Alright, so you want to find all the secret areas in Black Myth: Wukong. Good choice. Some of these are really well hidden, and a few of them are so easy to miss that you'd probably never find them without someone pointing you in the right direction. This guide covers every secret area, each chapter, and all the little steps you need to take to unlock them. I've also included the Loong bosses and the Skandha items because honestly, they tie into this whole thing and you're going to want to know about them anyway.

Let's get into it.

This one is fairly straightforward. You need to ring all three bells that you come across during the chapter. There's no way to miss them if you're paying attention, but just in case you're speedrunning or something, make sure you hit all three. Once you've done that, the secret area will become available after you beat the snake boss fight. That's it. Ring the bells, beat the snake, enjoy your reward.

Now this one takes a bit more work. You're going to need to talk to a drunken pig. He's located at the Frightcliff Shrine, hanging around the yellow-robed squire. You can actually go talk to him right away if you want, but here's the thing, he's drunk. Completely useless in that state.

You'll need to get the Sobering Stone to fix that. This item is located at the Windrest Bridge Keeper's Shrine. Travel to the little town nearby and you'll find it on the left side. Give the stone to the pig and he'll sober up.

Next, you need to travel to the Tiger Palace. Once you're there, go to the right side from the main entrance and talk to him again. This time, he wants the Jade Lotus. This item can either be crafted or found in the water at the very beginning of the map. It's not hard to get, just make sure you actually pick it up before you get too far into the game.

After that, you'll run into him one more time at Frightcliff. To trigger this final encounter, you need the Arhat Gold Piece. You'll get this item by beating the first prince. Once you have it, the whole event will trigger and you'll get access to the secret area.

This one is a bit weird because you actually need to come back here later. Make sure you have the shrine at the Great Pagoda unlocked. You're going to need to backtravel here after you've completed the secret area in Chapter 5.

Once you've done that, the Buddha will be waiting for you. A cutscene will play in front of the middle mural, which should still be empty at this point.

Here's a quick tip: if the first fight in this area is giving you trouble, don't stress about it. You can always come back later after you've gotten all of Wukong's gear and the Skandha upgrade pill. It'll make things significantly easier.

To unlock this one, you need to defeat the Venom Daoist. And I mean twice. Two separate boss battles. The second fight only becomes available at the very end of Chapter 4, so you'll need to work through the story first before you can unlock the Purple Cloud Mountain area.

Start from the Upper Hollow shrine. Head to the platform with all the spider sacs hanging around. Look for a ledge that allows you to drop down. Once you're down there, cut through the tunnel while avoiding enemies and those hostile spider sacs. They'll ruin your day if you're not careful.

At the very end of this tunnel, there's some scaffolding that leads to the Middle Hollow, which is the main path. But you don't want to go down the scaffolding. Instead, go to the cliffside area or ledge. The Pool of Shattered Jade shrine is nearby, and there's also a Meditation Spot here if you're into that sort of thing.

Now go hit the big cocoon. That'll trigger the first fight.

Eventually, you'll reach the Temple of Yellow Flowers. At the end of those long, winding paths, you'll arrive at the Court of Illumination shrine, which is right next to the arena for this chapter's final boss. But instead of fighting that boss, turn around. You'll notice a tunnel.

Follow that tunnel all the way near the end until you reach another open area. To your left, there's a downward sloping path that leads to a dark cavern. That's where you'll find the Venom Daoist waiting for you.

This one is the most involved. Follow these steps in order, or you'll get confused.

Head to Chapter 5, Woods of Ember, Ashen Pass I. From this shrine, go to the next corridor where a bunch of bulls and undead soldiers are fighting each other. A mini boss will spawn here called Pale Axe Stalwart. Beat him, then talk to him until he repeats the same line of dialogue. He'll give you the quest to find all Five Element Carts in Chapter 5.

Go to Chapter 5, Furnace Valley, The Emerald Hall. This is an automatic story related boss, so you literally can't miss it. It's on the main path up the stairs after Emerald Hall. On the way to this cart, you'll automatically have to defeat two other carts: Brown-Iron Cart and Gray Bronze Cart. You can't miss any of them either. They're all story bosses and you have to beat them to progress. If the Ox joins you in the fight, exhaust all dialogue with him afterward. If he's not there, just move to step 3.

Return to where you first met the Ox at Ashen Pass I. Exhaust all dialogue with him. He'll now move to the spot where you defeated the Crimson Silver Cart after Emerald Hall. If he's no longer at the first spot, just proceed to steps 4 through 6.

Return to where you defeated the third cart. Pale Axe Stalwart will be there. Exhaust all dialogue with him. If he's not there, check his other locations again.

