon Horse
As is well known, Xuanzang and Sun Wukong were later joined by three other companions: Zhu Bajie, a gluttonous but powerful pig demon; Sha Wujing, a river demon known for his reason and strength; and the Dragon Horse, a shapeshifted dragon who served as Xuanzang's steed.

Together, this eclectic group survived 81 obstacles before reaching the Buddha's abode, referred to in Journey to the West as the “Temple of the Thunder Sound” (Leiyin Shi |雷音寺).

What Were the 81 Obstacles?
Many obstacles have been depicted, with or without creative embellishment, on TV and in movies over the years.

It's also important to note that the obstacles in Journey to the West are not independent episodes; some story arcs encompass multiple obstacles. Rather, the number reflects the total episodes of tribulation the group had to overcome.

“I Could Have Completed the Delivery Within an Hour!”
Given his Somersault Cloud abilities, Wukong could easily have retrieved and delivered the sutras within an hour. Throughout Journey to the West, Wukong occasionally mentions this.

He didn't, of course. As said, the arduous pilgrimage was an atonement. It was also intended by the Buddha to be Wukong's path towards enlightenment.

13. Not All of the Monkey King's Adversaries During the Pilgrimage Were Demons
Sun Wukong and his companions encountered numerous adversaries during the long pilgrimage.

Some were wicked demons, such as the White Bone Demoness (Baigu Jing | 白骨精). Others were demons/sentient beasts who used to be Wukong's allies, such as The Ox Demon (Niumo Wang | 牛魔王).

A great many were not demons despite their titles and appearances. Instead, they were heavenly steeds, attendants, and creatures who had secretly left the “upper world” to frolic in the mortal realm.

The Renshen Guo (Ginseng Fruit | 人参果) episode further saw Wukong having to heal the celestial tree of a Taoist Immortal. Earlier in the story, the Monkey King had toppled the tree in a moment of fury.

14. Wukong Relied on His Transformations and Assistance from Gods During the Pilgrimage
Needless to say, Sun Wukong frequently relied on his 72 Transformations to overcome obstacles and outwit enemies. One of his favourite tricks was to fly into an adversary's stomach as an insect. Let's just say, you wouldn't want the raucous monkey inside you.

With his golden cudgel, the Monkey King was a formidable presence on any battlefield too. He could, moreover, instantly create split copies of himself with his fur.

Despite these amazing abilities, there were many adversaries that Wukong couldn't easily defeat. These foes typically possess unusual magical artifacts or deadly innate abilities. In these cases, the Monkey King had to enlist the help of celestial gods and bodhisattvas. He often approached Guanyin for help too.

This resulted in some Chinese online satirists stating that Wukong's greatest abilities during the pilgrimage were neither his magic nor physical prowess, but rather his connections. Like the modern Chinese world of business, guanxi (关系) was a handy weapon in the Monkey King's furry hands.

Who Were Wukong's Greatest Enemies?
In Journey to the West, there were several foes with abilities equal to or even greater than Wukong's. They were:

* Maori is pronounced as “Mao Re” in Chinese.

15. There Are Other Divine Monkeys, and They Are Terrifying
Nowadays, the Six-Eared Macaque is widely considered Sun Wukong's greatest foe.

Equal in power to the Monkey King and able to eavesdrop from vast distances, the dastard Six-Eared Macaque assumed a likeness of Wukong that was so complete, even Guanyin and all the Taoist Gods couldn't see through the deception.

The deception was ultimately exposed by Gautama Buddha. Before doing so, the Buddha explained that the Six-Eared Macaque is one of the “Four Awakened Monkeys.” Sun Wukong is also one of these four simians, thus why the Six-Eared Macaque has the same abilities.

16. Wukong Enjoys a Large Number of Epithets Throughout Journey to the West
Sun Wukong is known by many names and titles in Journey to the West.

Among the most famous are the “Great Sage, Equal to Heaven” (齐天大圣), the “Handsome Monkey King” (美猴王), and “Pilgrim Sun” (孙行者).

After completing the pilgrimage and attaining enlightenment, Wukong was granted the title of Douzhan Shengfo (斗战胜佛), the “Fighting and Victory Buddha.”

These epithets captured the different aspects of the Monkey King's identity, from his rebellious nature to his spiritual enlightenment. Naturally, they outlined his evolution throughout the novel too.

17. Was Journey to the West and the Wukong Persona Anti-Taoist? Probably Not
This has been discussed in length in the Chinese online world.

Simply put, the combined might of the Taoist celestial pantheon was unable to deal with Wukong and was nearly defeated. In contrast, the Buddha needed just one hand to imprison the unruly Monkey King.

In later chapters of Journey to the West, Wukong often had difficulties subduing relatively minor demons. This seems to imply that these demons could effortlessly take over the Taoist heaven, had they wanted to.

My interpretation is this. I don't think author Wu Cheng'en deliberately belittled Taoism. Instead, his storyline reflected a common Chinese perception of Taoism and Buddhism, i.e., “Buddhist magic” is superior to “Taoist magic.” This perception continues to exist centuries later in Chinese fantasy stories such as the Shushan (蜀山) series and certain Xianxia movies.

Various Chinese online writers have also highlighted that Wukong never did battle the highest deities of Taoism like Yuanshi Tianjun (元始天君). He would have been squashed within seconds had he did.

A simpler way of explaining could perhaps be to say that Wu Cheng'en wasn't as concerned with plot logic as modern writers would be. He was writing a fantasy story in medieval times. He wrote whatever he felt was entertaining.

18. Sun Wukong's Frequently Cameos in Chinese Fantasy Dramas
To repeat what was stated in my introduction, Sun Wukong's popularity extends way beyond Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West. His appearance in modern pop culture entertainment, Chinese or otherwise, goes on and on.

The protagonist of Dragonball was inspired by him. Anime series like Saiyuki and Starzinger feature him as the protagonist.

He was the leading character in Jet Li's Forbidden Kingdom. In American Born Chinese, he was the disgruntled dad of a rebellious monkey teen. Over the years, Netflix has streamed several series and movies, Chinese or otherwise, featuring Wukong.

2010's Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is considered a loose video game adaptation of Wukong's story. 2024's Black Myth: Wukong is directly inspired by the Monkey King's tale.

His image has broadened over the years too! In New Gods: Nezha Reborn, he was gangsta-like with gold chains and all. In DC Comics, he is again a father with a son who would become Monkey Prince.

In the CCTV-8 reimagination of the Magic Lotus Lantern folktale, Wukong was merged into the story and became the devoted mentor of Chen Xiang. In classic Chinese folktales, the two never met.

My bet is that we will continue to see many, many versions of Sun Wukong down the road.

19. Seances Involving the Monkey King Are Important Rituals in Chinese Folkloric Practices
In Chinese folk religion, Sun Wukong is not just a literary character but a deity worshipped in various rituals. Seances and spiritual ceremonies often invoke the Monkey King for protection, strength, and guidance.

These practices reflect the curious evolution of a folkloric, literary who was so beloved, he became an actual god. Correspondingly, shrines to the Monkey King are found throughout the Chinese world.

20. Sun Wukong Is Not Unique to Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West
Here's what you might not know. Sun Wukong was fleshed out by Wu Cheng'en and the Ming Dynasty writer did a superb job. However, Wu did not create the character from scratch.

In the Song Dynasty text The Story of the Journey to the West (Datang Sanzang Qujing Shihua | 大唐三藏取經詩話), the prototype for Sun Wukong, named “Monkey Traveler,” appears as a white-robed scholar from the Purple Cloud Cave on Flower Fruit Mountain. He called himself the “King of the 84,000 Copper-Headed, Iron-Foreheaded Monkeys.”

During the Yuan Dynasty, Yang Jingxian's Journey to the West play titles the Monkey King as “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” and gives him siblings and a forcibly married wife, Princess Jiaozhi.

Wu Cheng'en's version of the Monkey King was clearly influenced by these older works. His greatest accomplishment was to then elevate the character of Sun Wukong into a richly developed persona, complete with a complex backstory. A character that quickly became immortal in Chinese culture.

21. Was Wu Cheng'en Inspired by Hanuman? There's No Agreement
Scholars have long debated whether Wu Cheng'en was inspired by the Hindu Monkey God Hanuman when writing about Sun Wukong.

While Ming Dynasty China was hardly the connected world we live in today, trade and human traffic between India and China was not uncommon. After all, Buddhism extended into China from India centuries earlier. There is the possibility that Wu read a Chinese version of the Ramayana.

The above being said, there is no definitive evidence linking Hanuman directly to Wukong. This lack of historical documentation means that any connection remains speculative, with both characters likely drawing from broader, shared mythological themes across cultures. It is important, too, to note that despite their similarities in physical might, Hanuman and Wukong have very different personalities.

Some researchers conversely believe that Journey to the West might have drawn inspiration from the “Great Sage” worship in Fujian. The mountainous regions of Fujian, historically inhabited by monkeys, have historically venerated monkey gods.

The great writer Lu Xun (魯迅) also posited that the image of Sun Wukong could be based on Wuzhi Qi (无支祁), a water spirit with great powers. Wuzhi Qi is mentioned in various ancient Chinese compendiums. Wukong, like Wuzhi Qi, could be interpreted as a personification of unruly natural forces.

22. The Monkey King Was Not Spared the Heartbreaks of Romance
Classic depictions of the Monkey King show him as uninterested in romance and immune to any form of seduction. He was the classic pilgrim.

Modern retellings largely retain this aspect but several modern movies and drama series have notably worked in heavy romantic elements over the years. For example, Stephen Chow's A Chinese Odyssey double bill revolves around Wukong's romance with a fairy named Zixia.

2014's Wu Kong re-explored this romance between the Monkey King and Zixia, using a story by writer Jin Hezai (今何在).

23. Famous Monkey King Temples
Throughout China and Southeast Asia, numerous temples are dedicated to the worship of Sun Wukong. Many are located in Fujian, China. There is also a Monkey God Temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Taiwan has over ten notable temples and shrines that venerate the Monkey King.

In ultramodern Singapore, there are different shrines to the Monkey King too. For example, there's one at Waterloo Street. There is also a Monkey God Temple in the Tiong Bahru district.

These sacred sites highlight Wukong's enduring legacy as a revered figure in the spiritual lives of many.

24. The Name “Wukong”
The name Wukong has deep historical and cultural roots.

Wu (悟) means “awaken” or “enlighten,” and Kong (空) means “emptiness” or “void.” In combination, the name reflects the Buddhist concept of achieving enlightenment through understanding emptiness.

Sun Wukong's name thus symbolises his journey toward spiritual awakening. Historically, a Tang Dynasty monk who studied in India was also named Master Wukong.

In modern times, China named her Dark Matter Particle Explorer satellite for dark matter detection as Wukong. The move exemplifies the importance of the Monkey King persona in Chinese culture.

25. What Does Sun Wukong Represent to the Chinese?
The Chinese Monkey King is an incredibly complex character with a long list of adventures and exploits.

In Wu's story, he started as an intelligent and capable prankster before evolving into an open rebel. His conflicts with the heavenly court could be seen as resistant to autocratic rule and social structures. In Chinese mythology, deities like the Jade Emperor and Erlang Shen often represent punishing social norms.

As a pilgrim, Wukong's resourcefulness and steadfast loyalty to Xuanzang exemplified the classic value of perseverance. His agreement to the pilgrimage, albeit under coercion, could also be interpreted as how brigands/deadly natural forces could ultimately be harnessed for good.

Naturally, Wukong was the ultimate explorer too. And the guardian you would want to have on any journey.



Black Myth: Wukong
"Black Myth" redirects here. For the live album by Sun Ra, see Black Myth/Out in Space.
Black Myth: Wukong[a] is a 2024 action role-playing game developed and published by Game Science. The game is inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West and follows an anthropomorphic monkey based on Sun Wukong from the novel.

Black Myth: Wukong was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on August 20, 2024, with an Xbox Series X/S version and an expansion planned for release. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics. It sold 18 million units within two weeks, making it one of the fastest-selling games of all time.[3]

Gameplay
Black Myth: Wukong is an action role-playing game,[4][5][6][7] with Soulslike elements.[5][8][9] It is a single-player game,[7][10][11] which is played from a third-person perspective.[6]

The player controls a monkey protagonist referred to as the Destined One, who is based on Sun Wukong from the Journey to the West.[8][7] The protagonist's weapon is a staff, which is based on the Ruyi Jingu Bang from the novel.[8][12] The staff can extend and shrink in size during combat.[8] The three staff stances, which are the smash stance, the pillar stance, and the thrust stance, provide versatility in fights.[7][13][14] The combat mechanics involve resource management.[9] Focus can be accumulated by landing light attacks, executing well-timed dodges, and other means.[15] A focus point is gained when the meter for focus is filled up.[9] These points can be used to initiate a varied combo, chained to light attacks, or to charge a heavy attack on its own.[9] Stamina is depleted by sprinting, dodging, and attacking.[16]

Spells have cooldowns and consume mana.[6][8] They are categorized in mysticism, alteration, strand, and transformations.[17] The protagonist uses transformations to shapeshift into a different creature or being.[4][8] An example is the transformation Red Tides, which takes the form of Guangzhi, a wolfman who wields a flaming glaive.[8] The transformations come with their own movesets and health.[4][8] They are available on cooldown, but do not cost mana.[9] They last until their might, which is depleted by attacking, or health runs out.[8]

Spirits provide a skill and passive effect if they are equipped.[18][19] Defeated yaoguai chiefs may leave behind their spirits, which can be acquired if they are absorbed into a gourd.[20] Spirit skills function as transformations to do a unique attack.[19] Qi is used to activate spirit skills.[6][19] An example of a spirit is the Wandering Wight, who does a headbutt attack.[18]

The game follows a mostly linear progression interspersed with expansive areas.[8] There are keeper's shrines, which act as checkpoints for the player, along the way.[21] Throughout the world, the protagonist encounters various yaoguai as enemies.[4][8] The game's difficulty cannot be changed by players, but it does not remain the same throughout a playthrough.[22]

Synopsis
Setting
Black Myth: Wukong is inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West.[4][6][8][13] The game spans six chapters, each focusing on the journey through a specific fictional location: Black Wind Mountain, Yellow Wind Ridge, The New West, The Webbed Hollow, Flaming Mountains, and Mount Huaguo.[25] It introduces cultural and natural landmarks derived from the real world into its setting. It features, for example, several locations from Shanxi Province, such as the Yungang Grottoes,[26] Little Western Paradise,[23] Nanchan Temple,[23] Iron Buddha Temple,[23] Guangsheng Temple,[23] and Stork Tower,[23] as well as locations from other provinces, such as the Kaiyuan Temple in Fujian Province.[27]

Each chapter concludes with an animated cutscene providing a reflection and exploration of the narrative and thematic elements of Black Myth Wukong.[28]

Plot
After escorting his master Tang Sanzang and retrieving the Buddhist scriptures in a perilous pilgrimage to the West, Sun Wukong ascends to Buddhahood. Yet, he rejects life in the Celestial Court and chooses the simple joys of life on Mount Huaguo instead. The Court grows mistrustful of his choice to forgo the life above and sends an army led by Erlang Shen to force him to submit. Sun Wukong duels Erlang Shen, but he is incapacitated by the circlet that binds him to the Court and sealed in stone on the mountain. He is severed from his six senses, corresponding to six relics scattered across the mortal realm. Over the next few centuries, the monkeys of the mountain send out young warriors to recover the relics in order to revive Sun Wukong. A monkey referred to as the Destined One sets out on this path.

The Destined One traverses through Black Wind Mountain. He meets the Keeper of Black Wind Mountain, who helps and guides him through the place. Along the way, he passes through Guanyin Temple, which was devastated by a fire and later rebuilt. The Destined One defeats the Black Bear Guai, who has the "Craving Eyes" relic enshrined atop a pagoda at the mountain's summit. He takes the relic, while the Black Bear Guai surrenders.

The Destined One proceeds to the desolate Yellow Wind Ridge. Occasionally, a mysterious Headless Monk, who sings and plays a sanxian, appears and provides help. The Destined One defeats the Yellow Wind Sage, who uses Bodhisattva Lingji's severed head to contain the "Fuming Ears" relic. The Headless Monk, who turns out to be Bodhisattva Lingji, places his head back on his body and hands over the relic to the Destined One.

The Destined One continues to The New West, a cold mountainous place. Yellowbrow, who possesses the "Hubris Nose" relic and has taken the guise of Maitreya, sends Kang-Jin Star after the Destined One. In their last battle, the Destined One causes her to crash into and separate the Gold Cymbals imprisoning Zhu Bajie, an old friend of Sun Wukong and a banished admiral of the Celestial Court. Zhu Bajie joins his quest to gather the relics. The Destined One defeats Yellowbrow at New Thunderclap Temple, but Yellowbrow flees toward the relic kept in a frozen lake and falls into the lake. Maitreya fishes the relic out of the lake for the Destined One.

The Destined One and Zhu Bajie arrive at The Webbed Hollow. Along the way, the Fourth Sister of the spider guai family watches over and aids the Destined One. The Second Sister captures Zhu Bajie and brings him to the matriarch, the Violet Spider, but the Destined One goes to rescue him. The Violet Spider is defeated by the Destined One and flees to the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master. The spider sisters and the Destined One attack and defeat the Daoist Master who took the "Envious Tongue" relic. Zhu Bajie and the injured Violet Spider, both fell in love a long time ago, share a last glance at each other before he sorrowfully walks away toward the relic.

The Destined One and Zhu Bajie fight their way to the Flaming Mountains. They find someone who claims to be Pingping asking for help to save her father. However, the Bull King could tell that his son Red Boy disguised himself as his daughter Pingping to deceive them. Red Boy takes the relic by feigning defeat through a death talisman and consumes it for power, but is defeated by the Destined One and Zhu Bajie. His mother Rakshasi begs mercy for him and offers her Plantain Fan, but Red Boy refuses to submit and kills himself. With his death, the relic appears for them to take.

The ending is determined by the following optional storyline: In the Great Pagoda located in The New West, Maitreya guides both Erlang Shen and the Destined One to Mount Mei, where they confront each other. Here, the Destined One battles Erlang Shen and the Four Heavenly Kings. Upon their defeat, Erlang Shen, who has Sun Wukong's mind contained in his Third Eye, unleashes Sun Wukong's memories to the Destined One and shares his realization that his fight a long time ago allowed Sun Wukong to set a path to break free through a mortal death.

