Yellow Sand Formation Walkthrough - Black Myth: Wukong Guide - IGN (2024)

The Yellow Sand Formation is final main region of Chapter 2 in the Yellow Wind Ridge of Black Myth: Wukong. Below you'll find a guide both for exploring the optional area of the Windrest Hamlet and the Tiger's Acolyte, as well as the final main boss fight against the Yellow Wind Sage.

• Jump to A Section:
• Windrest Bridge
• Windrest Hamlet
  • Yaoguai Chief - Tiger's Acolyte
• Windseal Gate
  • Yaoguai Chief - Gore-Eye Daoist
  • Yaoguai King - Yellow Wind Sage

The Yellow Wind Formation is the final sub-region you’ll need to explore in Chapter 2 of Black Myth Wukong to reach the Chapter Boss, but also includes a large optional village area of Windrest, and several paths leading to the boss from sealed stone doors. With multiple entrances and exits to this area, we’ll start with the first Shrine on the other side of the Crouching Tiger Temple.

Once the Tiger Vanguard boss has been defeated, you can exit the temple by heading down the steps on the far side.

A large area has a sloping path leading up to the right, with several plants to harvest including Aged Ginseng, Fragrant Jade Flowers, and a Lingzhiling in disguise.

Further up, you’ll find a Rat Soldier and Rat Archer guarding a large statue embedded in the rock wall with a small turtle chest at its altar. Clear out the foes, and then open it to find a Copper Pill Soak for your Gourd. This one in particular has an impressive effect to negate the cost of Rock Solid when used soon after using the gourd.

Windrest Bridge

Take out any stray Withered Corpses as you head to the top of the path, and you’ll find the Windrest Bridge Shrine.

Beyond it, the large stone bridge leading to the Windrest Hamlet is well guarded by a shield-bearing Spearbone, and two Blazebone ranged attackers supporting him. Bait out the fighter and lure him out of range, or alternatively, you can dodge around him (or use Cloud Step) to ambush the Blazebones first, and then focus on overpowering the defenses of the Spearbone with careful timing.

Windrest is a pretty sizable place, and full of ambushes, so be sure to advance cautiously. A third Blazebone waits on a raised wooden platform on the right as you enter, and a Withered Corpse sitting just below him.

The main path will lead straight on the other side of the long roof before you, but look carefully and you’ll spot a new type of ambush - The Rat Imperial Guard. They’ll leap off rooftops to surprise attack you, using twin hookblades for quick strikes, then dodging out of reach — and even throwing their blades at you from a distance.

You can use your new Rock Solid move to bait them into attacking and deflect to stagger them, opening them up for an assault which you can prolong by Immobilizing them when they try to flee, or use the Thrust Stance to hit them even after they jump away.

Moving ahead, there are also paths to the right and to the left. Going right leads to another Blazebone and Withered Corpse, as well as a house next to the ranged attacker that holds a green Wisp inside you can absorb.

Heading to the left side of the hamlet instead will place you between rows of houses and a large building on the side. Be sure to search the first house on the left to find a chest with 1 Small Piece of Gold and 3 Tiny Piece of Gold.

Defeat the Rat Soldier guarding the entrance to the larger house, and be sure to check the far end of this street for a green Wisp to absorb with a Withering Corpse near it, then enter the courtyard of the large building.

Another Rat Imperial Guard will jump down from the rooftops to ambush you, and a Blazebone in the corner of the courtyard may try to give you trouble while you're otherwise engaged. Lure the Rat out of range so you can deal with him in peace, then go for the bone thrower.

The Boar’s Sobering StoneAfter killing the Blazebone in this courtyard, look around for an open shack across from a Fire Bellflower, and you’ll find a small glowing jar. Break it open and you’ll receive a Sobering Stone - the exact kind of item the drunk boar in the yellow robe needs to sober up back at the Fright Cliff.

Exit the large building to the side to find a larger open center of the village, where a Spearbone patrols near a few more Blazebones. If you stick to the left wall, you can find a walkway up to a group of ruined shacks. Here you’ll find a Rat Governor looking over a chest, but beware, he’s got several Rat Archers backing him up in the corners.

You can either try to lure them out by dashing around the corner, or use something like Cloud Step or Pluck of Many to confuse and draw their fire to take out the archers, and then the Governor. Once they’ve been defeated, help yourself to the spoils in the chest for 1 Small Piece of Gold and 3 Tiny Piece of Gold.