Go to Chapter 5, Furnace Valley, Valley Entrance. From this shrine, walk down the path, then enter the lava pool on the right. Go to the corner of the lava to find an Element Cart stuck in the lava, surrounded by enemies. The cart won't attack you, so don't worry about that. Interact with the cart to pull a string. Exhaust all dialogue with it.

Go to Chapter 5, Field of Fire, Fallen Furnace Crater. From Fallen Furnace Crater, turn around and backtrack down the path where the big ball was rolling earlier on the way to this shrine. Halfway down the path on the left, the rolling ball will have destroyed a barrier. You can now go down the left path to reach the Flint Vanguard boss. After him, go down further until you reach the Cooling Slope shrine.

After this, you'll see a big frozen gate. Go near it to spawn the final element cart, Rusty Gold Cart. It will injure the Ox NPC. After defeating the cart, talk to the wounded Ox who will be sitting on the right side of the frozen gate. Afterward, you can interact with the Frozen Gate. Follow the linear path behind it until you get a cutscene that teleports you to the secret area, Bishui Cave.

I'm including this section because in case the little Buddha doesn't spawn for you during your playthrough, you might need these items to trigger certain events. Make sure you get the Loong items and the Skandha key items. I had them when I went back to the mural temple, so it's worth having them just in case.

This item becomes obtainable after or during the first prince fight in Chapter 2. If you want to get it during the fight, have the prince charge at you while you're standing in front of the blackened wall part. This will open up a path. If you've already beaten the prince, just use your Wanderer spirit at the same part of the wall to crack it open. Collect the scales inside and you'll be able to fight all the Loongs.

At the part where you find the first bell, there's a waterfall. Interact with it. You'll need the scales from Chapter 2 first, so don't try this too early.

At the shrine where you can access the drunken pig and the secret area, go to the top left part of that area on the map and interact with the sand wall. There will be a spirit mini boss in front of it.

When you get on the big turtle and have beaten the main story boss fight, go to the bottom left. There will be a bigger enemy sitting on a tree log. Get close to him to trigger the fight.

You'll encounter this one on the green part of the cave, at a place called Relief of the Fallen Loong. You'll probably have to fight this one after you've completed the first three, because he mentions them a bit in his cutscene. If it doesn't trigger, go beat the first three and try again.

This one isn't necessary for crafting items, but you might as well beat it anyway. After you get the cloud in this area, go immediately down from that angle. There'll be a round water place where the fight will take place.

The monkey will be at each head location.

Chapter 1: Forest of Wolves, Front Hills. The head will be to the left after going through the narrow path. Go into the water and follow it to the head.

Chapter 2: It'll be behind you when you're at the shrine for the Loong fight in the big open area. You'll have to collect 6 yellow Buddha eyes to deliver to a pile of rocks. Beat it and you'll receive the Skandha.

Chapter 3: Valley of Ecstasy, Mindless Cliff. Look down inside the hole and you'll see a tree. Fall on it and follow the path to the top of that area that you can't reach from the shrine.

Chapter 4: Webbed Hollow, Purifying Spring. You'll see a lower part with a monkey on its head at one of the stairs.

Chapter 6: Beat the boss and the items will unlock. The entrance is the narrow place on the right side of the waterfall cavern. Go and craft it at Xu just to be safe. He'll either be at the village if you've given medicine to the sick guy from Chapter 3, or he'll still be at Chapter 2.

One more note: The first phase boss in the Chapter 3 secret area calls out your Loong transformation while transforming into a tiger to snap you out of it. It might be necessary to have the Loongs up to Loong 4. You can check after the Loongs or the Skandhas to see if it's available for you. I personally hadn't completed the Skandha boss and Loong 5 when I went into Chapter 3's secret area, but it might still be required to get the sequence to trigger at the end of the game.

Just in case the Buddha doesn't spawn for you during Chapter 3, here's an alternative way to trigger things.

Go to Forest of Felicity Keeper's Shrine. Follow the path that travels under the wooden gate that's near the shrine. Continue along the path to pass under a second wooden gate. Keep going and stop just in front of a third wooden gate. Turn left, follow the downward slope, and pass under a fourth wooden gate. There are stairs just beyond the fourth gate, and the Towers of Karma Keeper's Shrine is at the bottom of them.

From the Keeper's Shrine of the Forest of Felicity in the Valley of Ecstasy, follow these directions to reach the Melon Field. Go to the wooden gate near the shrine. Veer right just before reaching the gate and follow the slope downward. Go left when the slope runs into a large pillar, walk down the stairs, and continue descending. Cross the pool of water, turn left, and walk forward to reach an enemy standing near a cliff. Use the rocks and trees that protrude from the side of the cliff to reach the Melon Field Keeper’s Shrine.

And that should take care of everything. Spend some time, check it out thoroughly and don't be afraid to go back if you miss something. Some of these spots are very well hidden but the prizes are definitely worth the effort. Good luck out there, monkey.