Endings
The Destined One and Zhu Bajie return to Mount Huaguo. They retrieve Sun Wukong's armor and Jingubang. They reach the summit and enter the stone, which contains a place shaped by Sun Wukong's lingering memories. The Old Monkey ferries them through its waters. In this place, however, they come across their current selves on the ferry, which represents the last memory of the Destined One's mind. The Old Monkey explains that Sun Wukong's mind is lost, as the mind is an essence unique to every life and therefore destined to fade away at life's end, so Sun Wukong will never return and the journey was meant for the Destined One to be forged into a worthy successor who inherits the name and nature of Sun Wukong. At the end, the Destined One fights Sun Wukong's broken shell stripped from his six senses. Sun Wukong's broken shell is defeated and dissipates, while his circlet appears on his head and falls into the water. The Old Monkey picks up and puts the circlet on the Destined One, who remains trapped inside the stone, in one ending. However, if the Destined One regained Sun Wukong's memories, he does not wear the circlet. The latter ending provides the "Freed Mind" relic in a New Game Plus.[32]

Development
Black Myth: Wukong is a game developed and published by Game Science.[12][34][7] The decision to make a single-player game was made on February 25, 2018.[35] The development team moved from Shenzhen to Hangzhou in December 2018.[35] They wanted to create a single-player game in their own style with a focus on traditional cultural themes.[33] They discussed themes such as xianxia and wuxia, but were most enthusiastic about the Journey to the West.[36] The team chose to use Unreal Engine 4 and familiarized themselves with it in the level for Mount Huaguo, which briefly appeared in the announcement trailer, before they put work on it down and started on the level for Black Wind Mountain.[1][35]

Black Myth: Wukong was first announced with a trailer showcasing gameplay in its pre-alpha build on August 20, 2020.[37][38] The trailer demonstrated the game built on Unreal Engine 4.[37] It showed the protagonist exploring the environment and fighting various foes[37] in a location known as Black Wind Mountain.[2] Within one day, the trailer had nearly two million views on YouTube and ten million views on Bilibili.[39] As Game Science's development team was small, the trailer was released to attract people to the studio to help build the game.[1][40] Therefore, the principle of the trailer was to show the level for Black Wind Mountain in its current state, rather than make adjustment for the sake of the demonstration.[1] The team started with seven people and had thirty people around the time of the announcement.[2] In the past, they would recruit within their own personal network, but they realized that this was not enough for the project.[1] The popularity of the trailer far exceeded their expectations and had resulted in over 10 thousand applicants, but they maintained their plans to recruit between ten and fifteen people for the time being to not expand too quickly and lose their original vision.[1]

Black Myth: Wukong is developed on Unreal Engine 5.[42][43] It was initially developed on its previous iteration, Unreal Engine 4.[22] The move to the newer version was revealed through a trailer on August 20, 2021.[44][45] Game Science explained that, in 2021, they had switched to Unreal Engine 5 as this would help with their pursuit for realism in the style.[22] In designing the environment, the development team conducted on-site studies of various locations.[33] They made scans of many buildings and statues to recreate them or use them as a basis in the design.[33] Motion capture performed by several actors was used for the movement of different characters.[46][47] The actor Yin Kai provided the motion capture for the Destined One and several other characters.[46] He, a practitioner of martial arts, remarked that most of his performances were for actions done by the protagonist during combat.[47] The sound, including the music and voices, was co-produced by 8082 Audio.[48][49] The game features an adaptation of the theme song "Yungong Xunyin", originally composed by Xu Jingqing, from the 1986 television series Journey to the West.[50] The game's end credits listed 140 people for the development team.[51]

Black Myth: Wukong had a budget of $70 million throughout its six years of development, as reported by Bloomberg.[3] This was partly contributed by the investor Hero Games.[3][52] Feng Ji stated that they could not undertake such a project at the beginning, so they made two mobile games before they cautiously began the project, as they previously worked at Tencent and thus knew the possible risks from experience.[53] Yang Qi stated that they considered the cost for research and development to be high as early as the start, so they did not have high expectations for profitability initially.[33]

Feng Ji revealed that they planned Black Myth: Wukong to be the first installment in a Black Myth series, which would explore different stories in Chinese mythology.[1][2] The game was internally referred to as B1, meaning Black Myth One, in reference to its status as the first work in the series.[1] They already have ideas for two other titles in the series, but have not publicly revealed them.[1]

Hero Games' Daniel Wu confirmed that an expansion for the game is in the works.[3]

Release
Black Myth: Wukong was released for PlayStation 5 and PC (Windows) on August 20, 2024, at 10 AM (UTC+8).[54][55] An Xbox Series X/S version is planned, although the release date has not been announced.[43][54]

In January 2023, Game Science published a promotional short film celebrating the upcoming Year of the Rabbit which revealed that Black Myth: Wukong would be released in the summer of 2024.[56][57] During The Game Awards in December 2023, they released a trailer announcing the release date as August 20, 2024.[58][59] In June 2024, they disclosed that the Xbox Series X/S version of the game was delayed for optimization to meet their quality standards.[60][61] Reports suggested that this may be due to the technical limitations of Xbox Series S;[62][63] some sources suggested a memory leak on Xbox as the possible issue.[64][65] IGN reported that the delay was, according to an unnamed source, because of an exclusivity deal with Sony and not technical issues.[66] Microsoft responded that the delay was not due to Xbox limitations "that have been raised to us."[64][67] Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb stated, after speaking to his sources, that Sony had no marketing deal in place to keep the game as an exclusive.[68][69]

Black Myth: Wukong received four editions: Digital Standard Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition, Deluxe Edition, and Collector's Edition.[54] The Digital Standard Edition contains the base game.[54] The Digital Deluxe Edition, additionally, provides in-game bonus content and a selected digital soundtrack.[54] The content consists of the weapon Bronzecloud Staff; the equipment Folk Opera Mask, Folk Opera Almsgiving Armor, Folk Opera Leather Bracers, and Folk Opera Buskins; and the curio Wind Chimes.[54] The two physical editions, the Deluxe Edition and the Collector's Edition, contain an activation code for the Digital Deluxe Edition on WeGame for JD.com purchases or Steam for overseas purchases.[70] The Deluxe Edition comes with the physical collectibles: Steel Case, The Constricting Headband, Chaos at the Peach Banquet (color print on silk scroll), Wind Chime (necklace), Thunderstone (ring), Gold Sun Crow (pin), Stamps and Postcard, and Warranty Certificate.[54] For the Collector's Edition, these are: Steel Case, Confront Destiny (protagonist figurine), Teaching of the Heart Sutra (color print on silk scroll), Wind Chime, Thunderstone, Gold Sun Crow, Stamps and Postcard, and Warranty Certificate.[54] A physical disc is not included in any edition.[54] Game Science stated that they are exploring options to offer physical discs, but that limitations in offline resources have made it difficult to offer physical discs simultaneously with the release.[70]

Black Myth: Wukong was the most-wishlisted game on Steam from May 2024.[34][71] Pre-orders for the game launched on June 8, 2024.[72] This came with the in-game content Trailblazer's Scarlet Gourd, which is also obtainable through in-game progression.[54] As reported in early August, the game ranked first on Steam's global top sellers chart.[73] When the game's preload went live shortly before release, the download bandwidth usage on Steam reached its highest-ever peak at 70 terabytes per second, superseding the previous record held by Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020.[74] Hero Games, a marketing partner, reportedly sent some content creators an email with an activation code for the game and guidelines to not discuss topics including politics, feminism, and other things in their coverage of the game at launch.[75]

Reception
Black Myth: Wukong received "generally favorable" reviews on PC and PlayStation 5 from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[76][77]

The game won "Best Visuals" and was nominated for "Most Epic" at Gamescom in 2023.[106]

Sales
On the day of release, Black Myth: Wukong reached over 2.2 million concurrent players on Steam, which placed it as the second highest game of all time by this metric, surpassing other popular games such as Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077.[107][108] Within hours, it became the single-player game with the most concurrent players of all time on Steam.[108][109] Bloomberg reported that this ascent could help the game "seal its place in industry lore."[110] On August 22, the game reached its all-time peak of over 2.4 million concurrent players on Steam, only following PUBG: Battlegrounds.[111][112]

Game Science announced that Black Myth: Wukong had sold 10 million units, derived from data as of August 23, 2024, at 9 PM (UTC+8), and had reached 3 million concurrent players across all platforms.[111][113][114][115] The game is one of the fastest-selling of all time.[116] The physical editions were in high demand, with 700 thousand people signed up to purchase a supply of only 30 thousand units on the retailer JD.com for example.[117]

Hero Games' Daniel Wu, an investor, shared to Bloomberg that Black Myth: Wukong had sold 18 million units within two weeks.[3] Bloomberg described this as "one of the fastest starts the global gaming industry has seen."[3] Sony revealed that it was the most-downloaded PlayStation 5 game in North America (United States and Canada), Europe, and Japan during August 2024.[118][119]

Impact
Nikkei Asia reported that Black Myth: Wukong is regarded as a new standard bearer for games in the Chinese video game industry, which undergoes a gradual shift from mobile games toward console games, and could inspire Chinese developers to undertake ambitious projects that draw international audiences.[120] During the pre-release, Soulframe Liang, the director of Phantom Blade Zero, commented that, if Black Myth: Wukong succeeds in the domestic and international market, people would be confident about other games in their industry and that he thought that it would indeed be a large success.[71]

The popularity of the game managed to boost sales of PlayStation 5, which reached the top for video game hardware and had twice the sales from the same period last year on Alibaba's Tmall in the week before the game's launch for example, in the Chinese market.[121][122] The game led to a substantial increase of tourism to the real-world locations of scenes in the game.[123]

The character Fourth Sister has become a popular subject for cosplay on Bilibili, Douyin, and other platforms.[124]



Black Myth: Wukong - The World Exclusive Story Behind the Breakout Action-RPG
How the surprise Chinese indie success story came to be - and where's it's going next.
By Charles Young, IGN China
Posted: 11 Sep 2020 8:00 am
Last month, a new game trailer came from out of nowhere, much like the monkey jumping out of the stone in the tale of Journey to the West. The debut trailer for Black Myth: Wukong grabbed everyone's attention in the gaming industry, accruing over 5 million hits on IGN's YouTube channel alone. The next-generation graphics look stunning, with the gameplay in this 13-minute demo showing that this was not just some CGI animation. Original God of War director David Jaffe was amazed by the gameplay, and current God of War director Cory Barlog called it “awesome” on Twitter.The quality of the trailer looks like it was produced by a premium AAA gaming company, but it's actually from a Chinese indie studio, Game Science, that no one had ever heard of before, catching the industry by total surprise. IGN China was the only gaming media granted an exclusive interview after the trailer went viral and, last weekend, I walked into the Game Science studio in Hangzhou, China.

My first impression of this studio was that it was very different from other gaming companies. The studio provides free lunch, dinner, drinks, and snacks, which is very unusual for a Chinese company. Their working day starts at 2pm, and there is no fixed time for when they need leave work - with workers encouraged to leave when they want to, or to work from home if they'd prefer. However, employees are used to sleeping during the day and working at night, most of them leaving work after 10pm. When I finished this interview and walked out of their office at 2am, there were still a few people working.

Right now, the team is made up of about 30 people. A lot of the developers, as well as game producer Feng Ji and other co-founders, all previously worked at gaming giant Tencent. All of them worked on an MMORPG project called Asura, which is a fantasy game based on Journey to the West, with Feng acting as creative designer.
Similar to Asura, Black Myth: Wukong is a gritty take on this classic Chinese tale. Different from Journey to the West, the story talks about the Monkey King (Wukong) escorting a monk who has obtained the sacred scroll from the West, but Black Myth: Wukong is much darker and more complex. There are three monkeys shown in the trailer, and players have to wait to figure out who is the real Wukong when they play the game.

The level shown in the trailer is part of the beginning of an area called Black Wind Mountain. Feng told me that it took them six months to produce this demo, and the team has been working on the game for about two years. The reason they released this video now is because the studio is trying to recruit more talent - they were not expecting it to be this popular.

This is the first time the teameam has used Unreal Engine 4 to develop a game. Before Black Myth, Game Science Studio used Cocos and the Unity engine to publish two mobile games. One of the RTS games, Art of War: Red Tides was featured in the Apple App Store globally, and when Tim Cook visited China in 2017, Game Science Studio was one of his stops. Although Art of War: Red Tides has now stopped updates on Steam, over 6,000 reviews of the game are Mostly Positive.

Game Science's two mobile games brought in stable revenue streams and allowed it to pursue a high quality AAA story-driven action-RPG game. The Chinese gaming market is saturated with free-to-play mobile games and online games, and it's considered a very commercially risky move to develop a premium console game. After releasing two mobile games, one of the co-founders, Art Director Yang Qi, told Feng, "It's time to do what we wanted to do from the beginning."

Under his father's influence, Yang started learning traditional Chinese painting when he was 5. He was fascinated with Star Wars in high school and went to China Academy of Art in Hangzhou. Now, the Wukong team is based in Hangzhou, Yang's favorite city because he lived and studied there for many years. Yang has been a graphic designer for over 15 years. His art has a dark fantasy vibe, and it's easy to tell his work, no matter if it's characters or environment.
Shots from Inside the Studio Making Black Myth: Wukong
Game Science Studio was founded in Shenzhen and part of the team moved to Hangzhou to start the Black Myth: Wukong project in 2018. In the beginning, there were only 7 people on the team, now expanded to 30 people. In the early days, the team spent lots of time getting familiar with Unreal Engine 4. They thought of outsourcing to speed up the project, but after talking to several companies who worked with Naughty Dog and Santa Monica Studio, they decided to take on the project themselves.

As Art Director, Yang did a lot of design work on the special effects of the battles, but the actual project was handled by game designer Jiang Baicun. Jiang was the lead level designer for Asura, and co-founded Game Science with Feng and Yang.

Jiang is maybe the only person in the company who didn't care about the feedback after the trailer was released. Feng teases him for being a defeatist, but the truth is Jiang is the type of person who has the personality that can be described by a Chinese poem, "Not overjoyed by external gains, also not saddened by personal loss." Jiang is a very calm and down-to-earth kind of person.

Jiang started with the Black Wind Mountain level and picked four or five versions to make this debut trailer. He remembered when the first version of the trailer was played in the studio, the room was silent. It meant the trailer was not OK. He said when they started Game Science, their motto was to "make the game that can move you." They believed if you are not happy with it, you can't expect other players to accept it.

The final version undoubtedly has everyone on the team satisfied, but fans started getting skeptical. Some questioned whether this might be a CGI animation and not actual gameplay footage, so I asked Feng to let me play the demo, and he was happy to do it. He also said that I am one of only a few people that have been able to play this outside of the company.I can't reveal too much, but I can assure you that the version that I played was the same as shown in the trailer.
“Due to the NDA I signed, I can't reveal too much, but I can assure you that the version that I played was the same as shown in the trailer: the fights, transforming, casting spells - it had it all, and it's a complete experience.

I intentionally picked a different approach to play than the trailer. Firstly, instead of transforming to a golden cicada to evade the enemies, I decided to fight. Secondly, during the final battle with the big white wolf, I transformed into another shape to fight against him. Feng also put in a new enemy that was not in the trailer (I can't talk about its name nor look) and taught me how to defeat him to prove that this gameplay is more than just what you see in the trailer.

Feng also unlocked another testing level for me. This is a level they called, “Toilet”. It features four bosses that have finished basic design, and each one can be battled. Feng said they still needed to spend more time to polish the bosses, so they didn't show up in the trailer.

Feng said to complete Black Myth: Wukong, players probably need at least 15 hours of playtime. To ensure people stay excited during the gameplay and boss fights, the team plans on having over a hundred different kinds of monster enemies. However, with their current manpower, they can only have one team work on designing levels. They realized if they want to finish the game within 3 years, hiring more talent is unavoidable.
Everything We Know About Black Myth: Wukong
Right now, Game Science is planning on hiring 10-15 people so they can have two teams work on the level design. But after the trailer went viral, over 10,000 resumes flooded into their recruiting inbox. Some are from AAA gaming companies, even candidates from outside of China who are willing to apply for a Chinese working visa at their own cost. These candidates just want to work on this project. The craziest thing is that the day after the trailer came out, there were people showing up at the door of the company asking for a job. This is much more than the company's HR can handle.

Feng Ji was calm when he saw the massive influx of resumes. He admitted right now the game might be overhyped, and it's not normal. Although he is very grateful, right now he feels the need to put a damper over himself and their employees so they don't get in over their head.

The day of my visit, Feng was telling everyone to be calm in the all-hands meeting. He said the popularity of the trailer is both encouraging and a pressure. Because everyone loved it, they needed to make the game even better. He wants everyone back to work like before the trailer came out. Everybody doing their job is the only way to ensure this project can be successful.

But the truth is Feng has planned an even more ambitious future for his team and himself. The title Black Myth suggests a bigger myth universe. In Chinese myths, Journey to the West is just one of the many great stories. Feng and his team are hoping Black Myth: Wukong is just a beginning to build up a Chinese Black Myth Universe, similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He even told me the names of the two other Black Myths - although I am not allowed to tell you what they are, I can say it is a really ambitious plan.
Black Myth: Wukong - 11 Screenshots
The attention that Black Myth: Wukong got is something that we have never seen before for a Chinese game. The trailer got over 25 million views on the largest Chinese video website, Bilibili.com. On the country's biggest social media website Weibo, it got retweeted over 100,000 times, and this is only from Game Science's official Weibo account. In the past few days, a lot of deep dives and breakdown videos of the trailer got over hundreds of thousands views worldwide. Chinese players are celebrating the success and calling it “The Pride of China.”

Some western players may know of the tale of Journey to the West and the main character Monkey King, but more know of him through the Japanese manga Dragon Ball Z and the main character, Son Goku. Feng named it Black Myth: Wukong and hoped to give the Monkey King's name back to him. He said the tale is from China, but everyone refers to him as Goku, so he wants to let the world know his name is Wukong.

Feng said right now the game is still in early development and Game Science still has a long way to go. When I asked when we could see the game next, he responded, “We might go quiet for a long time, because right now we need to settle down and finish the project. It is a complete surprise that the trailer got so popular, but it's also a challenge for our next reveal. If we can't make something that is even better than this trailer, we won't show it to the rest of the world.”



Analysis of the Black Myth Wukong Controversy
Black Myth: Wukong is a single-player action game adapted from the 16th-century Chinese classic novel “Journey to the West.” The game has been praised as a rare case of telling a compelling Chinese story on international gaming platforms. Players take on the role of a supernatural being, an anthropomorphic monkey known as the “Destined One,” inspired by the legendary Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King.

A Tale of Rebellion
The story of “Black Myth: Wukong” is built on the themes of human desire and nature, portraying a tale of rebellion. Within 24 hours of its release, the game became the second most popular game in the history of the Steam platform. It attracted over 2.1 million concurrent players and sold more than 4.5 million copies.

Cultural Significance
“Journey to the West” is one of the greatest works in Chinese literature, blending elements of Chinese mythology, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhist folklore. It has inspired hundreds of international films, TV shows, and animated works. However, “Black Myth: Wukong” has also faced some criticism. Some players feel that the game's story deviates significantly from the original novel.

Controversial Adaptations
The game's ability to spark widespread debate lies in its rich content and profound themes, similar to “Journey to the West.” The Black Myth: Wukong controversy includes the ending animation, where the protagonist shatters his past lover three times, implying a romantic relationship between Sun Wukong and the White Bone Demon. The storyline also suggests that Sun Wukong once fell in love, leading to accusations of altering and diminishing the original work.

Media Reactions
Additionally, various media outlets have fueled the controversy. Some accused the game of portraying women in a discriminatory manner, while others found the scene where the Monkey King pulls out his golden staff unrealistic. However, these adaptations, whether emphasizing the human aspects of Wukong or his rebellious nature, are generally acceptable as they remain true to his character.

Producer's Perspective
The game's producer, Feng Ji, stated in an interview, “I believe that a good cultural product or content should naturally resonate with the local audience and those culturally similar to the creators. If its quality is high and it lasts long enough, it will naturally spread overseas.”

Overall Reception
Despite the controversy, the overall positive reception of “Black Myth: Wukong” remains unaffected. The game's art and action design are particularly noteworthy, with its artistic elements being a feast of Chinese aesthetics. The accurate depiction of ancient Chinese architecture marks a milestone in the field. For many Black Myth: Wukong collectors, owning a physical copy of the game has become a sought-after treasure.

As for the Black Myth: Wukong price, it has been competitively set to ensure accessibility for both casual gamers and dedicated fans, further increasing its popularity.

Conclusion
Black Myth: Wukong is not just a game; it is a cultural phenomenon that has successfully brought a classic Chinese story to the global stage. Despite the Black Myth: Wukong controversy, its artistic achievements and compelling storytelling have earned it a place in the annals of gaming histor. As the game continues to capture the imagination of players worldwide, it stands as a testament to the power of cultural storytelling in the modern era.



