Is the Gold Ridge Beast worth buying in Black Myth: Wukong?

Black Myth: Wukong is a pretty linear game, but there are secret quests hidden throughout its world that are easy to miss. One such quest comes with an NPC named Man-In-Stone.

Once you come across this NPC and finish their quest, you unlock a new Transformation spell and some items to purchase, one being the Gold Ridge Beast. It’s expensive to buy in the early game, costing 12,800 Will but can be exchanged for some valuable items.

In case you’re confused about whether to use your hard-earned Will for it, we have you covered.

Should you buy the Gold Ridge Beast in Black Myth: Wukong?

No, do not buy the Gold Ridge Beast.

This is because the Man-In-Stone NPC is a fraud and that item has no use apart from selling it at a shop. It’s no different than the small pieces of gold that can be used for nothing but to exchange them for Will.

Additionally, the selling price of the Gold Ridge Beast is 6,000Will. This means you will sell it at a loss of 6,800 Will which can be used to upgrade your armor or craft a new weapon. Once you move to Chapter 3, the new weapon costs over 20,000 Will, so you should save it.

How to complete the Man-In-Stone quest

This a pretty small quest you will come across in Yellow Wind Ridge. Here are the steps you need to follow to complete it:

Step 1: Reach the Rockrest Flat Shrine

This is one of the most important Shrines in Yellow Wind Ridge.

You will find it to the right of the Stone Vanguard boss arena. This Shrine is also the closest to the Drunken Boar side quest. The easiest way to reach here is by taking the wooden bridge that you find to the right of the Second Prince of Flowing Sands arena.

Explore a little after crossing the wooden bridge and you will end up at this Shrine.

Step 2: Defeat the Mother of Stones

From the Rockrest Flat Shrine, turn back and walk inside the cave. Take the right from the cave, move straight, and then left. You will meet the Mother of Stones boss. This boss is pretty simple as it sits in one place without attacking.

Instead, a few minions spawn that you can kill and then take down the boss. Just be careful as the minions can be annoying, and if you try to brute force the fight, you will end up dying a lot. Take your time, as the minions will try to swarm you with numbers.

The Cloud Step spell comes in handy in this fight along with Immobilize. You an also use the Guangzhi transformation to take down the minions quickly. Upon defeating it, you receive an item called the Stone Essence.

Step 3: Find the Man-In-Stone

From the boss fight, turn back and walk straight into the dark cave once again. Keep moving until you reach the very end of the road, and then take a sharp right turn.

From here, walk straight until you reach the dead-end, and take a right. Keep moving and you’ll notice a drop to your left.

Move left and you will hear a voice calling you. Drop down and you will meet the Man-In-Stone.

Step 4: Defeat the Man-In-Stone boss

Once you interact with the Man-In-Stone, it will ask you for a key item. This key item is the Stone Essence that you can deliver to the boss, provided you have already defeated the Mother of Stones as mentioned in Step 2.

However, you realize it is a fraud as it will stand up and start mocking you for being gullible. Strike it once and the boss fight will begin. The boss fight is fairly simple as the Man-In-Stone does not have any special moves apart from slamming its head into the ground.

However, the area where you fight the boss is pretty small, so it is easy to get hit. Apart from that, the smaller enemies in the surrounding area, will throw rocks at you and keep interrupting you. This can be quite annoying to deal with, and you must take them out before fighting the Man-In-Stone.

Step 5: Get access to Azure Dust

After defeating the boss, you get access to a new Transformation spell, Azure Dust. However, the Man-In-Stone also becomes a merchant after it. Rest at a Shrine, come back, and you can now buy items from it, including the Stone Ridge Beast for Will.

The Gold Ridge Beast can also be obtained as a drop from bosses. As such, if you get one from defeating a boss, you can sell it for a massive 6000 Will. Finally, we also like to mention that there are some puzzling secrets hidden in this game. If the item ends up being used, we will update this article at a later date.

However, for the time being, the Gold Ridge Beast serves no purpose. Apart from the Gold Ridge Beast and the Transformation, you do get other valuable items from the Man-In-Stone. This includes Blood of the Iron Bull, Iron Pellet (used to upgrade your healing Gourd), Goldflora Hairpin (increases Will upon defeating enemies), and Sobering Stone.

The Sobering Stone is a key item that helps you complete the Drunken Boar quest and get access to the Kingdom of Sahali, which in turn gives you access to the Wind Tamer. This item comes in handy against the final boss. As such, it is highly recommended you complete the Man-In-Stone quest in Black Myth: Wukong.

In the meantime, if you’re interested in the game but unsure whether to play it, check out our review for guidance. If you want to learn more about the game, check out our guides on the beginner tips and achievement list for Black Myth: Wukong.