Return to the large open area to deal with the Spearbone and the many Withered Corpses sitting around. Be sure to check the far side before going up the main path, as you can break apart some wooden fencing to find a yard with another Blazebone guarding a wooden chest, and inside you’ll find 3 Yaoguai Core and a lot of Will.

Going up the main path to the back of the village, you’ll find a large gate with an arch where not one but three Rat Imperial Guard await you on the rooftops. To make matters worse, one of them is much stronger than the rest.

Consider using your stronger abilities on this group, like transforming into the Rock Guai to slam down on them, use your Pluck of Many if you have the mana, or Immobilize the weaker ones to focus them down before turning your attention to the one wreathed in blue flames. Defeating this stronger Rat will award you the Rat Imperial Guard Spirit, allowing you to perform some slick and quick moves with their fast transformation.

When you return to the large gate, note that there’s a spot to the left where you can harvest some Licorice, and absorb a green Wisp to regain some of your gourd. To the right of the gate is a large empty shack surrounded by Withered Corpses who don’t seem to move much without provocation. This area is actually important for later, so remember the spot.

You can still search some of the smaller homes to find a chest in one that holds 2 Silk and 3 Tiny Piece of Gold.

Open the large gate the Rat Imperial Guard were posted at, and head through to the other side. Be sure to look to the right as you open the gate, and you’ll find a tree with glowing flowers on it. Gather the Luojia Fragrant Vine, and be sure to return to the Shen Monkey later to improve your Gourd when you can!

Watch out for another Lingzhiling in disguise nearby from the fragrant vine, and then travel up the path (check a small cave on the left for a green Wisp) and up to the Windrest Hamlet Shrine.

Windrest Hamlet

While you’ve technically traveled through most of Windrest at this point, there’s still one last section across another stone bridge. Like before, it’s guarded by another Spearbone, along with a few Withered Corpses and a Blazebone shooting projectiles from the far side of the bridge.

Lure the melee attackers away from the ranged support and deal with them first before you cross, and the Blazebone will have little in the way of defending itself. Check the interior of the home near it, and you can claim a green Wisp for some Will.

Head down the path around the homes, and you can find a wooden chest with 3 Yaoguai Core in an open area near a very long bridge leading back across the ravine toward Fright Cliff. However, a lone and imposing figure will block you as you try to cross the bridge.

Yaoguai Chief Mini-Boss Fight - Tiger’s Acolyte

A follower of the Tiger Vanguard, the strange man will call out for his missing son before violently attacking you. And just like his master, he’s incredibly ferocious, and it can be hard to anticipate his attacks, let alone whether he’ll attack with his very long sword or very long claws.

The battle will often begin with him lowering his sword, only to leap forward at blinding speed to attack with both sword and claw at once, rolling past you as he does, and then performing a follow up slash as he finishes his roll. This means you’ll want to dodge past him as he approaches, so you can safely distance yourself from the following slash and then attack him back.

However, if he suddenly pivots after his slash to face away, be ready for him to perform a large overhand swing as he twists to face you. Though it's a vertical strike, it has a great deal of reach, sending a tremor along the ground from its force.

Unfortunately, this isn’t even his only unpredictable leaping attack, as he can also just vault at you at top speed from a fair distance without a hint of preparation and cleave you with his sword for massive damage.

One leaping attack with a bit more warning will come when he jumps high into the air first, moving right above you before slamming down with his sword. The impact will be fierce, and even trying to use Rock Solid will simply send both of you stumbling back, so dodging is the better call here. It’s also a good idea to use Immobilize here, as there’s a good chance he’ll pull his sword out of the ground while performing a horizontal slash with incredible reach in a wide arc.

While he has a varied assortment of combo attacks, some use only the sword and some only his claw. His most used claw attack will come when he holds it behind him and it begins to shine with a gold gleam. He’ll rush forward with a swipe, and then follow it shortly with a leg stomp, and then roll forward to end with a quick forward slash attack.

If you see him rush forward with his claw raised back, prepare for a rapid combo of four quick slashes, followed by a stab with his claws.

If possible, you can try to go Rock Solid when he jabs, otherwise he’ll quickly pull backwards and retreat before you can try to retaliate — which often leads to one if his leaping attacks.

When he favors his sword, things won’t get any easier. Watch for him to hold his sword sideways across his body and a quick gleam. He’ll pull into a rapid stab attack with the sword that moves very fast — but it is possible to evade it using the Pillar Stance by raising yourself above the stab and then retaliating with a charged hit.

When he holds his sword back behind him, he’ll launch into two fast upward slashes, which usually ends with him taking the aforementioned stance before his thrust attack.