Black Myth Wukong, what kind of story is told?
Black Myth Wukong Chapter Analysis
Black Myth: Wukong is an action RPG rooted in Chinese mythology, developed by Game Science. The story is based on the 16th-century novel Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.

But the story in the game is about the story after Journey to the West. You shall set out as the Destined One to venture into the challenges and marvels ahead, to uncover the obscured truth beneath the veil of a glorious legend from the past.

If you are not interested in the content of the game or find the plot of the game difficult to understand, but want to know what is happening in the game, the article will give an example, and you can go straight to the end

Where does the story begin?
Let's start with when Sun Wukong was the Monkey King in Huaguo Mountain.

At that time, he was quite carefree.However, good times didn't last long.The Heavenly Court couldn't tolerate such a disobedient outlier like him.Even if Sun Wukong only wanted to live freely and unrestrained on Mount Huaguo, he couldn't avoid trouble.

For the Heavenly Court, Sun Wukong had only two options:

Either he accepts their invitation, joins the system, and becomes a low-ranking member of the Heavenly Court.Or he becomes the enemy of the Heavenly Court, which would send celestial warriors to crush Mount Huaguo!

Sun Wukong, of course, refuses to bow to the Heavenly Court. So, he gathers his brothers, determined to storm the Jade Palace!

In the original tale, Wukong had sworn brotherhood with seven powerful demon kings on Huaguo Mountain: the Bull Demon King, the Flood Dragon Demon King, the Roc Demon King, the Lion-Trojan King, the King of the Yao Clan, and his own title as the Beautiful Monkey King.

Ultimately, it ended in failure.

His brothers and the monkeys of Huaguo Mountain suffered heavy losses — some were killed, while others were gravely injured.As for him, he was trapped under the Five Finger Mountain by Buddha for five hundred years.

During this long and torturous period, he began to understand certain profound truths.He gradually grasped the underlying logic of the world:

When demons exist in the heavens, they are considered immortals and buddhas. Conversely, when immortals and buddhas are uncontrolled on earth, they become demons and monsters.

Only by becoming an ‘immortal' or ‘buddha' himself, gaining an official title within the system, could he return to Huaguo Mountain as a guai without consequence.

So he posed a question to himself: If I join the establishment, will they let me go? Will they spare my brothers too? This contemplation led him to decide to join the pilgrimage team to obtain scriptures and earn merit, securing his place within the system once more.

But what was the cost of this choice?

The cost was that he would have to wear the tightening headband! In addition to that, he would have to assist the Heavenly Court in eliminating all demons, like himself, who were unwilling to join the establishment.

This journey was filled with hardship for him.

His true motive behind seeking the scriptures could not be revealed to others. Thus, there were times when, despite his reluctance, he had to confront his former brothers.

All he can do is secretly make concessions, hoping that his brothers understand his good intentions.

“Recognizing a master and cultivating oneself — this is the only path left for us. Doesn't big brother understand this yet?” Sun Wukong look to pave a way for their future. He finds ways to get other demon brothers to join the system as well, seeking survival opportunities.

For instance, the Black Bear Spirit successfully joined the ranks and went to help Guanyin guard the back mountains. Other demons were arranged to serve as steeds for the immortals. Those who could be integrated into the system were all reformed.

Sun Wukong thought that if everyone could join the system, they would have a bright future. After enduring a long journey and successfully obtaining the scriptures, he finally achieved enlightenment and was bestowed the title “Victorious Fighting Buddha.”

Believing he had accomplished his plan, he decisively returned to huaguo Mountain, yearning to spend his days in peace and leisure.

But what happened next?
The Heavenly Court saw that he had become a potential danger once again and dispatched heavenly soldiers to besiege Flower Fruit Mountain! This time, the heavenly beings only gave him two choices once more.

But both options are destroyed！

Given Sun Wukong's temperament, he would certainly choose to fight back.

Initially, the battle was fierce and unresolved, but at a critical moment, the golden crown suddenly tightened on his head! The crown restricted his powers, leading to his death at the hands of Erlang.

Before he died, Sun Wukong spoke to his brother the Bull Demon King, despite the latter's choice to join the system and provide no help. Sun Wukong did not hold a grudge against him.

“I always thought that after accumulating merit and joining the celestial ranks, they would let me go, and would spare you too. It turns out that someone like me — living alone is also a sin. Big brother, take good care of your wife and children. After I die, don't touch what I turn into.”

His corpse was divided by erlang among five demons who had meritorious service.

The Black Bear Spirit received the eyes.

The Yellow Wind Monster got the ears.

The Yellow-Browed Monster received the nose.

The Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord received the tongue.

The Bull Demon King got the body.

However, Sun Wukong was merely dead.

His spirit did not perish.

His spirit transformed into six spiritual objects, hiding away in the world.

These six spiritual objects are also called the “Great Sage's Spiritual Roots.”

They are: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

These six roots correspond to the Buddhist concept of “Six Pure Roots.”

According to legend, if a destined person can recover these six Great Sage Spiritual Roots and bring them back to Flower Fruit Mountain, it might be possible to revive Sun Wukong! — This is why the character players control in the game is the “Destined One.”

The ultimate goal of the game is to pass through six levels and collect the six spiritual roots to resurrect Wukong!

This is the background story of the entire game. Of course, the game also contains other hidden plots, such as why there are two endings and what conspiracies and meanings lie behind each ending. The length of this chapter is limited, so if you want to understand the stories and clues behind the plot, please check out my other articles.

If you think the background of the story is more esoteric and you want to understand what happened in the story, here's a metaphor.

Sun Wukong is the leader of the “huaguo Mountain” gang; the Heavenly Court is the FBI, and Spirit Mountain is the CIA.

The “ huaguo Mountain” gang was originally a small, insignificant gang, but the boss, Sun Wukong, was exceptionally good at fighting. The FBI recognized Sun Wukong's abilities and once attempted to recruit the “huaguo Mountain” gang. However, due to issues with compensation and other matters, the “ huaguo Mountain” gang fell out with the FBI. Sun Wukong, carrying a baseball bat, went to the FBI office and started smashing and looting. The FBI had no choice but to request the CIA's intervention. Thus, the CIA took action and locked the Wukong up in Guantanamo Bay with a sentence of 500 years without parole.

Later on, a CIA leader named Guanyin found the imprisoned Sun Wukong and said to him, “I need you to escort a VIP to a certain place to retrieve an important document. If you handle this task efficiently, not only will you regain your freedom, but you might also get a formal position.” So Sun Wukong went, and along the way, he defeated many former gang bosses he knew, even some of his own brothers. In short, after numerous life-and-death struggles, he completed the mission.

After the mission was over, having witnessed the corruption and darkness of the CIA and FBI along the way, Sun Wukong no longer wanted the promised position; he just wanted to return to the “Flower Fruit Mountain” gang and live his own simple life. However, the CIA didn't want him to break free from their control and sent troops to silence him.

In the end, Sun Wukong was eliminated, but he had a backup plan — he left behind six items. As long as you find these six items, he might make a comeback. And you play the role of the person who journeys to find these six items.



Black Myth: Wukong
A Souls-like based on the characters from a historic novel from 16th-century China that has the quality of a AAA title? Try to make me not play this game. Well, you're too late because I've beaten it despite a frustrating final chapter, and I loved it! Most of the time. If you're a fan of Nioh—and I love me some Nioh 2—then you'll find a similar style here in a game that isn't going to drive you to tears with its difficulty.

Black Myth: Wukong follows a silent, anthropomorphic monkey looking to follow in Sun Wukong's footsteps, gathering the five relics he left behind so you can complete your reincarnation. I think. I'm not sure, to be honest. Based on the novel Journey to the West, Black Myth has artistic license in what would happen if a monkey—named the Destined One in the game—wanted to become the monkey hero of legend. Honestly, though, I lost sight of the main plot pretty early in the first chapter, as the story largely follows the eccentric characters in each encapsulated chapter.

You, the Destined One, will meet all sorts of odd characters who wish to aid you along the way and maybe help themselves in doing so. A reciprocal back-scratching tale of altruism. Within each chapter, those are the overarching plots, but you may meet a variety of other characters with their own challenges and wishes. These NPC-driven narratives won't blow anyone away, but the novelty of the tales and powerful personalities will surely delight.

This is a Souls-like, meaning it's an action RPG with challenging bosses, experience gained, stats and skill trees, and shrines littered about to serve as checkpoints should you fall in battle. Now, how Black Myth departs from the formula is that while bosses can be difficult, I beat most of them on my first try. That isn't to say they were easy—some of them I was down to my last healing item and out of mana—but others I did away with in a surprisingly brisk fashion. Another departure is the regular enemies along the path, which are almost always fodder. Though these fights are trivial, they're not unwelcome; they keep the route from point A to B active and add to the world in terms of hostility and visuals.

Many Souls-like fans turn their nose up at easy games in the sub-genre, and I find this tiring. We have no need to gatekeep a game because it doesn't waste our time. Black Myth is easy and fantastic fun. I wasn't bored to tears because, while easy, I had to work for my wins. Proper dodging, strategy in building my monkey's skills and equipment, and understanding boss patterns keep the action mentally active and make victories feel earned. The dodging is generous, and while parrying doesn't exist, a well-timed roll results in a Perfect Dodge, significantly building the focus gauge and potentially other benefits depending on the skill tree.

Wukong uses one weapon, which helps make a reasonably diverse skill tree that's balanced around gameplay. However, weapon skills, such as changing Wukong's stance for different combat abilities, are only one tree. Players can enhance the few spells available, transformations, and core combat abilities, such as enhancing varied combos, jump attacks, and light attacks. This sounds like a lot, but most of it isn't available right at the start. Chapter one serves almost as a tutorial, though a meaty one, and introduces gameplay elements at an excellent pace.

Spells include abilities folks familiar with Sun Wukong will recognize, such as summoning clones to ambush an enemy. Each spell's skill tree has interesting options, while transformations—infrequently earned abilities to turn into meaty foes encountered along the way—exist without a tree. Level-ups occur at a decent clip, so be prepared to make difficult, fun decisions about how you want to build Wukong, because you can't be the best at everything. Made a mistake or need a different tactic? No worries; players can respec at any shrine for free.

Other systems and abilities exist, such as summoning a spirit to briefly change Wukong into a foe—don't mistake it for transformations—for one or two attacks. Sometimes, spirits don't even attack but plant a buff in the ground for players to fight around after changing back. On rare occasions, players may find vessels, earned by finding secret dungeons while interacting with the environment; vessels can be game changers and recharge with successful attacks in combat, like focus.

In true Souls-like fashion, NPCs are cryptic, but pay attention to what they say. Oftentimes, a fork in the road or clue to a hidden dungeon lies in their words. Find a weird key item in a chapter you have no idea what to do with? It was likely referenced earlier, and if you weren't paying attention, you won't know what to do with it. Sometimes you just have to wait. Folks may take issue with this because in order to unlock everything Black Myth has to offer, doing the “right things” seems to require prior knowledge, though that fits the game's theme of Buddhism and reincarnation.

I took about 45 hours to beat Black Myth, which includes exploring areas for secrets and finishing quests. For the vast majority of the game, I was having an amazing time. Littered with unique bosses that often present different attack patterns and sometimes introduce elements I'd not seen before in a Souls-like, I was thinking, “How high do I score this?” Then came the final chapter, which introduced an entirely new mechanic to traverse the chapter. Exhilarated, I was wide-eyed at the prospects laid before me. Unfortunately, the execution didn't land, and while I won't go into specifics for fear of spoiling, it's important that readers know I had wasted a few hours aimlessly trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. Disheartening, to be sure. Regardless, I muscled through and finished the game, but I hope the team adds some quality-of-life features to this section in a patch.

Other quibbles I have with this otherwise stellar experience involve how the game handles boundaries in chapters. For the most part, Black Myth plays as a linear game with several diverging paths, be them hills, drops, or turns. Maybe a wall you encountered earlier is gone now. The problem here is the ample use of invisible walls. Now, to present this breathtaking world as beautiful and open as GameScience has, I understand the need to use invisible walls. That said, sections that appear traversable but aren't may appear later on and be absolutely traversable because a treasure chest lies in the distance. A simple example is a rock that's about waist high: can't cross it! Same sort of obstacle later? Totally can. The inconsistency hurts the experience and adds a touch of frustration for completionists who want to check every corner for hidden goodies. All this said, I'm not sure what the answer is, because putting in actual walls everywhere the developers don't want players to go would hurt the visuals. Maybe some studious designer has the answer.

Speaking of visuals, Black Myth exhausts every opportunity to add detail, whether gazing into the mountains far off a cliff or squinting at the stonework of a wall carved with hundreds of Buddhas. Immersive environments are core to the experience, and anyone with a taste for Asian history, philosophy, or environments is going to love this marvel. Areas in which players have no business looking have detail. Some odd ravine had little statues lying about if you look closely enough, while other carvings have believable moss growing on them or show the wear of time.

Similarly, Black Myth's voice actors match the script, breathing life into these anthropomorphic teddy bears. Few characters come off as grounded and well-adjusted; most are erratically excitable, overly confident in the most dire situations, or seem immeasurably anxious at all times. I love them all. The music blends into the background, but in critical moments, the Chinese instrumentation—gongs, liuqin, and the like—either accentuates the bombasity of ridiculous situations or heightens the intense battle ahead.

I would be gushing if I were writing this before the final chapter. The finale should not negate the majority of the game, but to cast it aside would be disingenuous. Without a doubt, I had a blast throughout Black Myth. If you have the slightest interest in Journey to the West, Asian philosophy, or want to broaden your horizons, then this is an easy recommendation. Aside from being an exceptional, accessible game to play, the references to works you may not be familiar with will instill an appetite to learn more. I know it has in me. All of this coming from a studio I had never heard of before (GameScience), though I hope it finds great success after their effort here. If this is an example of what they can achieve, I can't wait to see the next project.



An Analysis of Buddhist Philosophy in “Black Myth: Wukong”
The story of “Black Myth: Wukong” begins after the successful completion of the mission to obtain the scriptures in the Journey to the West. At the beginning of the game, Sun Wukong, who has already been titled “The Victorious Fighting Buddha,” decides to give up his position and retire to Flower Fruit Mountain.

However, the Heavenly Court sends Erlang Shen to lead an army to subdue the mountain and bring Wukong back, leading to his eventual defeat and death. Over generations, countless monkeys have attempted to revive Sun Wukong. Players take on the role of one of these monkeys, defeating various monsters from “Journey to the West” to prove themselves worthy of inheriting the title of “Great Sage.” They enter Wukong's memories, overcome his lingering consciousness and body, and eventually become “Sun Wukong.”

As a commercial game, “Black Myth: Wukong” features a significant amount of original content. Many aspects of the story are open to interpretation, but it is clear that the game is deeply rooted in Buddhist culture. Today, we will discuss this popular game from the perspective of core Buddhist principles.

What is the Journey to the West?
In the game, players collect the “Six Roots” left by the Great Sage. These “Six Roots” are named “Eye Joy, Ear Anger, Nose Love, Tongue Thought, Body Sorrow, and Mind Desire” (from Chapter 16 of “Journey to the West”). These peculiar names are derived from the six senses and their corresponding objects in Buddhism: eye and visible objects, ear and sound, nose and smell, tongue and taste, body and touch, mind and mental objects. The game's design is closely related to Buddhist teachings on these concepts.

There is also a hidden quest line to collect the “Five Aggregates.” The concept of “Five Aggregates” is an abstract way of categorizing all phenomena in the world. This concept is deeply rooted in Buddhist philosophy and reflects a more profound understanding of the game's narrative.

How does “Black Myth: Wukong” Retrace the Journey to Obtain the Scriptures?
Understanding the true essence of the Journey to the West, let's reexamine the game's plot with a Buddhist perspective.

The first chapter：”Burning Black Clouds,” draws from the story of Jinchi Elder from “Journey to the West.” The elder's desire for a robe given by Tang Sanzang leads to his downfall. In the game, defeating these monsters grants the “Eye Root – Joy,” reflecting how attachment arises from sensory experiences.
The second chapter, “Wind Rises at Dusk,” introduces an original storyline about the Sand Kingdom. The king's rejection of Buddhist teachings results in chaos. Defeating these monsters grants the “Ear Root – Anger,” symbolizing how attachment arises from auditory experiences.
The third chapter, “Night Dew Rises,” is inspired by Little Thunder Monastery in “Journey to the West.” The Yellow Brow Monster's pursuit of pleasure reflects attachment arising from olfactory experiences. Defeating these monsters grants the “Nose Root – Love.”
The fourth chapter, “Curved Purple Mandarin Ducks,” tells an original love story between Zhu Bajie and a spider spirit. Zhu Bajie's entanglement with his past reflects attachment arising from gustatory experiences. Defeating these monsters grants the “Tongue Root – Thought.”
The fifth chapter, “Red Dust at Sunset,” draws from the story of Flaming Mountain in “Journey to the West.” The Bull Demon King's attachment to his past reflects attachment arising from tactile experiences. Defeating these monsters grants the “Body Root – Sorrow.”
Finally, in the sixth chapter, players return to Flower Fruit Mountain and enter Sun Wukong's memory space. The images of defeated monsters reappear within this space. This reflects the Buddhist teaching that all consciousness is fleeting and interconnected.

How Many Rounds Must One Walk on the Journey to Obtain the Scriptures?
The game allows players to restart after defeating the final boss. If players haven't found all hidden maps, they cannot unlock the true ending and must start over. This design reflects Buddhist concepts of impermanence and rebirth.

If players find all hidden maps and complete hidden tasks, they unlock the true ending and gain access to Sun Wukong's memories for a final battle using his original form. This reflects Buddhist teachings on karma and fruition.

In conclusion, “Black Myth: Wukong” presents a profound journey through Buddhist philosophy. The game's narrative and mechanics are deeply intertwined with Buddhist concepts such as impermanence, attachment, and rebirth. By experiencing this journey alongside the game's protagonist, players gain insight into the cyclical nature of existence and the path to liberation.

In summary, “Black Myth: Wukong” offers a compelling exploration of Buddhist philosophy within a captivating gaming experience. It provides players with an opportunity to delve into profound teachings while embarking on an epic adventure through ancient mythology.



Black Myth: Wukong FAQ – Every Answer You Need About the Megahit Action Game
All your Black Myth: Wukong questions answered.

Black Myth: Wukong is a smash hit, breaking all sorts of player count records on Steam, cementing itself as one of the best video games in August and of 2024. The action RPG from GameScience is inspired by the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, while its gameplay takes cues from Soulslikes. 

Naturally, you must have a lot of questions regarding Black Myth and we've gathered all of answers you need.

Who is Wukong?
Black Myth: Wukong's protagonist is called The Destined One, and he's based on Sun  Wukong from Journey to the West. In Chinese mythology, Sun Wukong is the monkey king and a trickster god.

How Long Is Black Myth: Wukong?
If you want to complete most side quests along with the main story, then Black Myth: Wukong will take around 40 hours to beat. If you're a trophy/achievement hunter, then prepare to lose around 70 hours to the game.

How Many Chapters Are In Black Myth: Wukong?
There are six chapters in Black Myth: Wukong, lasting for around 3-5 hours depending on how much you explore them.

Is Black Myth: Wukong An Open-World Game?
While there's plenty of variety in Black Myth: Wukong, it is not an open world game. The game's progression is fairly linear, taking you to different biomes in each chapter.

Does Black Myth: Wukong Run on Steam Deck?
Yes, Black Myth: Wukong can run on a Steam Deck, though you'll need to turn down a lot of the settings and limit the frame rate to 30fps. You'll also need to enable AMD's FSR for image upscaling. Thankfully, the game seems to run really well on PC.

Is Black Myth: Wukong on Xbox?
No, Black Myth: Wukong is skipping Xbox at launch, so only PC and PS5 players can enjoy the game at the moment.

Is Black Myth: Wukong on PS Plus?
No, you'll need to buy Wukong on the PlayStation store for PS5 as it is only available for purchase there, and not available within the PS Plus catalog.

What is Black Myth: Wukong Compatibility Mode?
PC players have the option to enable a "Compatibility mode" in Black Myth: Wukong before launching the game. This function disables certain features so the game can run better on PC, such as making sure that third-party programs like screen recorders, performance capture software, and more. If you're having issues with the game crashing or showing black screens, consider turning on compatibility mode.

Does Black Myth: Wukong Have Denuvo?
Yes, Black Myth: Wukong does use Denuvo anti-tamper DRM to secure its files. Denuvo has been proven to hinder game performance in many titles, though how much it affects your experience will depend on your hardware. You can make sure it runs well by checking the Black Myth: Wukong PC system requirements before attempting to run the game.

Does Black Myth: Wukong Have a New Game+ Mode?
Yes, Black Myth: Wukong does have a New Game+ mode so you can replay the entire  adventure with all of your acquired skills. In New Game+, many stats like your character's level, skills, armor upgrades, vessels, and more are retained.

How Many Trophies Are in Black Myth: Wukong?
There are a total of 36 trophies in Black Myth for PS5, while the PC version has 81 achievements.



7 Lingering Questions We Have After The End Of Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong proved to be more than just an adaptation of an revered Chinese novel. It ends up building on top of it, managing to both keep the nature of the characters intact while taking them on new journeys altogether, particularly when it comes to Wukong.
However, not all questions are answered when that ending hits, since there are a few key characters missing from the main crew. While some things fans are wondering could be answered in a sequel, they still feel like important enough gaps to leave in the dark.

What Happened To Pingping? Did The Red Boy Get Her?
During Chapter 5, you'll be guided around by Pingping, daughter of the Bull King, who tries to have the Destined One help her stop her brother, the Red Boy. Pingping ends up aiding the Destined One to reach the Bull King, but it turns out she wasn't Pingping at all, but the Red Boy in disguise.

A fight ensues, ending in the demise of the Red Boy, but we are left wondering what happened to Pingping. We know that the Red Boy took her place, but did he kill her to do so, or only removed her from the playfield temporarily as he did his power play?

Where Is The Tang Monk?
He's The Novel's Main Character
In Journey to the West, a Buddhist monk enlists the help of three creatures during his search for the ancient scriptures. This Monk has many names, and it is referenced by many characters (by Yellowbrow during Chapter 3 in particular), but it seems odd that he doesn't show up in any capacity during the game.
Note: The monk seen during Chapter 3's ending cutscene is Jinchanzi, a previous incarnation of the Tang Monk, but we don't see him during his current iteration.
One possibility is that the Wise Man, someone who helps the Destined One during their journey, is the Tang Monk, although it isn't confirmed. It could be that the character doesn't appear at all, since he's supposed to be in the Celestial Court with the Buddha, but it is hard to imagine he'd have nothing to do in a story about Wukong.

Who Is The Elder Monkey?
Seems To Work For The Heavens
The Elder Monkey is the one that first narrates Wukong's demise, sending the Destined One on their journey to find the Six Senses of the Wise Sage. He seems to be on our side, helping us enter the stone holding the final Sense, but once you beat the final boss, something strange happens.
The Golden Headband, a mark of imprisonment for Wukong, is finally removed, but the Elder Monkey picks it up. In the Bad ending, the Elder puts the Headband on the Destined One, making them enter a state of stasis, meaning that the Elder Monkey was working for the heavens all along; just who was he, and why was he helping us?

Is Wukong Resurrected?
What About The Destined One?
During the True ending, it is revealed that everything that happened was planned by Wukong, so he could remove the Golden Headband from his head. To do this, he dies, his Six Senses going into a new monkey, the Destined One.
When the game ends with the Destined One gaining the memories of Wukong, we are left wondering what happened to our monkey. Is the Destined One gone, is he just upgraded with the memories of Wukong, or are Wukong and the Destined One now a single entity?

Why Is The Golden Headband On Wukong's Head?
It Was Removed At The End Of Journey To The West
The main catalyst for the story of Black Myth: Wukong is the Golden Headband, placed there by Buddha so Wukong couldn't rebel against the heavens. Wukong wants to get rid of it, hence why he hatches an elaborate plot involving dying and coming back as the memories in the Destined One's head.
This, however, shouldn't be necessary, since Wukong has the Headband removed at the end of the novel. We are even shown this moment during the cutscene of the game's True ending, so we are left wondering how exactly Wukong ended with the Headband again; maybe it was placed after he refused to stay in the Celestial Court?

Why Did Erlang Shen Help Wukong?
He Seemed Like The Main Bad Guy
Erlang Shen is the mightiest warrior of both Heaven and Earth, and has bested Wukong on at least two occasions, making him the biggest threat to the Monkey King if he ever wants to be free of celestial control. However, it turns out that Erlang was helping Wukong achieve his goals, since he's been using the bosses of the game to test a Monkey capable of replacing Wukong.
Exactly why he is doing that isn't clear, but he seems to see eye to eye with the Monkey on some level. He claims that the “win is his” (talking about Wukong) and that he is “now at peace,” but without proper context, it's hard to know his motives; was this all a bet he had with Wukong, is he content knowing that he lost? Only time will tell.

Where Is Sha Wujing?
How Come The Pig Gets To Be Here But Not Him?
When the Tang Monk went around recruiting members for his Journey, he ended up with three bodyguards: Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. During Black Myth: Wukong we see what happened with two of them, but there is not even the slightest mention of Sha Wujing anywhere.
He is usually depicted as a big warrior with red hair, and we even see him during the cutscene showing events of the Journey to the West, but it feels odd that he isn't even mentioned in Black Myth. If he is still at the Celestial Court, he might be a boss in future games, or perhaps we might even get a Black Myth: Sha Wujing to explain what he's been doing.


Black Myth: Wukong FAQ – All your questions answered

How long to beat Black Myth: Wukong?
Black Myth: Wukong is roughly 40 hours long, but if you want to know more about how long different playstyles take – like how long it takes to 100% the game – check out our full guide for how long to beat Black Myth: Wukong.

Is Black Myth: Wukong on Xbox?
No, Black Myth: Wukong is currently only available on PS5 and PC.

When is Black Myth: Wukong coming to Xbox?
Black Myth: Wukong has been confirmed for an Xbox release, but no release date or even release window has been announced yet.

Is Black Myth: Wukong on PS Plus?
No, Black Myth: Wukong is not on PS Plus.

What is Black Myth: Wukong's age rating?
Black Myth: Wukong is rated as following according to IMDb:

ESRB: M
PEGI: 16
AUS: MA15+
USK: 18
CHI: 17
TAI: (Banned)
Does Black Myth: Wukong have multiplayer?
No, the game does not have any multiplayer features, co-op or competitive.

Does Black Myth: Wukong run on Steam Deck?
Black Myth: Wukong can run on Steam Deck, but you may need to turn some settings down. It's recommended that you limit the framerate to 30fps to avoid tearing, as the game can be unstable at higher caps.

How many trophies does Black Myth: Wukong have?
Black Myth: Wukong has 36 trophies, and you can find out how to get all of them with our Black Myth: Wukong trophy guide.

Does Black Myth: Wukong have difficulty settings?
No, the game does not have any difficulty settings, and the development team has said there are no plans to add them.

Is Black Myth: Wukong open world?
No, the game uses linear levels with an open-ended structure. Find out more about it in our full guide for Is Black Myth: Wukong open world?

Who is Sun Wukong?
The game's namesake, Sun Wukong is known in Chinese mythology as the Monkey King and is a trickster god featured in the famous 16th-century Chinese novel, Journey to the West.

Does Black Myth: Wukong have New Game Plus?
Yes, find out more about how New Game Plus works in Black Myth: Wukong at that link.

What is the controversy surrounding Black Myth: Wukong?
The controversy is about how Black Myth: Wukong streamers were asked not to mention “feminist propaganda” among other things.

How many endings does Black Myth: Wukong have?
Black Myth: Wukong has two endings, one normal ending, and then a second secret ending that can only be achieved by completing a set number of tasks, and finally finishing the game a second time.



Hey guys! I finally finished the game. In this post, I'm going to explain all the cutscenes from each chapter ending as well as explain a bit on the ending's meaning.

Chapter 1 Black cloud, red fire. Is pretty self-explanatory. It shows Jinchi as a kid growing up under the friendship of the black bear. Eventually, one day he meets Sanzang and wants the treasure cassock for himself. This results in him wanting to burn the monk to death, but of course, this backfires and burns his monastery instead. At the end of the cutscene, the black bear asks Guanyin, “Monks should be free of worldly desires. Why does Jinchi insist on that one cassock?” Guanyin says, “If he doesn't wear it, how would anyone know he's a high monk?” What she means is that Jinchi should be free of worldly desires, but he wants to wear that to prove to others that he's a high monk free of desires, which ultimately is hypocritical.

Chapter 2 Yellow sand, desolate dusk This one shows the scholar who saves a white fox. After having a dream that the wolf was a yaoguai, they fall in love and have children. But the dream turns into a nightmare when he dreams of the fox killing his family and him. Ling Ji then says, "Man, beast, Buddha, or yaoguai, all has each of their own nature. They are ranked from good to bad, and the order cannot be disrupted, do you agree?"

This could be interpreted in 2 ways. Lingji could be saying that we all suffer our own karma and that we reap what we sow. As shown in chapter 3 when we learn what happens to the scholar. Or it could be interpreted as everyone has a purpose and should stay in line. I, however, don't think so.

Chapter 3 White snow, ice-cold We see a cutscene featuring the soft-shelled turtle providing treasure and ultimately losing it when the villagers got greedy and attacked him. At the end, Jin Chan Zi says, “You are so desperate to declare a winner and loser; it's both funny and sad.” The turtle replies, “If I can't win, then what's left to argue about?” As many members speculated, this turtle is the disguise of Yellow Brow, who previously said to the destined one “Jin Chan Zi said, If all beings are equal and have potential, then why are we high above while they are below and have to kneel?” Yellow Brow replied, “Simply because we are better.” The turtle, being Yellow Brow, was trying to prove a point that humans are beneath them. Humans are greedy and will do anything to benefit themselves, which is why they will always remain below. Sanzang, of course, still disagrees.

Chapter 4 Rosy cheeks, grey hair So the scene starts out with Bajie back when he was still a heaven marshal. He saw is jade rabbit who had an affair with the sun crow. Bajie fell in love with her.. Along the way, he meets with the violet spider who is chang'e a maiden of the moon palace. The violet spider falls for him, but of course, he was really only into the jade rabbit. He realizes Jade rabbit has a lover and was caught peeking, so he was cast down to the human world. The third lady we see where he chases among fabric is Gao Cui Lan. His human wife. It shows, however, he was reincarnated into a pig. After, it shows he turned into a catfish to swim around the spider sisters. With the violet spider recognizing him. They make love and created the little girl we see in the game which is violet and Bajie's daughter.

Now some people say the lady she was chasing was chang'e and that the purple spider was just a regular maiden. Other say she was chasing Taiyin goddess who had an affair with the jade emperor and that the violet spider is chang'e which is a broad term for moon maiden. I don't really know.

Chapter 5 Golden child, crimson blood At the beginning, we are shown Bull King holding Wukong in his arms as he's dying. This is during the beginning of the game when the 5 chapter bosses and erlang team up to fight Wukong. And Wukong is injured. Then it shows Wukong and Bull King facing heaven together. This is during havoc in heaven. It then jumps to when Wukong fought him during the journey to the west stating this was the only way to help yaoguai kind like them. and then back to when he was dying in the first scene. Basically, these are memories of the two's past as well as the end. Bull King and the other bosses teamed up with heaven in defeating Wukong after the journey was over and Wukong refused to go to heaven. Wukong apologizes to Bull King saying he thought after finishing the journey he could have protected him and his family but was wrong.

Chapter 6 Unfinished The secret ending scene we see is actually going backward from when he vs. Erlang Shen in the beginning. We see after the band appeared on his head he refused to submit and ripped it off. It then shows him finishing the journey and being promoted to victorious fighting Buddha. The scenes we see actually go backwards from his journey. Scenes go by fast so I'll just do a quick of what I see. The turtle throws the group in the ocean is Tongtian River. They were thrown in after forgetting to do what the turtle asked.

The chicken with ground covered in rice and lantern plus lock is Fengxian City. That had a drought for three years cause of a mistake the Marques did.

The cage with babies is the Deer Arc where the Immortal of Longevity's deer told the king to harvest baby hearts.

The black bird is a great roc.

Snake is a small demon which swallows Wukong and Wukong killed her from her stomach.

the nine-headed bird is the son-in-law of Green Tidal Wave Pool, and the husband of White dragon Horses cheating fiancé.

The two monkeys are real and fake Monkey King,

the ring with all the weapons being sucked in is Azure Bull and his diamond circlet,

the tiger on an execution stand and the dog with his head in its mouth is Tarrycart Kingdom arc during a bet,

Sanzang reciting prayers refer to him chanting the tightening spell causing Wukong great pain.

The white spirit is the White Bone Demon mocking Wukong for getting punished by his master. though I'll talk more about that later,

the tree being picked up and the fruits falling is Ginseng Fruit arc

the pig and that giant is Flowing Sands River Bajie vs Wujing,

the mountain and talisman is when Wukong was released from the mountain by Sanzang.

The next scene with Wukong in armor is Havoc in Heaven, him pissing in Rulai hand and the words written is when he made a bet with Rulai, Erlang and Nezha fight him which is also havoc in Heaven, goes to him sitting on a table drinking wine and crossing his name off the book of life and death for him and his monkeys, the last scene we see is him becoming brothers with the 7 demon kings. Friends gone and the weapons remaining usually means of fallen comrades so he wrecks heaven once again.

Now some Easter's eggs The song in the true ending is actually a remix of the original Journey to the West 1986 song. A national classic.

In the boat cutscene of Wukong's memories, we hear how Wukong has a love affair with White Bone Demon. This isn't canon and was added as an Easter egg to a previous game, Game science had made. Probably also why they never added her to the game anywhere. No quotes or anything related to her. Not even a special frame in the ending cutscene or anywhere. As it's just an Easter egg. Bajie even said “ Wukong is better then me he isn't that kind of person” since this isn't anywhere near canon and is just a Easter egg ( not to mention it won't make sense either)

The special items like Weaver's Needle, Fire Mantel, and Wind Pearl and Wukong's armor, the quotes written are all quotes from the book as well.

When Pigsy sees Wukong's throne, he sits on it and calls the destined one a monster saying how all his men looked the same, etc. This is actually a reference. Bajie explains later in the game as well (though not well) this is when Wukong was cast away and Bajie begged him to come back. Wukong teased him pretending not to recognize him and says that quote.

There are so many references and Easter eggs in the book. Overall this game makes my heart hurt. But it makes sense in a way. The story Journey to the West is so well known. Wukong is so famous maybe with time a new one should arrive but his memories will never fade. After all keep in mind this game is called BLACK MYTH Wukong. At the end of the day it's just a myth that's dark in nature.



Origin lore of cannon characters chapter 1-5
So I just finished the game first run. Here is a list of the characters that existed in game and the book. Including there lore from the actual novel. Note I did not write chapter 6 cause it got way to complicated and almost all the heaven bosses we fight do exist. In novel somewhere although insignificant.

Chapter 1

Erlang Shen (Yang Jian)

Erlang Shen is a deity in heaven said to be the Jade Emperor's nephew in some lore. He was recommended by Guanyin to fight Sun Wukong when Wukong first wreaked havoc in heaven. The reason for this was that Erlang Shen has 73 types of transformation, compared to Wukong's 72. During the fight, the two were neck and neck. Taishan Lao Jun threw a diamond circlet (a treasure) that hit Wukong in the head mid-fight, resulting in Wukong's capture.

Guanmo and Guanzi

Both of these were monks in the Guanyin Monastery. They served the elder monk Jinchi, along with several hundred other monks. In the original story, these two are human, and not much more is said about them other than that one persuaded Jinchi to use fire, and the other to murder Sanzang and Wukong to steal their cassock.

Abbot Jinchi

Jinchi, the monk/abbot, is the leader of the Guanyin Monastery, having lived for 270 years. He was close friends with the black bear, and despite being a monk, he always valued the finer things in life. When he met Sanzang, he exchanged pleasantries and inquired about the vast wealth of the Tang dynasty. Wukong sensed that the monks were looking down on them for being poor, so he showed off the treasured cassock that Guanyin had given to Sanzang. The cassock was adorned with jewels that allowed the wearer to avoid disasters and escape harm. Elder Jinchi begged Sanzang to inspect it closely in his room, promising to return it the next day. However, that night, he intended to keep the cassock, so he ordered the monks to burn Sanzang and Wukong while they were sleeping. Wukong used the fire mantle to protect Tripitaka and then blew some wind to spread the fire throughout the monastery. The next morning, Wukong asked for the cassock back, but it was gone. Jinchi had no idea who took it. Without any explanation, and with his reputation in tatters and the monastery destroyed, he committed suicide.

Black Bear

The black bear saw the roaring fires of the monastery that night and decided to help his old friend. However, when he got close, he saw the treasured glow of the cassock and stole it for himself instead. He later wanted to celebrate his birthday with a cassock banquet. Wukong found him discussing this with his friends and attacked out of anger, slaying the white-clad noble on the spot while Lingxuzi fled. Wukong chased the bear to a cave where, after a few fights, the bear hid, refusing to leave. Wukong eventually asked Guanyin for help. On their way, Wukong spotted Lingxuzi and killed him on the spot. He discovered that Lingxuzi had made some immortal pills to gift to the bear, and a plan was devised. Eventually, after the black bear was subdued, Guanyin spared the bear's life and made him the protector of her purple bamboo woods.

Lingxuzi and the White-Clad Nobleman

Lingxuzi and the White-Clad Nobleman are a wolf and a snake yaoguai, respectively. Both were good friends of the Black Bear King. The White-Clad Nobleman was killed before he could do anything significant and is almost forgettable as an NPC in the book. After his death, Wukong vented his anger by ripping his hide to shreds.

Lingxuzi, the white wolf, was killed while delivering an immortality pill to the Black Bear for his birthday. Other than that, not much else is mentioned about him.

Chapter 2

Tiger Vanguard

The Tiger Vanguard served the Yellow Wind King. He was sent out to distract Wukong and Bajie while the king captured Sanzang. The plan worked. Both Bajie and Wukong killed the Tiger Vanguard, but this left Sanzang wide open for capture.

Yellow Wind King

The Yellow Wind King is a weasel demon (marten). He has the special ability to blow a yellow wind that can cause normal people to go blind and kill them. He was originally just a marten who had attained the way. He stole oil from a crystal lamp in Buddha's hall. Because he took the oil, the lamp went out, and he was scared of getting caught, so he ran to the human world to become a demon. He later captured Sanzang in hopes of eating him. While fighting Wukong, he caused discomfort to Wukong's eyes. Wukong had his eyes treated by a disguised Taibai (the Great White Star Planet God). Afterward, he was guided to Lingji Buddha, who helped Wukong avoid the wind with a special wind pearl. Wukong was going to kill him, but he was spared by Lingji, who took him back to be judged.