If he holds his sword back without moving, he’ll charge up for a combo attack consisting of two quick horizontal slashes, and then a short jump into the air to land with a downward slash attack. Retaliate cautiously if he doesn’t move away, and be ready for him to assume his next stance.

He can also charge at you with his sword behind his back in a sheathed stance, and then quickly slash forward with a follow up jab for a two-hit strike. The jabs are straight ahead, which you can dodge around to the side and punish.

On rare occasions, he may even go for a varied combo of his own using all the weapons at his disposal. Starting with a forward kick, he’ll launch into three spinning slash attacks with a reverse grip, followed by a quick claw swipe and upward sword swing all in quick succession. When he stops to raise his sword up, that’s your moment to stagger him with a heavy hit of your own to stop him in his tracks.

If your health is dropping fast, remember you can use a Transformation Spell to rely on a secondary health bar to stay alive. Either the Red Tides or Azure Dust can work well in this fight, depending on if you want to match his agility in your wolf form, or tank his hits and then smash into him when he stops attacking. It’s also not a bad idea to try the Pluck of Many, as his smaller size makes him vulnerable to getting overwhelmed and staggered on all sides.

When the Tiger’s Acolyte falls, he’ll drop a curious Key Item, the Old-Rattle Drum, as well as leaving behind the Tiger’s Acolyte Spirit to absorb. The child’s toy actually serves an important purpose to unlock another boss. You’ll need it to commune with a child’s spirit in various spots around the Yellow Wind Ridge, with the first being a short backtrack away.

Return across the bridge to the Windrest Hamlet Shrine and pass back through the large gate, immediately taking a left to the large house surrounded by sitting Withering Corpses. A visual cue will appear along with the voice of a child beckoning you, and you’ll be able to use the Rattle-Drum in front of the house. Be warned, as doing so will provoke all the nearby corpses to attack you, but you’ll also get some interesting dialogue from the child.

Head back to the bridge where you fought the Tiger’s Acolyte, and cross to the far side. You’ll enter a large cave here, and a few Swift Bats will appear to harass you.

After taking them out, look for an opening in the cave wall where a large column is, and at its base will be a small chest near a Blazebone firing projectiles at you. Loot the chest after defeating it to gain a new Curio - the Glazed Reliquary.

Just past the box, you can find stairs down to a path leading out the cave, putting you on a ledge right above where you fought the Stone Vanguard in the Fright Cliff!

This is actually a very opportune time to challenge the hidden Shiandang Yaoguai King boss in this same arena by putting the six Buddha Eyeballs in the large rock nearby — if you haven’t challenged him already.

Speaking of opportune times, you should also head back through the Rockrest Flats to the Drunk Boar, and give him the Sobering Stone you found in the village. He’ll thank you for it, but complain of hunger next, and talk about setting off in search of a meal. Keep speaking until he mentions the Temple of Crouching Tiger, so you’ll know where to find him.

Be sure to travel back to the Crouching Tiger Temple entrance next, and look for him near the top of the stairs to the right — opposite where the Meditation Spot is. He’ll be resting against the far wall, and complaining about the meat. What he really wants now is some Jade Lotus. You should already have plenty of that stored away, but if not, you can easily find some in most pools of water, especially the large pool where you first entered the chapter.

Give it to him, and he’ll give you a cryptic message about the Realm of Gold located where the sun sets, but it’s not a lot to go on. He also mentions the Yellow Wind Guai said “our senior brother gave me a piece of gold. I’ll need it here when the time’s right.” The Boar thinks the time is right to try it now.

It’s a bit of a riddle, but the “senior brother” was the First Prince of Flowing Sand that you fought in the Valley of Despair, who just happened to drop the Arhat Gold Piece. All that’s left is to bring it to the right place, which happens to be back where you first encountered the Boar Guai.

However, when you approach the field, you’ll find him off to the right on the stairs leading to the large door. He’ll become angry that you have the gold, and try to fight you for it.

Should you manage to best him in combat, he’ll offer to help you unlock this “Realm of Gold”, and open the doorway up the stairs that will lead you to another memory - a Secret Area known as the Kingdom of Sahali.

We highly recommend checking this place out before taking on the Chapter 2 Boss, as much like Chapter 1, its reward can greatly help you in that battle, and you’ll also find a Meditation Spot in this secret area!