Chapter 3

Kang Jin Long

Kang Jin Long appeared in the Yellow Brow Arc. He is one of the twenty-eight constellation gods that Bajie had asked to come down to help Wukong when Wukong was trapped in some cymbals. Kang Jin Long, has an iconic single horn.

When Wukong was trapped in the magical cymbals, none of the weapons anyone had was able to break or wedge open the cymbals. Kang Jin came up with the idea to stick his horn into the cymbals. He wedged himself into the crack where the cymbals joined and managed to push his horn inside. However, the cymbals were like skin and tightly surrounded the horn. Even as he grew in size, the cymbals grew with him.

Eventually, Wukong drilled a small hole into the tip of the dragon's horn and shrunk himself to hide inside it. Through everyone's efforts, they pulled his horn out, thus freeing Wukong. After Wukong was freed, an enraged Wukong smashed the cymbals into pieces.

(Not to be confused with Kang Jin Star. Kang Jin Star does not exist in "Journey to the West"; only Kang Jin Long does.)

Smiling Buddha

The Smiling Buddha is the little kid who was eating watermelon during the treasure-hunting quest. He grants you the Seal skill. He is the Smiling Buddha and the master of Yellow Brow.

In the story, he helped Wukong capture Yellow Brow. He gave Wukong the same spell, but in the novel, the spell prevented Yellow Brow from using his abilities and his sack. Wukong made Yellow Brow chase him into a watermelon field, where Wukong then transformed into a watermelon. The Smiling Buddha turned into a farmer, and when Yellow Brow came searching for Wukong, he offered him a watermelon to quench his thirst. Wukong then caused havoc in Yellow Brow's stomach, making him submit back to his master.

Yellow Brow King

Yellow Brow is one of the main demons Wukong faced on his journey. Yellow brow is a disciple of the smiling Buddha used to be called a Yellow browed page who is in charge of striking the stone chime every day.

The arc begins with the group coming across a monastery titled Little Thunder Monastery. For reference, the group is aiming for the real Thunder Monastery. Wukong sensed demonic energy from the place and warned Sanzang not to go in. However, Sanzang refused, saying that if there was a monastery, he must visit and show his respect.

Once inside, they encountered the Yellow Brow Buddha, who trapped the group. The Yellow Brow demon used his magic cymbals to trap Wukong and then captured Sanzang and the others, with only Bajie escaping. Soon, Bajie received help from the twenty-eight constellation gods, and Kang Jin Long managed to free Wukong. Wukong destroyed the cymbals and fought Yellow Brow, but Yellow Brow's treasure sack sucked everyone in, leaving only Wukong to escape.

Wukong eventually sought help from the Heavenly Demon Suppressor, who sent the Turtle General and Snake General, along with five dragons, to assist. However, none of them could escape the sack. Wukong ultimately received help from the Smiling Buddha, who put an end to Yellow Brow in the watermelon fields. Wukong did not get the chance to kill him.

Jin Chan Zi

Jin Chan Zi is mentioned by Yellow Brow and the monk in the cutscene. He is the second disciple of Rulai Buddha, and his reincarnation is Sanzang, the monk whom Wukong protects on the journey. Sanzang is one of the main characters in "Journey to the West."

Zhu Bajie, the pig, is Wukong's second disciple and little brother by bond. He was originally Tian Peng Marshal, in charge of 80,000 water soldiers. He was kicked out of Heaven for harassing the beautiful Chang'e (the Moon Goddess). While reincarnating, he accidentally went down the wrong hole and became a pig.

Third prince and 4 generals In the book he is known as little prince Zhang (English translation) he and his 4 generals are disciples of the great sage of Sizhou. He introduces himself, with his father being the king of flowing sands kingdom. He was born sickly and weak. By chance he meets his master to which his master gives him an immortal pill that heals him. He then started training in the way. They got sucked into the pouch as well.

Chapter 4

Zhu bajie Zhu bajie one of the main characters of the story. He used to be the Tian peng marshal. In charge of 80000 water soldiers. In the novel he gotten drunk and was punished for harassing Chang'e the moon goddess. This sparked outrage and he was punished to be cast down to earth and reincarnated. However he accidentally fell into the wrong pit and ended up as a pig. He was later instructed by guanyin to protect sanzang and head west. However while waiting he got bored. The village near by called Gao village was home to many people with the surname Gao. Inside lived squire Gao. He had three daughters. The youngest was called Cuilan. Because squire Gao has no son he wanted the youngest daughter to marry a nice man who would take over as man of the house. So Zhu bajie disguised himself and married the daughter from house of Gao. He worked hard but slowly lost his transformation over time. When called out as a demon he locked cuilan in the back of the house for 6 months till Wukong arrived and subdued him. After the journey Zhu bajie was given the tittle jingtan sheze which is in charge of eating offerings.

Spiders In journey to the west gossamer cave arc the 7 spiders captured sanzang when sanzang insisted on begging for food on his own that day. In the story after they captured sanzang they went bathing in a special spring known as the filth cleansing spring. Wukong stole there clothes causing them to remain trapped there. Bajie did indeed turn into a carp and swam around there crotch, playing around. However towards the end. Wukong captured all 7 and planned on using them as a bargaining chip against their elder brother by bond the hundred eye daoist. When the daoist refuse to hand sanzang over, Wukong killed them all.

Duskveil

Dawn star constellation or the star officer of Pleiades ( mao re xing guan) Other wise known as the rooster star. He helped wukong during the scorpion arc. His crow was able to revert the scorpion lady back to her true form and kill her. This is also written in the scorpion lord boss lore ( note: scorpion lord does not exist in book) Look at honourable mentions for more on scorpion lady.

Hundred eye daoist The hundred eye daoist is the elder brother by bond to the spider sisters. When the spider ladies were defeated by Sun Wukong they went to him for help. He agreed to help wanting to eat sanzang as well. He welcomed sanzang into the temple and offered the group tea. Wukong tried to stop sanzang but he doesn't listen and drinks the tea anyway. Of course everyone except Wukong ends up getting poisoned. Wukong heads back to gossamer cave and captures the spiders planning on using them as a bargaining chip. But the hundred eye daoist refuse. Claiming he wants to eat the monk. In fury Wukong kills the spiders. This angers the daoist and they fight. The daoist has a unique skill that can shed out light that hurts everything its eyes can see. Eventually pi lan po saves the day and saves the rest of the poison as well. She also stops bajie and wukong from killing the hundred eye daoist. She took the daoist away and made him her door keeper to guard her front door.

Chapter 5

Iron fan princess She is a raksasi a type of ghost king in a way. She lives in plantain cave and is known as the iron fan princess. The official wife of bull king and the mother of the Red Boy. ( for simple purposes I'm gonna just call her fanny) In the novel the group reached fire flame mountain and is unable to cross due to the intense heat and flames. In order to cool the mountain down they need the plantain fan to cool it. The fan belongs to Fanny and so Wukong goes to burrow it. However Fanny is pissed at how wukong got her son captured and so she refuse to lend him the fan. Wukong decides to hide in her tea and reaches her stomach creating havoc and forcing her to give up her fan. Unable to bear the pain she gives him the fan however the fan is a fake and only worsens the flames. Wukong then decides to go find bull king to try to get him to convince Fanny to give up the fan. Wukong thought this was an easy thing since he and bull king used to be brother by bond. However along the way Wukong scares the jade princess and so bull king becomes enraged and refuse. Claiming he bugged his wife, harassed his concubine, bullied his son. Obviously bull king was a no go. So wukong heads back and turns into bull king and seduces Fanny. Making her give up her fan. He is successful and heads back to the mountains. Bull king finds out and turns into bajie tricking the fan back from wukong. Eventually Fanny does give up the fan after bull kings defeat wanting to save her husband. Wukong later permanently extinguished the flames of the mountain by fanning it 49 times. He then returned the fan to Fanny.

Bull king Bull king is a white bull with tremendous strength. He was originally brothers by bond with wukong back when Wukong was still king of flower fruit mountain. He and 6 other demons formed this bond. The bull king was defeated by nezha and heavenly king Li. When defeated he begged to be converted to Buddha faith and was spared after his wife gave up her fan. He was then taken away by nezha to lead him to Buddha.

Keeper of flaming mountains

In the novel he is the tudi or local god of fire flame mountain. He originally was actually a furnace attendant for taishan laojun. He was punished and was sent down to be a local god. He explained to wukong and bajie the origin of the mountain. Back when Sun Wukong wrecked heaven he was punished to be thrown into the furnace and turned into a pill. But he survived and in anger kicked over the furnace. Bricks from the furnace fell down to earth creating the now flaming mountains.

Bishui golden eyed beast

Bishui means water avoiding so it's a water avoiding beast with golden eyes. He is bull kings mount. Able to fly and go in the water. Bull king went to green wave pool to drink and eat at the dragon kings place. He rode his mount there. Wukong decided to trick the fan out of iron fan princess and so he turned into bull king and stole the mount. Riding it to plantain cave.

Red child Red child is the son of bull king and princess iron fan. He wanted to cook sanzang and disguised himself as a regular boy that was tied up by bandits. Wukong saw right through him but sanzang insisted they rescue him. Sanzang then told Wukong to carry the child while they walk through the mountain. Wukong listens having no choice. Red uses a spell to weigh himself down heavy wanting to crush Wukong but instead Wukong throws him off destroying his body. Luckily reds spirit escaped in the nick of time and was fine. He later captures Sanzang through a violent gale. He fights Wukong and was able to harm him using his samadhi fire. Wukong later disguise himself as his father but fails a few questions which allowed red to see through. Eventually Wukong gets help from guanyin and through a trap they manage to capture him and force him to submit. Guanyin then takes him wanting to have him as a disciple.

Honourable mentions

The guy with the big gourd on his back whom we meet again in chapter 2 talks of jinghe dragon king. The one punished by heaven. He is in the original journey to the west as well. He is also the father of the 4 coloured dragons. Who are also briefly mentioned in journey to the west.

Jinghe dragon king has an interesting story that varies on version but one thing remains the same. He was ordered to produce rain but produced the wrong amount of rain and added to the wind which resulted in him getting executed by wei Zheng. He is married to the younger sister of Ao Shun who is dragon king of the North Sea.

Jing he has 9 sons. Wukong fought with the 9th. Eldest is yellow, 2nd is black, 3rd is blue, 4th is red. 5th, 6th, 7th all are in heaven with Buddha or gods. 8th is with a relative.

Tudi (local earth god)

The guy that look like vegetable roots that guide us in chapter 1. The local earth god is a different person in every region. So it's not possible to say exactly what he does cause there's to many of em. But they do appears in journey to the west as well.

General Snake and Tortoise
Both were sent by the Heavenly Demon Suppressor to help Wukong defeat Yellow Brow, along with five dragons. After fighting for an hour, they were sucked into Yellow Brow's sack. Later, of course, they were rescued, but they did not have much significance otherwise.

Kui Mu Lang
Kui Mu Lang is mentioned in Kang Jin Long's lore. He said, “Even though that monkey messed up my plans, I still respect him.”

In the book, he was one of the main demons Wukong faced. He was known as the Yellow Robe Demon (lots of yellow). He kidnapped the princess of Elephantia and later captured Sanzang. This happened while Wukong was cast away and not by Sanzang's side. The princess of Elephantia gave birth to two of his children. She also secretly freed Sanzang, asking him to pass a note to his father. Sanzang obliged and later sent Bajie and Wujing to rescue the princess. The plan failed, resulting in Wujing being captured. Kui Mu Lang then disguised himself as a hunter and went to the king in Elephantia. He tricked the king into believing that a tiger yaoguai had kidnapped the princess and that he had saved her. He then used his magic to turn Sanzang into a tiger, fooling everyone.

Later, under the White Dragon Horse's plea, Bajie went to beg Wukong to come back. Wukong did so and beat Kui Mu Lang badly. Before Wukong could kill him, his fellow constellations came to retrieve him.

Pi lan po She is a Pusa or Budhisattva in English. she is also the mother of dawn star constellation ( maore xing guan)(duskveil) in the novel old lady of mountain li told wukong to go search for pi lan po to help defeat the hundred eye Taoist. The weapon Pi lan po used is the weavers needle we get in game. The quote from the needle in game says “ this vessel of mine is forged not of iron or steel, but solely from the eyes of my son” this is what she tells wukong as well. This needle was created from Mao re xing guans eyes. After she defeats the hundred eye daoist she takes him back to make him guard her place.

Scorpion lady

Scorpion lady lives near the kingdom of woman. She abducted sanzang wanting to marry him. After sanzang desperately refused she tied him up. She is a very strong demon sporting a horse killing poison. Fighting both bajie and wukong at the same time she manage to stung bajie on the lips and wukong on the head. Causing both of them pain. Though Wukong recovered way faster and had a weaker effect. It was revealed that she was a scorpion listening to Buddha teachings at the thunder monastery. When rulai mistakenly swatted at her she stung his thumb in defence causing him pain. She was arrested and now she's here. She was later killed by mao re Xing guan.

Wang ling guan Heavenly inspector head of security for heaven. In charge of 500 guards. He faced Sun Wukong during havoc in heaven. When Wukong reached the hall of miraculous mist.

Jade princess Jade princess was a fox demon. Her father was a ten thousand year old fox king who gave birth to just one daughter. After the king died all his property was left with no rule. When the bull king arrived and showed how strong he was the princess fell for him and asked him to marry her. So the bull king left iron fan princess for her. She was later killed by bajie when he ransacked her cave.



# WINE AND SOAKS

Chapter 1:

- Gall Gem: dropped from the yaoguai you kill saving shen monkey.
- Tender jade lotus: RNG drop can be from any jade lotus you find in the water.

Chapter 2:

- Lambrew wine: up the slopping path in the initial spawn area with archers shooting at you.
- Laurel buds: from village entrance shrine head to the open area where you need to go before you fight king and seccond prince. It's guarded by a mage on an alter.
- Steel ginseng: RNG drop from any aged ginseng. Popular farm is the ginseng in the ravine before man of stone from squall hideout.
- Iron pellet: complete man in stone quest.
- Copper pill: along the path after killing tiger vanguard.
- Goat skull: RNG drop farm licorice plants. The place where you first enter the chapter has some on route.
- Tiger relic: while heading down tiger vanguards cellar before as you slide down the sand slide there is a ledge where you can jump then heavy hit to roll up and grab it.

Chapter 3:

- Stranded long whiskers: After defeating kang jin long. Teleport back to mirrormere shrine. Head across the lake towards the back right side where a sad tree is. It's right under it.
- Breath of fire: defeat cyan long on turtle island to the right.
- Blue bridge romance wine: bitter lake shore head into the temple and on the left there's a huge lake with this wine on it.
- Turtle tear: find snake generals dead body. North shore head to the right all the way.
- Jade essence: towers of karma to the left then right past the blade monk where a lot of ginseng are. Behind that pillar.
- Sweet ice: left balcony above clay varja.

Chapter 4:

- Goji shoots: Upper hollow shrine. Take a left follow the path in a small house
- Purple veined peach pit: Inside a chest during the 4th sister cutscene.
- Death stinger: Defeat scorpion prince in the garden
- Worry free brew: Before the scorpion prince behind a house guarded by two sacs
- Bee mountain stone: Mountain trail shrine follow the path it will be on your left behind the stone fence.
- Sunset of nine skies: Court of illumination head out and go straight. In a hut next to fungiwoman
- fruit of dao: RNG drop farm the 2 monks guarding the front of the gate to court of illumination.
- undying vine: Chapter 4 secret area farm treeman
- Double combed rooster blood: Defeat duskveil.

Chapter 5

- Mount lingtai seeds: After you fight the first elemental cart it's up the path to the left in a pavilion.
- Loong balm wine: Next to the throne in emerald hall.
- Slumbering beetle husk: Left side of the steps next to the throne in the emerald hall.
- Flame mediator: RNG drop from flame boulders next to where ping ping got rid of the fire.

Chapter 6

- Flower primes: Brought from shen monkey after chapter 6
- Graceful orchid: Give Chen long all seeds
- Guan yin willow leaf: Brough from shen monkey in NG+

# CURIO

Chapter 1:

- Cat eye beads: kill wandering wright
- Agate jar: arena where you fought the black wind boss in a chest from cave interior shrine
- Back scratcher: brought from shrines after chapter 1
- Boshan sensor: dropped by red loong boss ( come back after chapter 2)

Chapter 2:

- Glazed reliquary: Windrest hamlet right behind the tiger acolyte in a cave in a chest.
- Goldflora hairpin: Purchased from man in stone after his quest.
- Tricandna pendant: Defeat black loong from behind the water fall. Rockrest shrine to the right all the way down.
- Tiger tally: Defeat OG tiger vanguard in the secret area. You'll meet if you finish the pig squire quest.

Chapter 3:

- Mani beads: RNG drop you can farm the closest enemy from mirrormere shrine yhe nearest enemy on the right against a tree.
- Frostsprout twig: kill captain lotus vision
- Fine China tea bowl: lower level pagoda small chest before heading up the stairs.
- Auspicious lantern: kill all 8 lantern wardens during nightmare mode.
- Maitreyas orb: in a chest in mindfulness cliff before in a cave before non white 2nd fight.
- Gold spike plate: longevity road shrine head to the stone statue yard and go left. Head down and it's the giant guy on the right.
- Bronze Buddha pendant: from the longevity road shrine head back pass the stone path path to the gates where two weasel assassins are. Farm them till this drops.
- Snow fox brush: complete the snow fox brush quest.
- Beasts Buddha: RNG drop towers of Karma shrine, farm that blade monk facing the wall on the left.
- Thunderflame seal: RNG drop the 4 mages after going straight from temple entrance shrine. Farm them till this drops.
- Thunderstone: straight pass the mages in the room is a box guarded by a monk.

Chapter 4:

- Cuo jin yin belt: Upper hollow shrine right turn down then up a hill at the end in a chest.
- Spine in sack: RNG drop from spider sacs
- Golden carp: Dropped by yellow loong boss.
- Jade moon rabbit: Dropped by bajie after fight.
- Virtuous bamboo engraving: RNG drop by worm daoist just past temple entrance.
- Tablet of three supreme: Defeat commander beetle following the path past temple entrance.
- Tiger tendon belt: RNG drop Court of illumination, head behind you farm that snake tiger
- Celestial registery tab: Valley of blooms shrine head straight past the shrine hop into the river and head left. Inside a box in a pavilion.
- Gold sun crow: Valley of bloom head straight. When 2 archers are shooting at you head up the hill to the archer on your right and it's in a chest on this hill.
- Preservation orb: After you beat the final boss of chapter 4 ( hundred eye daoist) come back to where you fought the venom daoist ( where you entered the purple mountain ) in the big yard with a tree past the cave there is now a box at the end below an alter.

Chapter 5:

- Amber prayer beads: Follow the main path after height of Amber shrine. Go into the cave and turn right. In a chest.
- White seashell waist chain: RNG drop Rakshasa palace, farm the guards on the lava and bridge.
- Gold button: Rakshasa giants in the palace
- Flame orb: Kill rusty gold cart
- Daoist basked of Fire and Water: Finish secret area.

Chapter 6:

- Waterward orb: Kill Jiao long in chapter 6 ( right next to the lake below the point where you get your cloud on the left.
- Celestial birth stone fragment: Defeat ling-baw-baw in chapter 6

# GOURDS

- old gourd: starting gourd
- plagues bane: complete the well quest in chapter 2, in a coffin on the left side of the mad tiger arena.
- Jade lotus gourd: brought from shen monkey after chapter 2.
- fiery gourd: from chapter 3 mindfulness cliff shrine head forward and walk off the side once you reach the wooden scaffold. Follow the path up all the way till you come across a rock enemy in a cave with a coffin on your right side. Open the coffin.
- medicine gourd: upgrade old gourd
- healing gourd: upgrade medicine gourd
- medicine sage gourd: upgrade healing gourd
- medicine master gourd: upgrade from medicine sage gourd
- medicine Buddha gourd: upgrade from medicine master gourd.
- Jade guanyin gourd: upgrade from Jade lotus gourd.
- Xiang river goddess gourd: located in the treasure room near verdure bridge unmissable open all the chests.
- stained jade gourd: beat chapter 5 scorpion king
- immortal blessing gourd: defeat Buddha right hand and get the left one from scorpion lord, then you can purchase this gourd after chapter 4.
- supreme gourd: when your old gourd is fully upgraded to medicine Buddha gourd from the rakshasa palace shrine entrance follow the path ahead on the bridges across the lava pool. Just after the path turns on the left of the lava pool is a small cave with the old man npc talk to him and take the fire in the centre.
- multi glazed gourd: brought from shen monkey in chapter 6
- Qing tian gourd: get all journal portraits and purchase in ng+

# SEEDS

- Jade lotus
- Purple lingzhi
- Nine capped lingzhi
- Snake head mushroom
- Monkey head fungus
- Fragrant Jade flower
- Fire bellflower
- Tree pearl
- Celestial pear
- Licorice
- Aged ginseng
- Millennium ginseng
- Gentian
- Golden lotus
- Fire date

# WEAPON

- Willow wood staff
- Bronze cloud staff
- Twin serpent staff
- Cloud pattern stone staff
- Wind bear staff
- Rat sage staff
- Kangjin staff
- Loong wreath staff
- Chu-bai spear
- Chitin staff
- Visionary centipede staff
- Spikeshaft staff
- Staff of blazing karma
- Golden loong staff
- Spider celestial staff
- Bishui beast staff
- Tri point double edge spear
- Jing gu bang
- Storm flash loong staff (NG+)
- Adept spine shooting fuban staff ( ng+ upgrading chitin staff)
- Dark iron staff ( NG+ after chapter 5)

# ARMOUR

You will get all the armour as you progress the story I've only included some armour that you will need to do more then just that to get.

- Old ginseng cape: dropped by old ginseng guai in chapter 3
- Bronze brocade battle robe set: defeat elder jinchi chapter 1
- Iron tough armour set: defeat yin tiger chapter 3
- Skull of turtle treasure RNG drop from turtle treasure enemy. Can find one in valley of exactly longevity road follow road down next to awaken wine worm.
- Varja arm guards dropped from the clay varja spirit
- Venomous sting armour set: Defeat scorpion lord chapter 4
- Bull king Shanwen set: Finish chapter 5 after finishing secret area
- Venomous arm guard: Slice the arms off venom daoist chapter 4
- Locus antenna mask: Farm flying loctus assassins in chapter 4
- See no evil: Farm blind monks chapter 3
- OG suozi armour: after you get your cloud in chapter 6 fly back past your spawn point and under a tree in a chest.

# SPIRITS

- Apramana Bat
- Baw-Baw-Lang-Lang
- Centipede Guai
- Commander Beetle
- Earth Wolf
- Elder Armourworm
- Father of Stones
- Flit Chief
- Flint Vanguard
- Fungiwomen
- Gore-Eye Daoist
- Guangmou
- Mad Tiger
- Misty Cloud, Cloudy Mist
- Mother of Flamlings
- Nine-Capped Lingzhi Guai
- Non-Able
- Non-Pure
- Non-Void
- Non-White
- Old Ginseng Guai
- Second Rat Prince
- Tiger's Acolyte
- Top Takes Bottom, Bottom Takes Top
- Wandering Wight
- Beetle Captain
- Blade Monk
- Bull Governor
- Charface
- Civit Sergeant
- Clay Vajra
- Crow Diviner
- Dragonfly Guai
- Earth Rakshasa
- Enslaved Yaksha
- Falcon Hermit
- Fungiman
- Lantern Holder
- Mountain Patroller
- Poisestone
- Puppet Spider
- Puppet Tick
- Rat Archer
- Rat Governor
- Rat Imperial Guard
- Red-Haired Yaksha
- Scorpion Prince
- Snake Herbalist
- Snake Sheriff
- Spearbone
- Swift Bat
- Turtle Treasure
- Verdant Glow
- Wolf Assassin



# Chapter 1 step by step walk through + list black myth Wukong

First, head to the shrine in the "front hills." Continue moving forward until you come across a bridge. Once you reach a tree with an axe-wielding wolf, it's time to explore. From the tree, head down and turn left. You'll see a cutscene of a monkey fleeing. Go to the stone head and take its eyes. Following the river will lead you to a crow diviner and some will. Continuing along the path from the tree to the right, you'll come across the first chief bull guard. He's slow, so you should be fine. Past him, you can head uphill. Up the hill to your right, you'll see a wooden cliff pavilion with wine jars on the side and your first meditation spot.

Turning 180 degrees and going straight, you'll see sparkles and a crack in the wall. Go through and follow the path to the shrine “outside the forest.” Head straight, killing the two wolves, and from here, take the left path. Move up by the rocks and continue straight until you see a man guarding a chest. You may explore the left area, which has small ponds and another crow diviner, but after you're done, cross the bridge and kill the archer. Continue straight, and you'll come across Guanzi, the fire wolf, your first real challenge. After he's defeated, grab his sword to obtain Red Tides, his transformation. Walk forward and ring the bell. Once you're done, head back the way you came or teleport back to your shrine using the talisman charm in your inventory.

From the “outside forest” shrine, we will now take the right path. You'll cross a bridge, and on your right is the wandering wright. You can use your transformation to make things easier. Once you do, he will drop a spirit and cat eye beads. You won't be able to absorb his spirit yet, but don't worry, that's fine for now. Just leave it. Head straight through the cave and follow the path; there is no other choice. You will come across the Guayin Temple shrine. Explore the yard first; there is a chest in the upper left and a will in the lower left. Pass through the gate to fight Lingxuzi, your first yaoguai king! Through the front door to the left, there is a celestial lotus pill to permanently increase your health.

Continue to the Back Hills shrine. Go straight and head to the left side of the road; follow it and enter a small cave at the end. Talk to the horse guy until his dialogue repeats. In this room by the shrine is the second meditation spot. Heading back out, we will continue straight along the cobblestone path. You can explore the small pond and waterfall; it's not big and just rewards some small blue will. Continue up the path; when you see sparkles, look to your left to find a box with some pills inside. Follow the sparkles and kill the crow diviner. Then activate the Snake Trail shrine.

Now head up the stairs, and a cutscene will ensue where the mysterious old man gives you a new gourd, allowing you to claim spirits. Now go back down to the shrine and head to the little wooden pavilion straight ahead. Go to the edge on the left and jump down. You'll land in the river. Follow the path to the left, and straight down, you'll come across a swamp where you will fight Bawliguhbaw. Absorb its spirit and head back to the shrine (note: you can collect the wandering wright spirit at the shrines).

Now follow the path all the way up; once you reach a thick area with bamboo, be careful, as this place is full of snakes. Go straight through until you reach two cracks in the wall. You will now fight Guangmo. After that, go straight to ring the bell. Now head through the wooden gate to the Marsh of the “White Snake Temple.” To the left is some Luojiao flower; grab that, then follow the path until you meet Shen Monkey and acquire the Snake Gall Soak. After you talk to him in the cave, continue down to fight the White-Clad Noble.

After defeating him, going straight through the cave will lead you to the Black Bear Cave. Once you're out, you will see a meditation spot on your left and a Taiyi pill. Now we are going to head back through the cave and this time go to the left of the arena where we fought the White-Clad Noble. Defeat the wolves and ring the bell. You will be teleported to a secret area, the Ancient Guanyin Temple. Here you will find a shrine and the secret boss, Elder Jinchi. Once you kill him, he will give you the Fire Mantle, which is very useful for the next boss and some future ones.

Now, continuing through the Black Bear Cave, follow the path to reach the “Cave Interior Shrine.” Going through these doors will trigger the Black Wind King boss fight. After you're done, search the entire area for a few goodies: awaken the wine worm on the left (break open the pots in the yard), and find an agate jar curio in a small orange chest in the center. Follow the path to the “Outside the Cave Shrine.” Follow it, and to your left, where you see a chest, is a spirit called Wolf Assassin. Follow the path up for a celestial pill. Continue up to the “Bodhi Peak Shrine” and fight the final boss, the Black Bear. Don't worry about that one boss missing journal entry. We need an item and will get back to it! Same with the backscratcher and boshan sensor curio.

# CHIEFS AND BOSSES

- Bullguard
- Guangzi
- Wandering wright
- Lingxuzi
- Baw-li-guh-baw
- Guangmo
- White clad Nobel
- Elder jinchi
- Black wind king
- Red long
- Wolf assassin is a spirit not a boss but this is the only spirit who is not a boss in chapter 1 so I'm writing it down here.

# CURIOS

- Cat eye beads: kill wandering wright
- Agate jar: arena where you fought the black wind boss in a chest from cave interior shrine
- Back scratcher: brought from shrines after chapter 1
- Boshan sensor: dropped by red loong boss ( come back after chapter 2)

# MEDITATION

- The arbour forest of wolves
- The cavern bamboo forest
- The cliff black wind cave

# DRINKS AND SOAKS

- Gall Gem: dropped from the yaoguai you kill saving shen monkey.
- Tender jade lotus: RNG drop can be from any jade lotus you find in the water.

# Transformation and spirits

- Wandering wright: outside the forest shrine follow the path and to the right.
- Baw-li-guhh-lang: snake trail shrine head to the left where the pavilion is and walk off the ledge to the right then follow the stream down.
- Guang mo: defeat guang mo snake trail path follow the trail.
- Wolf assassin: outside the cave shrine where archers on. On the lower platform with a chest.



# Chapter 2 step by step walk through + list black myth Wukong

Oof, okay, we're in for a long one this time. In my opinion, this is 2nd the longest chapter in the game. Let's get started!

After we spawn in, follow the path down, get rid of those annoying archers, and take the slope up on the left where the rats were shooting you. Head to the end to find Lanbrew wine. Now, follow the main path up the slope to the “village entrance shrine.”

Next, head back up straight around that abandoned tower. The Lingzi you see is a Yaoguai. Go all the way down, and you'll meet an NPC called Xu Dog who asks for your help. For now, go straight to the wooden platforms. All the way down is a boss named Langliguhbaw the Frog. Head back up and deliver the medicine to the dog; this will grant you the ability to craft medicine at the shrines. Now follow along the edge to the right of where the dog was, right next to the wooden platforms, and go straight to see the first meditation spot.

After that, head back, go up the steps, and follow the path. Do not go to the right. Follow to the left and eliminate the two-headed rat guards. Go left again and up the slope to get rid of the two archers; there's a well nearby. Coming back down, you can explore this big area. Next to one of those rat wizards is an altar with the Laurel Buds soak. To the left, up a hill, is an NPC you can talk to for some story context. You can also go on the roof to eliminate archers.

Straight down the path to the left, you'll hear begging; it's the horse NPC we met in Chapter 1. Before you reach him, you will trigger the Earth Wolf fight. After you defeat it, talk to the horse until his dialogue repeats. Now head back to those giant doors on the left in the arena and open them for a shortcut. You'll face some guards and the Rat Archer spirit. Afterward, head back to the main area where the two rat guards were attacking us. Go through the door on the left this time.

Now you will have to make a choice: Do you want the second prince transformation, or do you want the easy way? In this battle, you'll face the King and the Second Prince. However, the King will not attack, and the Second Prince is fairly easy. If you kill the Second Prince first, the King will run away to activate his first son. If you kill the King first, the Second Prince will get mad and become harder, but after you defeat him, you will get his spirit to transform into. It's up to you.

After you kill him, you'll see sparkles leading you to the Valley of Despair shrine. Take the path leading up first into the caves. Follow the path straight down. If you didn't kill the King, you will get a cutscene and can fight the First Prince. Regardless, we are going to follow the path down, and in the open arena, you can summon the First Prince depending on your choice earlier. Afterward, you'll see the wall with the Buddha carvings. It's possible that during the fight, a crack was created in the wall. If a crack wasn't formed, then aim yourself in the middle and use Wandering Wright to break the wall. Enter to get the Long Scale.

Head back out; now we're going to go up the path through a small corridor back the way we came so we can get the Awaken Wine Worm. Now head straight; you can kill the spitters and then head through a wooden plank to the end to reach a crack. Go through to get the Swift Bat spirit and break the wooden fence to get a Celestial Pill. Head out and to the left is Crouching Tiger Temple. You'll find the shrine “Temple Entrance.” Up the steps to your right is a chest. Up another step to your right is Meditation Spot 2.

Going all the way up is the Tiger Vanguard fight. He moves fast! Have fun! After you're done fighting him, head up the stairs and see that you cannot unlock the statue yet. But keep in mind we will come back. Walk past the arena and follow the path up; you'll find a Celestial Pill and a small chest with a Copper Pill inside. Continue to reach Windrest Ridge.

Now we are going to travel back to Black Wind Mountain, outside the Forest of Wolves. At this shrine, go to the store and buy the Backscratcher curio. Now head back up to the opened chest on the left side. Look left, and you should see a waterfall. You'll hear a poem when you get close. Head there and use the scale to enter the long waterfall. Fight him, open the chest, and head back out.

Now we're going to travel back to Yellow Wind Ridge, at the Valley of Despair shrine. This time we head left, straight past the wooden bridge, and follow the path to Fright Cliff. Along the way, you'll see some more Buddha head eyes. Grab them and unlock the nearby shrine “Gull Hideout.” Head left and straight through the ravine. All the way to the end, you'll meet a man in stone who will give you a quest.

Leaving the ravine, we're going to head right up the stairs next to the ravine. Follow the path to another pair of eyes, head straight to the end, and on the left, down the steps is a new shrine “Rockrest Flat.” We're going to head back into the caves now. To the right along the wall we entered from, head up, and you'll find the Poie Stone spirit. Continue down that path; you'll see those glowing blue crystals. That is Mother Stone. Attack the crystals to start the fight. Once you're done, go to the side where light is coming in. Follow the narrow path to get another Buddha eye.

Head back down, turn right, and continue through the tunnel. Head right to see Buddha eyes. Come back; there's a chest on the right, and the left path straight up leads to a coffin. Head straight down, and you'll see you're back on the side of the ravine. Go right and down. Head back down into the ravine and talk to the man of stone. Fight him. After you defeat him, talk to him to get the Azure Dust transformation. You can then travel to a shrine. Travel back, and he will be available as a merchant for you to buy stuff from. He sells the Gold Flora Hairpin.

Now, from the shrine or out of the ravine, head left up the side of the ravine, killing the shooting things. On the scaffold, there is another Buddha eye; don't forget there's a chest here as well. Afterward, we're going to head back to the Rockrest Flat shrine. Now on the left side, grab the Buddha eye, then head straight for that porcupine guard in the distance. Destroy the wooden fence behind him and head through. Talk to Pig Squire, then go straight for the meditation spot. Go back to the shrine and head left up the stairs. Here you'll see another waterfall where you will face the Black Dragon. You'll also grab the Spearbone spirit.

For the Black Dragon, when he does his wave attack, head on the rocks to avoid it. Now, after you're done and have collected the chest, head back to our shrine. From here, go left through the gate, and we will fight against the Stone Vanguard. Go to the shrine on the left, “Rock Crash Platform.” Head back to the Vanguard arena, and on the far side, there is a Buddha statue. Insert the eyes and fight Shiganda. After that, go back to the shrine and head straight next to the houses. Get the Rat Governor spirit and find a meditation spot.

To the left is a Celestial Pill. Go back to the shrine now and teleport back to Windrest Ridge. Head straight and explore the village. There are lots of enemies, coffins, and wills. Explore every house. The upper left section of the village has a small vase hidden; it's glowing and contains the Sobering Stone. Head out of the village from the right side, and go straight to get the Rat Imperial Guard spirit.

Going through, open the door, and on your left should be some Luojiao Vine. Now go straight up through the hidden path next to the wall. Unlock the new shrine “Windrest Hamlet.” Follow the path, and you'll come across the Tiger Acolyte spirit and a Spirit Drum. Head straight to get the Glazed Reliquary curio. Follow the path, and you'll be back at the Stone Vanguard arena. Go to the left and travel to Windrest Bridge. Go to the second hall and far right corner; it's a bit misty there. A scene should trigger asking you to rattle a drum. Do it.

Afterward, travel to the Wind Seal Gate, head back across the wooden bridge, and take a left going under the bridge. Walk until the screen turns blue again. Do the same, then travel to the Valley of Despair. Head out to where you fought the Earth Wolf. Continue to where the horse was tied up. In the same hut as him, go left and follow the paths until you can use the drum again. A cutscene will ensue, allowing you to go down into the well. Inside, you can fight the Mad Tiger. After you're done fighting him, to the left side is a coffin with Plaguesbane Gourd.

Now head back to Rockrest Flat. Talk to Pig Squire. After you exhaust all dialogue, head to the Temple Entrance again. Head up to the second step to the left. Talk to him and give him his food; after his dialogue repeats, go back to the initial place we met him. Head left, and you'll have to fight him. Afterward, follow him through the doors to the Ancient Kingdom. This area is pretty linear. Activate the shrine and fight the OG Tiger Vanguard. Once you get past him and activate the “Sandgate Shrine” on the left, all the way to the end under a dry tree is a meditation area. The big house on the left has a chest as well.

Now head to the drum and the Yellow Sage King. You will help him fight Fuban. After that, head back to the Valley of Despair. Go to the giant door and insert the tally. The door will now open; head down the path and take a left through some hidden stairs to open an iron door, creating a shortcut. Go back and head straight. You can explore the sides; after you're done, head straight across the bridge to fight Gore Eye Daoist and called Vines. Go straight to unlock a cutscene and a shrine, “Windseal Gate.”

Now travel back to the Temple Entrance and head to the arena. Up the steps, we're going to activate the tally. Head down the Tiger Mouth and follow the path. There's a Celestial Pill to the left. Follow and get the Civet Sargent spirit. Continue down to unlock the cellar and Xu Dog pill making. Note that on the slide, there's a platform above with the Tiger Relic soak inside; you must jump, then heavy hit to roll on top. After that, head down from the cellar shrine and turn right into the ravine. You'll see the Gourd Old Man and a meditation spot. After that, turn around, head straight for the final boss, the Yellow wind sage.

# BOSSES AND CHIEFS

- Lang-li-Hugh-baw
- Earth wolf
- King+second Prince
- First Prince of flowing sands
- Tiger vanguard
- Tiger acolyte
- Stone vanguard
- Gore eye daoist
- Mother of stones
- Man in stone
- Shigandang
- Mad tiger
- Black dragon
- Yellow robbed squire
- OG tiger vanguard
- Fuban
- Yellow wind sage

# MEDITATION

- The altar of sand gate village
- The ravine rock clash platform
- The sculpture, crouching tiger
- The deadwood Rockrest flat
- The grotto yellow wind formation
- The rock sandgate bound

# CURIOS

- Glazed reliquary: Windrest hamlet right behind the tiger acolyte in a cave in a chest.
- Goldflora hairpin: Purchased from man in stone after his quest.
- Tricandna pendant: Defeat black loong from behind the water fall. Rockrest shrine to the right all the way down.
- Tiger tally: Defeat OG tiger vanguard in the secret area. You'll meet if you finish the pig squire quest.