Windseal Gate

There’s only a few places left to explore that comprise the Yellow Wind Formation, and all roads lead to the Windseal Gate. You found one route after defeating the Stone Vanguard that led down the sloping sand canyon to the gate itself, but there’s more doors we haven’t unlocked with the Sterness of Stone and Keeness of Tiger.

Return to where you fought the King of Flowing Sand and his Second Prince son, and unlock the large stone door here. You’ll find stairs leading down here, with a spot to the left leading back to another door that’s actually a shortcut to the Valley of Despair’s cave where you fought the First Prince.

Further down the stairs, there’s a large broken building to the right, and a Spearbone guarding a rope bridge up ahead. New enemies are lurking underneath the ruined building — Weasel Captains.

These quick enemies are tiny and easy to miss as they dart around you, looking for opportunities to lunge at you with their small swords. Luckily, they aren’t as overwhelming or powerful as the Civet Sergeants, so long as you don’t attract the attention of all of them at once.

On the other side of the ruined building, there’s a long roof-like walkway and several Withering Corpses milling about, along with a Ginsengling hiding by a wooden chest that holds 3 Yaoguai Core.

If you already used the Old Rattle-Drum back in Windrest Hamlet, you’ll again hear the spirit of a boy call out to you. Use the drum here, and prepare to fend off the zombies as he speaks to you. Interestingly, he mentions a secret and a well before clamming up, giving you one final clue to the third location.

There are many small wells that dot the Yellow Sand Ridge area, but the one you need to seek out is located back in Sandgate Village. Head back to the area where you fought the Earth Wolf and rescued the Horse Guai who was tied up by the large statue.

Look to the left of that statue altar, and you’ll find a small field around the back with a concerning amount of skeletons, and a well. Using the Rattle-Drum here one final time will cause the spirit of the boy to appear before you, and invite you to hop down the well to meet a “friend”.

Unfortunately, if the dull echoing roars coming from somewhere below are any indication, you’re not going to meet a friendly face down there. You can interact with the well to drop down to a secret area, where you’ll face off against an incredibly tough and dangerous Mad Tiger Miniboss (who may even be tougher than all the other Tigers you’ve faced)!

Returning to the second spot you played the Rattle-Drum in Yellow Wind Formation, cross the rope bridge and you’ll contend with a few more Weasel Captains.

Rounding the corner, you can spot a large tree in the distance with telltale glow of a collectible hanging from it, but guarding it is a very creepy and unique miniboss.

Yaoguai Chief Mini-Boss Fight - Gore-Eye Daoist

The Gore-Eye Daoist is not like most bosses you’ve faced, what with the creepy fleshy thing on his back full of eyeballs. This boss has a speciality - and it’s creating blood. Lots of it. This blood can be pretty dangerous too, as he’ll be able to create pools of it all around the arena, and even poison you with it, so make sure you’re stocked on a few antimiasma pills.

When the fight begins, he’ll begin a loud cry, punctuated by slamming his staff into the ground that will cause several pools of blood to splash down all around him. If you’re caught in the blast, expect to be instantly poisoned, so be ready to dodge away the moment his staff slams down.

There’s many more ways he can create more blood pools, and not all of them look the same. Sometimes he’ll dance about and ring his staff, shooting them out in all directions and ending with a shockwave of bloody force you need to dodge.

Up close, the Gore-Eye Daoist can only employ a few staff swings that don’t hit hard, and will regularly rely on his blood spells to keep you at bay.

One of these blood spells is to basically turn his staff into a firehose, and he’ll spray blood in a frontal arc around him to force you to back off, creating several new pools at his feet. Depending on your positioning, you can either try to dodge behind him, or take a retreating jump and follow up with the thrust stance heavy attack outside of his range.

He’ll have a few more variations of expelling blood from his staff - either in a concentrated stream straight ahead, or flinging his staff to create a wave of it in front of you, so be ready for waves of blood to fly out whenever he charges up.

If you see him begin to lean back and shake his staff over his head, prepare for him to create several more blood projectiles to shoot out of the eyes on his back. They’ll track your position and fly in an arc towards you, so be ready to dodge or employ your staff spin to destroy the projectiles before they can poison you.

The most annoying part will be when he hunches over and starts to mumble. Lines of red will start appearing from the eyes on his back toward each of the blood pools he’s created, and will essentially suck the pools back in and regenerate a portion of health. Stop him the moment you see this with a well timed Immobilize, or try a Spirit with a mighty attack to stagger him out of it, otherwise the fight will just go on longer.

Try to keep him boxed in if possible — getting his back stuck to a wall can severely limit how much blood he can expel from his eyeballs, and stop the projectiles from seeking you out. Use stunning, staggering, and heavy hits to keep him off-balance and unable to cast his spells, and he’ll fall before long.

Defeating him will earn you his Gore-Eye Daoist Spirit to absorb, and you can also help yourself to the second Luojia Fragrant Vine in this chapter to boost your gourd yet again!

Beyond a Lingzhiling hiding in the corner of this area, there’s not much else, so with the miniboss defeated you can find a path heading down past a green Wisp to absorb, leading you back to the Windseal Gate. This is the same spot you slid down to after defeating the Stone Vanguard, and gained the Pluck of Many spell, and can now open the gate with the Sterness of Stone and Keeness of Tiger.

On the other side, you can spy the path leading back up to where the Xu Dog crafts medicines under the Crouching Tiger Temple on the far side of this area.

To the left, you can find a path leading to a grotto and a familiar face, the Wise Master who imbued your gourd with the power to absorb Spirits.

He’ll have a few more wise words to impart (hinting at the existence of the Loong Scale we picked up in the Valley of Despair), and you can also find a Meditation Spot near him to gain one last free Skill Point.

The only other path leads directly into the heart of the black tornado that dominates the landscape, so when you’re ready to face the final boss of this chapter, head on in!

Yaoguai King Boss Fight - Yellow Wind Sage

The final boss of Chapter 2 is a hulking rat who holds an incredible trident spear in one hand, while the other carries… a giant head? If you think this may limit his moves, you’re unfortunately in for a rude awakening. The Yellow Wind Sage has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, and is not only a deadly attacker, but a master of the Samadhi Winds — but more on that later.

Make sure you're suitably prepared for the fight in the best ways possible: Craft a bunch of medicine to increase your damage absorption and max health, and allocate any Mind Cores you’ve found toward Celestial Medicine buffs. You should also have a full set of either the Galeguard or Insect armor fully crafted, as well as the Cloud-Patterened Stone Staff from defeating the optional Sihandang boss. Finally, and most importantly, make sure you’ve beaten the Chapter 2 Secret Boss and equipped the new Vessel, the Wind Tamer.

Using his giant weapon, the Yellow Wind Sage is able to create huge waves of force by slashing his trident spear, sending out wide projectile slices your way. He’ll often perform two in a row from an upward slash followed by a horizontal slash, and then a delay before jumping upward to create a third vertical slash and send the wave of force your way.

One of his bigger attacks with a slow startup involves him performing a backhanded swing where he spins around first. Watch his movements, and you’ll be able to go Rock Solid to parry this move and stagger him, opening up to a large counter attack!

However, attacking from the front can often prove dangerous, as you don’t want to drain all your stamina and run out of juice for dodging. He can often lure you in, and then stab his imbued weapon down right in front of him. Don’t dodge backward but instead flee to the sides, as the impact will create a line of smaller spears from the sand itself that erupt in a straight line from the point of impact.

You can get in a few strikes after dodging this stab, but save your heavy attack, as the Yellow Wind Sage will usually follow this up by a jumping stomp attack to create a shockwave around him. This will leave him open for a strong heavy hit and follow up attacks.

Another frontal assault the boss can perform will start with three quick downward swings of his weapon aimed at his feet. Right after his final swing, he’ll pull his weapon up and leap straight into the air, and then slam back down with another vertical slice that will erupt spears in a straight line when he lands, so keep strafing around to hit his sides.

Even carrying that bulky head, the Yellow Wind Sage will be quick to retaliate when you try to attack from other sides. Expect him to perform a retreating slash aimed behind him while jumping away if you try to flank him.

He can also do a very quick jab with the butt of his trident that comes after the end of the weapon glows for a moment, and he’ll soon follow it with a stomp that’ll be hard to dodge if staggered by the first attack. If you spot the other end of his spear glowing, you should have enough time to parry it with Rock Solid when he jabs, and interrupt his follow up attack!

Once you’ve carved out around a third of the Yellow Wind Sage’s health bar, things will get a little more scary. He’ll suddenly toss the head into the sky, and begin to sweep his spear around him to create a giant sandstorm — the power of the Samahdi Winds. Stay very clear of his repeated swings when this happens, as he’ll end the move with a giant whirling spin attack.

Note - if you have the Wind Tamer, you can use it now to fully negate the sandstorm and stop it from happening, which will also force him out of many of the attacks he uses in this phase. As an added bonus, using the Wind Tamer will also stun him for an extended period, so make use of it by hitting him with your biggest charged heavy strikes!