# TRANSFORMATIONS

- Earth wolf : sand gate village around the houses.
- Rat archer: infront of the gate where archers shoot at you. The same gate you can't open from the outside.
- Swift bat: from valley of despair shrine head up into the cave where first Prince of flowing sands is and follow the path. There's a small opening on the left where you can enter to find this.
- Spear bone: Rockrest flat to the right. All the way before the waterfall.
- Poisestone: in the cavern on the way to mother in stone.
- Rat govenor: right next to rock crash platform.
- Gore eye daoist: small area to the left of wind seal gate shrine.
- Civet sergeant: down in the cellar of the tiger vanguard arena.
- Rat imperial guard: near windrest hamlet shrine just in the village.
- Tiger acolyte: continue the path from windrest hamlet. He's on a stone bridge
- Mad tiger: complete the old rattle drum quest. Located in a stone well next to where Ma tian ba is being held at.

# DRINKS AND SOAKS

- Lambrew wine: up the slopping path in the initial spawn area with archers shooting at you.
- Laurel buds: from village entrance shrine head to the open area where you need to go before you fight king and seccond prince. It's guarded by a mage on an alter.
- Steel ginseng: RNG drop from any aged ginseng. Popular farm is the ginseng in the ravine before man of stone from squall hideout.
- Iron pellet: complete man in stone quest.
- Copper pill: along the path after killing tiger vanguard.
- Goat skull: RNG drop farm licorice plants. The place where you first enter the chapter has some on route. As well as sandgate bound secret sahali kingdom.
- Tiger relic: while heading down tiger vanguards cellar before as you slide down the sand slide there is a ledge where you can jump then heavy hit to roll up and grab it.



# Chapter 3 step by step walk through + list black myth Wukong

Okay, we're in for a long one again! This is the longest chapter in the game, in my opinion. It's also very complex in some places to explore. I've tried to include everything; overall, I did include a list so you can always double-check.

Follow the path. Where the bat flies down to the left, there's a chest guarded by a stone man. Continue until you come across the “Frost Clad Path Shrine.” Follow the path to the fight against the Macaque Chief; there is nothing here, so just continue up the path. When you enter the yard, kill the enemies. Right next to the entrance, to the left, is a staircase. Head up and go straight down the steps to get the Mountain Patroller Spirit. There's also a chest on the left side of the temple balcony straight ahead. Head back and go down the other path now. Before the bridge, to the left, is a chest. Afterward, head past the bridge for a cutscene.

Activate the “Mirromere Shrine.” Now go straight; before the ice lake, you'll see a weird big tree. Below is a meditation spot. After that, do not go on the lake yet. On the left are a bunch of statues. If you use lock-on, you can actually see who's an enemy and who isn't. Head left and grab the coffin. On the right are Celestial Pears. Now head to the lake to fight Kang Jin Long. Welcome to the Pagoda Realm. Be careful; this place is very unique. At certain intervals, it will enter what I like to call "nightmare mode." You'll know it's coming because the screen will shake, and the sound will change. Enemies' eyes glow red, and above all, your health bar depletes to half. There's also a special enemy called the Lantern Ghosts that will appear; these are hard to kill. But if you kill all 6, you get the Auspicious Lantern Curio. They do not respawn, and if you advance too much in the story, they disappear.

Anyway, break open the door; the path is rather linear. A guy is talking to you, but you can see you can't enter. That's okay; ignore that for now. Head straight and reach the lower “Pagoda Realm Shrine.” Head inside and follow the path. Like I said, it's linear, so just explore every cell you can and follow the path down. When you reach the cell with the giant staircase, head to the left side of the cells to find a coffin. Heading past the stairs, you'll see a small chest with the Fine China Tea Bowl Curio inside. Head up the stairs; as I said, the path is linear, so just do what you need. Follow the path until you come across stairs again, go up, and head straight, following the sparkles to the Upper Pagoda Shrine.

Now, directly behind you, down the hole, is Captain Lotus Vision. He will grant you the ability to open those locked doors. Fight him. You'll also get the Frost Sprout Twig Curio. Now exit to the right and go back through the wooden beam. This time, as you reach the giant stairs that lead to the upper shrine, instead head straight. Once you get to the ledge, there's a smaller ledge below; go down, and you'll be back to your original cell. Break the second cell now and talk to the Third Prince until the dialogue repeats. Grab ashen slumber transformation on a rat corpse. This will only spawn if you talked to the npc trapped in a house in valley of despair ( chapter 2 ) Now go through the level again, breaking every door you couldn't break before. When you're up the steps again, go all the way to the end of the main path. In one of the cells is the Enslaved Yakasha Spirit.

Now head back the way you came and go straight past a small hidden ledge. See that hole in the ground? We're going to go down that. Straight ahead is another locked door. Go back the opposite way until you reach a dead end; it's actually not a dead end, and you can climb the rocks on the side. Head up, absorb the spirit, and hop down. Now travel to the Upper Pagoda Realm again. Follow the path down. After you get past the Bridge of Doom, good news: they don't respawn. Anyway, when you pass, head to the left into the cell and turn left. You should walk right alongside that bridge. Get the fungus to obtain the Fungiman Spirit. Kill the archers as well.

Head back the way you came, and you'll see another giant stair. Ignore it and head straight, checking all the cells. Once you reach the last cell, you'll see a will. Walk off that cliff and head up the steps. Follow the path and head up the wooden structure, following the sparkles to the “Mani Wheel Shrine.” Now, if you go to the opposite side of the shrine, you'll see an opening with some enemies. A bird will spawn. Now walk to the very end and go off the ledge. Along the way will be many enemies, but at the end, there is an Awakened Wine Worm, Blade Monk Spirit, and a Lantern Warden.

Head back to the shrine, and now we're going to face the boss, Captain Wise Voice. Just go across the branch. After you're done, head straight for the “Outside the Wheel” shrine. Head down the path. To the left are Luojiao Flowers; along the path, there's also a Celestial Pill. Continue up the shrine to the “Snow Veiled Trail Shrine.” Now travel to the Mirromere Shrine. We're going to head across the lake to the far back right island where a bare tree is. Under it is a soak called Stranded Long Whiskers. Then travel back.

Now head down the path first, going across the bridge. Follow the path, and at the very end, between some misty falls, is a place you can enter. The inside is empty. Activate the shrine “Great Pagoda Shrine” and travel back to the Snow Veil Path. This is an endgame area. We're finding it to make it easier later. Now head up the path. Follow the path of statues and up the stone path until you activate the “Warding Temple Shrine.” Now go back down the steps and head to the left. Follow the path and go straight to find the Falcon Hermit Spirit. Past him, over the bridge, is a chest. Following the path will bring you back to the temple.

Now head up the temple, and a cutscene will ensue. Fight the Macaque Chief again, and you gain a new ability. After you're done, continue the path to the left side and follow it. A cutscene will happen, and you will catch Kanjin Star. If you kill her on the first try, then head back and activate the “Turtle Island Shrine.” From here, head right and follow the edge to trigger the Cyan Long fight. Don't cry; I believe in you. After that, on the left side of the island towards the back is a Celestial Pill.

Now from the shrine, head forward and talk to Bajie. This will lead you to the new shrine, “North Shore of Bitter Lake.” Head right along the shoreline all the way until you see the giant skeletal arch of the Snake General. Go through, and you'll fight the Aparamana Bat Chief. After interacting with the Snake Skull to trigger the scene, head back to the turtle to grab the Turtle Tear soak on the ground. Now head to the right, and on the lake, we will fight Chen Long. From here, head to his house in the background. On the docks is a chest. Afterward, travel to Xu Dog in the Tiger Temple Cellar. Talk to Xu Dog, then head back and talk to Chen Loong. He will give you the Ruyi Painting.

This will now be a hub where Shen Monkey, Xu Dog, Chen Long, and Yin Tiger will reside, each having their own abilities to help you. Activate the Village Entrance Shrine, and you can come here at any shrine. You can challenge Yin Tiger, the blacksmith. He is extremely challenging; it took me the most attempts out of all the bosses (98 times). But he gives you his transformation ability. Don't worry; this is a duel, not a fight, so neither of you actually dies. He will still be here after you win.

Travel back to the North Shore Shrine and head past where we fought Chen Long. Go up into the temple. Save the man and talk to him until his dialogue repeats. Now turn to the right; you should see a coffin. Open it, and right behind it on the lake is the Bluebridge Romance Wine. Now head up the hill and follow the path, and you'll see you're back on the island shore. Now from our shrine, head to where the Snake General is again, but this time before we enter that giant spine arch, go to the left up the hill. To the left is a small courtyard with Luojiao Vine. Continue, and you'll be back on the hill from the shrine.

Turn left and head into the cave. Follow the path to the new shrine, “Precept Corridor.” Straight down is a meditation spot and some pills. Now follow the path to the left (the right has a will and two enemies). You'll come across the red-haired Yakasha Spirit. Go straight to the pavilion and watch the cutscene. After that scene, head to the upper left, and you'll see a prompt to examine the Buddha belly. Now head to the left of the area and follow the path. Along the way, examine all the Buddha statues; you can't really miss them.

Talk to the little monk again, and after the cutscene, we're going to the left side, taking the stairs up the mountain. Follow the path and up some rocks to interact with the entrance just a bit more, and we will arrive at the “Mindfulness Shrine.” Go forward, and you will encounter Non-White. Once you get him down to half health, he's going to run. Now go back to the wooden scaffold and walk down to the floor below (you'll see a white pillar with a will below). Follow the stone path. You'll come across a coffin and some enemies. You'll also find another Skandha Eye.

Head down, and you're back to the initial arena where you fought Non-White. Now follow the path; there's a box on your left. Continue, and you'll fight Non-White again. After you're done, you'll have his spirit and another meditation spot here as well. Now, following the path is a snow slide. Slide down to reach the “Forest of Felicity” shrine. Now talk to the dead body outside the Torii gate; the fox will task you with finding the monk (scholar) from Chapter 2 cutscene. You will transform into a fox; for now, de-transform. Don't worry; you can equip the fox brush and transform again anytime.

Now go back to the shrine, and we're going to head to the right side. Follow the small path across the pond and waterfall. You'll reach a shrine called “Brook of Bliss.” Now from here, continue up the path, and you'll reach a frozen lake with the boss Non-Able. Kill him to grab his spirit. Continue the path and turn left to reach the pond again. You can explore below the waterfall to get the Crown Diviner Spirit or return to the Forest of Felicity.

Now go through the Torii gate where we talked to the fox, and just on the left side on the cliffs, there's a hidden entrance with two statues and an enemy. Once through, turn left again to fight Lang-Li-Guhh-Lang. Now you're free to explore, but basically, from the frog boss, we're going to head straight down the path by the lake through some enemies until you see pillars like gravestones. Continue, and you'll reach the new shrine, “Tower of Karma.” You'll hear someone say it's cold.

Equip the Ring of Fire spell and look to the shrine's right, where a bunch of pillars are. On the right wall is the old man we saved earlier. He will be freezing. Draw a ring of fire and talk to him until the dialogue repeats. Now head to where the Blade Monk is and defeat him. Then follow that path down. You'll see a lot of ginseng here. Pluck them, and one of them would be the Old Ginseng Guai boss. Behind him is a table with Jade Essence Wine.

Now we travel back to Brook of Bliss, turn around, and cross the bridge. Then turn right and head down the hill along the river. Head all the way down, and on the left side is a huge bell, two statues, and an enemy looking down the cliff. Carefully walk down that cliff and slowly drop below. Follow the tree path and make your way down to the shrine, “Melon Field.” Walk into the cave, and a cutscene will happen. After you're done fighting him, another cutscene will happen, and you'll gain the Spell Binder ability.

Now head to the Forest of Felicity Shrine again and go straight through the Torii gate. Follow the path (don't forget the chest on the left side) and go through the big door, and you'll see a giant. Kill it. It's not a boss, but kill all of these as they do not respawn and drop curios. Explore the area. Past where you fought the giant, to the left of the map along the walls, there's Captain Void Illusion. She's dead, so just take her spirit; she's the giant tree-like body on the ground.

Once that's over, follow the main stone path to unlock the “Longevity Road Shrine.” Go forward and head to the left. All the way down, you'll find an enemy with a cat mask and an Awakened Wine Worm. ( these cat mask enemies drop a turtle treasure mask RNG) You're free to explore when ready. Head back to the shrine, and we'll take the right upper path and fight the boss, Captain Kalappa Wave. After that, head into the “Temple Entrance” shrine of the new Thunder Clap Temple.

Now we are actually going to travel back to the Lower Pagoda. Talk to Prince Zhang in the cell again, and he will give you the chu bai spear and ending his quest. Now we can travel back to Thunder Clap Temple. Let's go straight ahead. Past the Blade Monk and the Blind Monk, ( blind monks drop see no evil mask RNG) you'll find two sets of stairs and four lightning mages. Head up the right side and follow the path. When you see steps going down on your right side, take them.

Now we're going to explore this entire left side. Going straight will lead you through three monks and then a four-legged freak in the main hall( these drop varja arm guards RNG) . To the left sides are mages, so get on top and get rid of them first. There's a chest as well. Follow the path, and this time go to the other side of the balcony and follow the path. On the side is the Sweet Ice Soak.

Now back up the steps, and we continue the main path to your right. You'll see two monks punching a tree. Head straight for the glowing red to trigger the Monk of the Sea boss. After you kill him, you will gain the Hoarfrost transformation. Continue the path, exploring around, killing enemies, and opening chests, etc. Follow the path down, and you will see we looped back to our Temple Entrance shrine.

Now we head to the back left side, the same thing: explore everything and follow the path. Now, from the shrine, we're going to go through the gate and past the four mages again. This time we go up the right side. Now, when we come across steps going down on the right side, enter the monastery down the steps and fight your way inside. Go up the stairs in the room to the 2nd floor. To the left is the horse NPC again. Talk to him until all dialogue is done. Grab a box here too.

Walk back the way you came and go across the bridge. On the left side is a pill. Now turn into a fox using the fox brush and head up the big steps to the room where the Non-Void Monk is. After you're done, absorb his spirit, then head back to the Temple Entrance shrine. Teleport to the Forest of Felicity and talk to the fox. You will complete that quest and gain the Snow Fox Brush Curio.

Now head back to the Temple Entrance. We are now finally headed to our next shrine. Head through the rooms again, past the four mages, and head directly into the room. Inside are monks, and on the other side before you exit is a Thunderstone Curio guarded by a monk in a box on the altar. Just outside is the Clay Varja Spirit. Head up the steps and fight the two giants. They don't respawn; don't worry.

Now up the steps on the second floor, before the very top, look to the left; you'll find the “Mahavira Shrine.” Now head back down the steps to where the giants are, and we're going to head left first to find a meditation spot and the boss Non-Pure. After that, head back up to the shrine, and we are going to face our final boss: Yellow Brows. This is a three-part fight where you will also face the Macaque King and get his journal.

I'll see you in Chapter 4!

# BOSSES AND CHIEFS

- Macaque chief
- Kang jin long
- Captain lotus vision
- Captain wise voice
- Kang jin star
- Cyan long
- Aparamana bat
- Chen long
- Yin tiger
- Non white
- Lang-li-guh-lang
- Old ginseng guai
- Non-able
- Green capped marshalist
- Captain void illusion
- Captain kalpa wave
- Non void
- Non pure
- Monk of the sea
- Yellow brows

# MEDITATION

- The shade mirrormere
- The bottom pagoda realm
- The statue percent corridor
- The track mindfulness cliff
- The hall new thunderclap temple

# CURIOS

- Mani beads: RNG drop you can farm the closest enemy from mirrormere shrine yhe nearest enemy on the right against a tree.
- Frostsprout twig: kill captain lotus vision
- Fine China tea bowl: lower level pagoda small chest before heading up the stairs.
- Auspicious lantern: kill all 8 lantern wardens during nightmare mode.
- Maitreyas orb: kill non able nearest shrine is brook of bliss.
- Gold spike plate: longevity road shrine head to the stone statue yard and go left. Head down and go right path you'll see an enemy with a club kill it.
- Bronze Buddha pendant: from the longevity road shrine head back pass the stone path path to the gates where two weasel assassins are. Farm them till this drops.
- Snow fox brush: complete the snow fox brush quest.
- Beasts Buddha: RNG drop towers of Karma shrine, farm that blade monk facing the wall on the left.
- Thunderflame seal: RNG drop the 4 mages after going straight from temple entrance shrine. Farm them till this drops.
- Thunderstone: straight pass the mages in the room is a box guarded by a monk.

# DRINKS AND SOAKS

- Stranded long whiskers: After defeating kang jin long. Teleport back to mirrormere shrine. Head across the lake towards the back right side where a sad tree is. It's right under it.
- Breath of fire: defeat cyan long on turtle island to the right.
- Blue bridge romance wine: bitter lake shore head into the temple and on the left there's a huge lake with this wine on it.
- Turtle tear: find snake generals dead body. North shore head to the right all the way.
- Jade essence: towers of karma to the left then right past the blade monk where a lot of ginseng are. Behind that pillar.
- Sweet ice: left balcony above clay varja.

# SPIRITS AND TRANSFORMATION

- Mountain patroller: up and straight down the steps from where you first fought macaque chief.
- Fungiman: Inside one of the cells in lower pagoda. Pull the mushrooms.
- Blade monk: mani wheel shrine walk to the very end in the opposite direction and hop off. Below is the spirit, wine worm and final lantern.
- Enslaved yaksha: lower pagoda go up to the 2nd floor and head all the way down its in one of these locked cells.
- Falcon hermit: warding temple shrine head to the forest and follow the path up left.
- Apramana bat: North shore bitter lake to the right after general snakes spine.
- Red haired yaksha: Precept corridor follow the path an opening on the side.
- Non white: unmissable
- Non able: brook of bliss head left and follow the path to a frozen lake.
- Crow diviner: at the end of the beginning of the waterfall from brook of bliss.
- Old ginseng guai: towers of karma to the left then right past the blade monk.
- Non void: temple entrance straight pass the 4 mages then turn left. Go inside the room head up to the second floor. Cross the bridge and straight up the temple.
- Monk of the sea: from the entrance of the monastery shrine head right and continue the path. Right before 2 blind monks punching a tree there's a huge stone plaque. Walk over and he'll jump out.
- Clay vajra: head straight from temple entrance.
- Non pure: mahavira shrine head down the steps in the arena head to the left.



# Chapter 4 step by step walk through + list, black myth Wukong

Alright, after the cutscene, follow the path to the village of Lanxi. Before we head through that big gate, let's first go left and kill the Lantern Guai and some spiders to grab the chest. There are lots of Wills here as well.

Head back up, and now we go through the main gate. Explore the area, and you'll see that you now have two paths. Go to the right side first, following the big path. You'll encounter three enemies and a chest. Afterward, head back and go through the small tight squeeze, collecting Wills along the way. Kill and explore everything here until we reach our first shrine, “Estate of Zhu.” Knock on the door and watch the cutscene.

After the cutscene, fight the second sister. From this yard, head to the right; you'll see a chest and, in a shack you'll find an awaken wine worm. even deeper straight from the arena is a coffin with enemies. Head back out and go straight. Grab the Celestial Pill. When you're ready, jump down the hole. After the cutscene, take the pills to the side and unlock the “Upper Hollow Shrine” up ahead.

From this shrine, we are going to head to the opposite side that the shrine is facing. Continue down the path all the way to a chest and a Will. Head back up and turn sharp right; you'll see stairs heading up the hill. Follow the path, and you'll come across a small chest. Keep following the path all the way up, and you'll see the wooden platform. Walk off it, and you'll see we are back at the Upper Hollow Shrine.

Now, from the shrine, head to the left side this time, up the steps, and pass the place where we just jumped down from. Follow the path straight until you come to a choice. On the left, you'll see a Lantern enemy. Head to the right first to get the Beetle Captain Spirit. Continue down the right path and walk off the wooden platforms. At the bottom is the “Verdure Bridge” shrine.