If you don’t have the Wind Tamer, he’ll vanish into the sandstorm, and instead send out giant sand copies of himself to strike at you in different directions. Since they are copies, you can’t really counter attack them, and they’ll fade away right after attacking:

• One version will run up to you with its free hand glowing and swing it upwards to trigger a line of sand spears to explode up from the ground. It will then launch into several sweeping attacks with its spear

• Another version will dropkick its way into the arena sending it to the far side, and then come roaring back with a spinning jump slash back at you as a quick follow-up attack.

When you finally spot the real version of him performing a leaping stomp back into the arena, he’ll have changed his stance, now holding the spear in a reverse grip.

In this new phase, he’ll have a few new moves to contend with, and they can get pretty nasty. He has a lot more kicking and stomping attacks, often raising his foot for a moment or even jumping off the ground to hang low to the ground, and then bringing it down hard. If his hand or foot begin to glow, it often means he’ll raise up more spears soon after, so be ready.

The most annoying move will lock you into an extended grab if you get hit, and has little warning. You’ll need to watch for him to stop and growl, going into a slight crouch before running toward you. He’ll then try and punt you with his right foot, and if connects, you’ll sail into the air only to be pinned down into the ground by his trident, where he’ll give you another stomp for good measure before tossing your body aside, dealing major damage through the whole process.

One of the more terrifying attacks in this phase comes when the Yellow Wind Sage lets out a large roar. This will summon a new sand creation to come flying in from above, and if you beat the secret boss in the Kingdom of Sahalin you’ll recognize the towering form of Fuban the Scarab Guai. He’ll essentially crash down on you like a meteor, which will either require good timing with a dodge or try to Rock Solid and soak the blow. Just be wary that if you get hit, you’ll take a huge amount of damage!

If you see the spear tip glow behind the Yellow Wind Sage’s back, be ready for him to sweep the weapon out and then slam the trident down for another of his erupting sand spear attacks in a line.

He can now also perform huge retreating slashes, jumping over you and slashing downward as he flees to the other side of the arena. Don’t bother trying to parry the move or Immobilize him since you won’t be able to retaliate, and be ready for him to come back with a spinning air slash.

He can also create a glow in his hand before throwing it into the ground. He’ll then stab the spot with his spear, and cause a giant tremor all around him when he rips the spear out. The time it takes for this move is a bit lengthy, so if you’re feeling gutsy you can try to interrupt him with a big charged hit or Spirit Attack, Immobilize him, or even use the Pillar Stance charge attack to rise above the tremor and smack him after evading it.

The Yellow Wind Sage also has a tricky feint where he’ll appear to run past you, but then lunge back into a sliding swipe with his arm. If timed correctly, you can cast Rock Solid just as he lunges back after the feint, which will often knock him to the ground and let you get a decent amount of damage in as he struggles to get up.

Once he’s down to the last quarter of health, he’ll prepare another sandstorm and grab the head back from where it’s been floating up above. During this period he’ll also summon a sand tornado to move around the arena, which you’ll need to avoid at all costs — especially if the Wind Tamer hasn’t recharged enough to use it again.

He’ll use most of his original attacks from this point on, though many are imbued with more powerful slashes, and he can continue to summon sand phantoms to stomp down on you even if you’ve dispelled the storm.

If you’re having trouble pinning him down, the Thrust Stance can be handy here for striking at him with heavy charged hits after he likes to dance backward after striking, since it will often still be in range.

A fully charged heavy thrust with a few focus points built up can also usually stagger him to the ground, and give you plenty more time to follow up with big hits, Spirit attacks, and Transformation Spells (we recommend sticking with Red Tides due to his mobility for chasing him down).

When the giant rat sage finally falls to your weapon, an unexpected twist will happen as the owner of the head suddenly appears to claim that which had been taken.

As thanks for reuniting the head with its owner, you’ll be able to claim the next of the Great Sage’s Relic: Fuming Ears. Like the other Relic, you can select one of three passive talents to awaken (and can re-select them later in the respec menu if you wish):

• All Ears - Slightly extends invincibility duration of the first move of all Varied Combos.
• Sound as A Bell - Narrows the window of Rock Solid Deflection, but returns half the Mana cost of the Spell upon a Deflection.
• Whistling Wind - Temporarily increases Attack after a Perfect Dodge.

With your business concluded in Yellow Wind Ridge, you can enjoy the scene and tapestry that unfold after the battle, and then begin your journey into Chapter 3: White Snow, Ice Cold.