From here, we're going to go towards the forward path first. After you kill that beetle, go on the path to the right. Follow it, and when you're on a small stone bridge, hop off the right side. Head straight until you see stairs going up on your left, along with an archer shooting at you. You'll come across the Scorpion Prince Spirit; he'll drop the Death Stinger Soak, and you'll also find Luojiao Vine.

Continue up the stairs to see a Lantern Ghost. Kill it and grab some pills, then head up to see a small house on the left with sacs in the way. Break the sacs and head inside to find the Worry-Free Brew. Head out and to the left; on the right side, you'll see something glowing purple. Head over for a cutscene and take off the talisman.

Follow the road down, and you'll come across a meditation spot. Right behind it is a shrine, “Middle Hollow.” Now we are going to teleport back to the Verdure Bridge. Go to the small stone bridge and jump off again. Follow the road along the cliffside, and when you reach the big Torii gate with a bunch of egg sacs on the left, break them. Behind is the Puppet Spider Spirit.

Now that that's out of the way, we're going to travel back to Upper Hollow because we need a secret area. Head up the stone stairs again following the path, killing a beetle on the way. Along the left edge, you'll see some wooden planks being cut off. Walk off it, follow that path, and you'll see a lot of egg sacs. That's okay; follow the path. There's also a hidden room on the right side wall behind some sacs with a chest.

Once you're up the steps, to your right is a pool with a meditation spot, as well as the shrine “Pool of Shattered Jade.” From that shrine, head up the right path to the end, destroy the huge cocoon, and fight Venom Daoist. Heading back to the shrine, teleport to the Verdure Bridge shrine again.

Now follow the path straight and to the left towards the lanterns. A cutscene will ensue. Enter that room and open all the chests. Now head forward through the room to find the Elder Armor Woman. Afterward, head back out of the chest room and head to the right towards that Will. (You can teleport back to Middle Hollow.)

On the left wall is where we want to go. Follow the path, and you'll see two paths. Take the right path, follow it, then head up the stone path. You'll see you're back at the area where we fought the Scorpion Prince, etc. Follow the path until we reach where we pulled off the talisman.

Head across the bridge with the annoying shooter to arrive back at Middle Hollow Shrine. From here, go to the right path with wooden platforms. Walk off that platform heading below, go straight, and you'll fight the Centipede Guai monster. Follow the path, and you'll reach a big struggling cocoon. Break it to save the horse NPC.

Continue following the path and break the wall of sacs blocking the way. Pull the talisman on the right side and proceed to the next shrine, “Cliff of Oblivion.” Follow the path and fight Buddha's Right Hand. After crossing, on your left, up a hill, is a Celestial Pill on top of a rock. Come back and continue the path.

Once you hit a split path, head left first. Cross the giant bridge and head straight. You'll see there is another small right bridge with spider sacs guarding it. Freeze them all or use Thrust Stance to get rid of them first, then cross (they do not respawn). Follow the path and unlock the “Relief of the Fallen Loong Shrine.” If you continue up this path, you will face the boss, Yellow Long. He will give you the Golden Carp Curio and the Golden Lining transformation.

Now, explore the area until you reach the path with the stone cave. Follow the path to the right and head straight; you'll come across a spirit. There's also a talisman here to the right next to a tree, up a hill. After you're done, teleport back to the Cliff of Oblivion shrine and head down the path, crossing the area again.

This time, instead of turning left like last time, we go right down the wooden platform. After you reach a dead end, don't worry; on the right side against the wall is a hidden entrance covered in cobwebs next to the lantern. Watch the cutscene, then follow the path. You'll come across a small ravine with those white bugs on top.

Get rid of the white bugs first before entering the small ravine to kill those worms. After that, follow the path; the cave exits to the right. Straight ahead, through some enemies, is the shrine “Lower Hollow.” Now backtrack just a bit, keeping an eye on the left side; it will be guarded by a web dude. There's a crack in the wall behind him. Go through it, and you will see a meditation spot.

Backtrack and you'll see another path on the right. Go through, cross the bridge, and fight the boss Baw-Li-Guhh-Baw. After you're done, follow the path through the corridor to the next shrine, “Hut of Immortality.” Heading to the left is a cutscene, and you'll fight Zhu Bajie. He'll open a new path for you, so head back to the shrine and go down the left path now. Follow the path, fight Zhu Bajie again, and watch the cutscene.

After you're done, head in and unlock the “Purifying Spring Shrine.” Follow the main path until you see the Lantern enemy. Take the wooden path along the lake to reach a Skanhda Eye. After that, head up the stone steps and fight the Scorpion Dragonfly Spirit on the right. Follow the path up the side of the mountain to reach the shrine “Gathering Cave.”

Continuing through, you will fight the Violet Spider. Note: after you defeat her, run. Run fast to the exit up front and don't look back. Once the cutscene is done, follow the path to reach the Temple of Yellow Flowers, “Mountain Trail Shrine.” Follow the path. When you reach a small yard, to the left is a Bee Mountain Soak. Follow the path; it's quite linear.

Now, once you reach a small yard with a tiger, a bug enemy, and a chest, you will have the choice to go downhill or uphill. Go up and follow the wooden scaffolding. You'll reach a new shrine, “Temple of Ferocity.” From here, the upper left is a meditating spot. Head upper right, and you'll see a snake walking down a very small path. Follow it; that's the main path.

Once up the steps, to your right is a bunch of guys practicing their fighting moves, along with Commander Beetle teaching them. Fight them and get the Commander Beetle Spirit. Behind him is the Tablet of Three Supreme Curios. Follow the path and feel free to explore the sides. Up front is the “Temple Entrance” shrine.

Continue, and once you enter the courtyard, head left first. Follow the steps all the way up until the end, and you will reach a hut with the Wine Sunset of Nine Skies in front. Head back down and go straight, where the two guards are. Going past them is the Court of Illumination.

Before we do anything, we're going to head back to the Temple Entrance and go down to where the split was. We went left last time; now we go right. Head straight into the yard. On the left is a meditation spot. Straight ahead is the Snake Sheriff Spirit. Past him is the old man and an awakened wine worm.

Now head back to the Temple Entrance; we're going for the secret area now. Head back to the Court of Illumination. Go back out the way you came in, which is the gate guarded by two guys. Go straight and follow the path until you get to the top of the hill. Take a left turn and head down. Below, you will fight Venom Daoist again. Make sure to cut his arms off first (hit his back or sides) so you can get a weapon or armor.

Once he's dead, he'll open the way to Purple Cloud Mountain. Interact with the painting and enter! Follow the path to see a red snake; talk to her until the dialogue repeats. Open the chest and head across the bridge, following the path to the “Valley of Bloom Shrine.”

We follow the bridge and turn left. Just to the left is a Tree Guard Spirit and a Luojiao Vine. Explore and head up the left path. Follow the sparkles and pass the Torii Gate to reach the “Bounds of Deity Abode” shrine. Continue, and you'll see the Scorpion Lord on the house. You can fight him now for a weapon material and a gourd, or you can let him live, and he'll help you fight the final boss. It's up to you. I choose to fight him; he's hard, though.

After you're done, no matter what you choose, continue down the path and head up the hill. Cross the long bridge; on the left side is a meditation spot. Hop down and follow the path, or you can teleport to the initial shrine and head straight now. You'll come across a Torii gate with the Snake Herbalist Spirit, as well as two archers shooting at you.

Get rid of them, and on the hill where one of the archers is, head up and pass the tree trunk for the Sun Crow Curio. Now continue down the path, past the two guards guarding a Torii gate. Head through and activate the “Petal Fall Hamlet” shrine. Head up the path and talk to the Daoist against the table.

When he's done, look behind you and kill the two guards. Or explore the village killing guards until the violet hail egg drops. Come back and talk to him again, and you'll start to fight him. Afterwards, as soon as you head through the stone archway turn to your left to see hidden stairs. Head up to find awaken wine worm. After that it's pretty linear: explore all the rooms, every nook and cranny, while following up the mountain path. When you're near, unlock the “Cloud Nest Peak Shrine.” Head up the steps and fight the Dusk Devil.

Once you're done, we're going to head back to the Court of Illumination shrine. From the shrine, we head straight up the stairs first and remove the final talisman. After a scripted fight, we grab the last Celestial Pill. Now head back down and go to the left, where we fight the final boss.

Congrats, you've completed Chapter 4! Short, right?

# BOSSES AND CHIEFS

- Second sister
- Elder armour woman
- Venom daoist
- Centipede Buddhas right hand
- Yellow long
- Baw-li-guhh-baw
- Zhu bajie
- Violet spider
- Commander beetle
- Supreme inspector
- Hundred eye daoist

# CURIOS

- Cuo jin yin belt: Upper hollow shrine right turn down then up a hill at the end in a chest.
- Spine in sack: RNG drop from spider sacs
- Golden carp: Dropped by yellow loong boss.
- Jade moon rabbit: Dropped by bajie after fight.
- Virtuous bamboo engraving: RNG drop by snaked just past temple entrance.
- Tablet of three supreme: Defeat commander beetle following the path past temple entrance.
- Tiger tendon belt: RNG drop Court of illumination, head behind you farm that snake
- Celestial registery tab: Valley of blooms shrine head straight past the shrine hop into the river and head left. Inside a box in a pavilion.
- Gold sun crow: Valley of bloom head straight. When 2 archers are shooting at you head up the hill to the archer on your right and it's in a chest on this hill.
- Preservation orb: After you beat the final boss of chapter 4 ( hundred eye daoist) come back to where you fought the venom daoist ( where you entered the purple mountain ) in the big yard with a tree past the cave there is now a box at the end below an alter.

# SPIRITS

- Lantern spirit: Estate of Zhu shrine enter the yard again after you defeated 2nd sister.
- Beetle captain: Upper hollow shrine. Head left up the road by the houses, follow the path left past the archer and weaver left is lantern guai, turn right. And follow path keep right.
- Elder armourworm: Verdure bridge, straight through the door way with the 4th sister cutscene and past the treasure room.
- Scorpion Prince: on the main path past verdure bridge.
- puppet spider: Verdure Bridge. Go to the small stone bridge and jump off again. Follow the road along the cliffside, and when you reach the big Torii gate with a bunch of egg sacs on the left, break them. Behind is the Puppet Spider Spirit.
- Centipede guai: Not missable
- Puppet tick: Fallen loong shrine, in the cave on the left
- Dragonfly guai: Purifying spring follow path on the left platform
- commander beetle: Temple of yellow flowers with a bunch of daoist practicing.
- Snake sheriff: Straight path up temple entrance on the right
- Fungiwoman: court of illumination head out past the guards and up the mountain follow the path all the way to the end infront of a hut with the wine and the mushrooms pick em all
- Verdant glow: Valley of blooms shrine head right across the water.
- Snake herbalist: Can't miss it.

# WINE AND SOAKS

- Goji shoots: Upper hollow shrine. Take a left follow the path in a small house
- Purple veined peach pit: Inside a chest during the 4th sister cutscene.
- Xiang River goddess gourd: inside a chest during 4th sister cutscene.
- Death stinger: Defeat scorpion prince in the garden
- Worry free brew: Before the scorpion prince behind a house guarded by two sacs
- Bee mountain stone: Mountain trail shrine follow the path it will be on your left behind the stone fence.
- Sunset of nine skies: Court of illumination head out and go straight. In a hut next to fungiwoman
- fruit of dao: RNG drop farm the 2 monks guarding the front of the gate to court of illumination.
- undying vine: Chapter 4 secret area farm treeman
- Double combed rooster blood: Defeat duskveil.

# MEDITATION SPOT

- Carving pool shattered jade
- The tree middle of hollow
- Cave depths lower hollow
- The height forest of ferocity
- The pines temple of yellow flowers
- the ledge purple cloud mountain.



# Chapter 5 step by step walk through + list, black myth Wukong

This chapter is quite linear for the most part. I'm going to save you the reading and just keep playing. I'll provide some pointers at certain shrines.

From the valley entrance, follow the path down, defeating what you can along the way. You'll encounter some lava pools. As long as your heat resistance is high, or if you keep sprinting and don't stop, you'll be fine. In the lava pool to the left, at the very end, there is Shigandan and the perfect fire date farm route. To the right in the lava pool, you'll find another bronze cart and the trapped soul of the horse NPC, provided you have followed the guide and spoken to him in every chapter so far. Pull on the whip until he tells you to stop.

Next, after following the path, we will fight a boss and reach Rakshasa Palace. Explore everything down every lava path. Past the first bridge, in a cave to your right, is where you can upgrade your gourd and find a wine worm.

After that, unlock Emerald Hall and fight a boss. Continue past Emerald Hall, grabbing everything you can, as well as finding a meditation spot. The path on the left is also the main path. Defeat another cart, then head through and unlock the Ashen Past shrine. Now, teleport back to Ashen Past 1, where we first entered. Follow the path and talk to Ox Stalwart again. Catch all the dialogue, then teleport to Furnace Valley Emerald Hall again. Head up to where you fought the cart and talk to the stalwart who will be there now. Exhaust all the dialogue before heading back to Ashen Path 3.

To the right, where there are a bunch of Lingzhi, pick it up; it's a hidden boss. There's also a meditation spot among the boulders. Explore, and when you're ready, head up the left side, being careful of the rolling ball. Once the cutscene is done, head back down the rolling ball path. Look to the left; a way that is now open will lead you down to defeat Flint Chief. Grab his spirit and the Loujiao vine. Follow the path and turn right when you can; you'll reach the shrine “Cooling Slope.”

Now, head back the way you came—don't go ahead just yet. Return to where those worms were, and you'll see a red crack in the ground. Interact with it to fight the Mother Flameling. After that, head back to the Cooling Shrine and continue forward. Fight the final cart and enter the cave. On the left side, you'll encounter the Baw Lang Lang Frog. Kill it, then walk to the back of the cave to enter the secret area. Just past the first set of guards, there is a meditation area on the right. Follow the path; it's very self-explanatory.

Once you're done exploring the cave and have seen everything, head back to the Cooling Path. Now, move forward to the final cutscene and prepare to fight the final bosses!

# BOSSES AND CHIEFS

- Pale axe stalwart
- Brown iron cart
- Gray bronze cart
- Crimson silver cart
- Father of stones
- Fast as win quick as fire
- Flint chief
- Mother of flamelings
- Keeper of flaming mountain Yin Yang fish
- Nine capped lingzhi
- Gold cart
- Baw lang lang
- Top takes bottom, bottom takes top
- Red boy/ yakasha king
- Bishui golden eyes beasts

# CURIOS

- Amber prayer beads: Follow the main path after height of Amber shrine. Go into the cave and turn right. In a chest.
- White seashell waist chain: RNG drop Rakshasa palace, farm the guards on the lava and bridge.
- Gold button: Rakshasa giants in the palace
- Flame orb: Kill rusty gold cart
- Daoist basked of Fire and Water: Finish secret area.
- WINE AND SOAKS
- Mount lingtai seeds: After you fight the first elemental cart it's up the path to the left in a pavilion.
- Loong balm wine: Next to the throne in emerald hall.
- Slumbering beetle husk: Left side of the steps next to the throne in the emerald hall.
- Flame mediator: RNG drop from flame boulders next to where ping ping got rid of the fire.

# SPIRITS

- Father of stones: Can't miss it
- Charface: In the cave right after height of ambers shrine.
- Turtle treasure: Valley entrance follow the lava path on the left all the way down.
- Flint chief: Valley entrance follow the path back down and turn right following the lava and date trees.
- Earth Rakshasa: Valley entrance turn back the way you came follow the path head up rock slope.
- Misty cloud cloudy mist: Unmissable
- Nine capped lingzi: Ashen pass 3 to the right with a bunch of lingzi
- Flint vanguard: Ashen pass 3 follow the boulder road and turn right when you can. Follow the path.
- Mother flamelings: Ashen pass 3 follow boulder road turn right when you can and follow path down past flint vanguard. Loook to left for a glowing red light in the ground.
- Top takes bottom bottom takes top After you defeat it in the secret area it will be at emerald hall by 2 guards
- Bull governor: Secret area unmissable

# MEDITATION

- Woods of ember camp of seasons
- Furnace valley emerald hall
- Field of fire ashen pass 3
- Bishui cave purge pit



# Chapter 6 Step by step guide + all items, Black Myth Wukong!

For chapter 6 things gets rather unique. Because the map will become an open world. Below I'll include everything obtainable and all the bosses you must fight and ones you can miss as well as some key factors.

When you first spawn into this map the path is linear. You'll walk up the bath fighting heaven soldiers with bajie. Eventually you'll come across your first shrine, verdant path. Just ahead in the arena you will fight the surpreme inspector, After him you'll unlock the flying nimbus. This world will now be open world. You can tackle most of the boss in any order you like. What I did was I tackled all the bosses on the map then went to fight erlang Shen for the secret ending. I did not get the bad ending. In any of my runs. PLEASE NOTE. You are able to fight the final boss in the birthstone first to get the bad ending, then continue journey, fight erlang , fight the final boss again and get the good ending.

# Bosses

- Surpreme inspector: Can't miss it.
- Gold armoured Rhino: it's in a field with a bunch of dead soldiers, to the left of the map ontop of the cliff. ( look for where lightning is striking the ground)
- Cloud treading deer: from where you get your cloud it's the clearing straight ahead with a huge red tree ontop of the cliff.
- Feng tail general: The giant cricket or grass hopper that hops from place to place. Land on its back and grab its antenna. It will take you through a stamina check, then through a health check. You can use pills to increase your stats.
- Emerald armed mantis: Located on the right side of the map you'll see a gold tree. You have to kill the three bosses above to unlock him.
- Son in stone: Glowing green dude clapping happily on the side of a cliff next to mantis tree.
- Jiao loong of waves: This is in the lake right beside the cliff where you get the cloud. It's on the left side
- poison chief: On the cliff side beside the cloud treading deer location. ( there's 4 of em but you don't need all 4)
- water wood beasts: Beside the mantis location. Not really a boss.
- lang-baw-baw: Below the cliff at the edge in a stone field to the left side of the overall map. The right side of the cliff below armoured rhino location.
- Giant shigandang: There is two gold trees on the map. One in the mantis spawn point. Another marks the entrance to water curtain cave. Near that second tree look to the left of that clove to find a crevice between mountains. Follow it.
- Erlang Shen secret ending : Go to the great pagoda in chapter 3 if you did all the secret areas in previous chapters, a cutscene will happen and you'll go meet him.
- Stone monkey: Can't miss it
- Shell of great sage: Can't miss it.

# Armours and weapons

- OG or old suozi armour: Located in a chest behind a tree. From the verdant path shrine head way back the way you came all the way back to when you first spawned in with bajie. Ontop the the cliff below a tree is a chest with this armour.
- Suozi armour: Can't miss it.
- Ruyi jin gu bang: Can't miss it. It's in the water curtain cave after 4 armours

# Curio

- waterward Orb: Dropped from Jiao loong of the waves.

# Extra notes

- After fighting everyone, BEFORE you fight the final boss you'll have 2 missing from your journal. That's normal. You will unlock shell of great sage when you finish the game. You'll unlock yuan shoucheng if all the other pages are filled. When you begin ng+
- some weapons are NG+ only.
- yes you can get both endings in one playthrough. You'll just have to fight the end boss twice.
- yes there's a save point after you fight erlang between him and the seccond and third phase.
- there is no order to how you want to fight the boss but emerald armed mantis will not spawn till, rhino, deer and grass hopper is taken care off.
- shigandang can one shot you and you can't dodge so back it up.
- there is no wine or soak to find in this chapter. Some will unlock in ng+ while others you may buy from Shen monkey.