The Destined One had already shattered mountains, outwitted demons, and stared down gods. His journal was thick with victories, sketches, and strange little notes. Yet one name kept slipping through his fingers: Yuan Shoucheng, the old man with the giant gourd on his back. In 2026, this single missing entry remains one of Black Myth: Wukong's most infamous completionist headaches. 🐒
The journal is a quiet, stubborn gatekeeper. It watches every fight, every conversation, every hidden shrine and forgotten cave. It remembers who was met and what was defeated. But when the Destined One first meets Yuan Shoucheng, nothing happens. No page appears. No icon glows. Just silence. That silence has driven plenty of players to the brink. And no, simply bumping into him will not cut it. The game has its own rules, and it is not in a hurry to explain them.
Here is the catch: Yuan Shoucheng can only be added to the journal after the game is completed. More precisely, he requires a full journal. Every enemy, every boss, every character, and every missable entry must already be recorded. Only then does his page unlock. It is a cruel, circular condition. You need him to finish the journal, but you need to finish the journal to get him. The game practically winks at you while you scratch your head. 😅
For many players, the missing entry appears at the very end. They scroll through the journal, see ninety-nine percent, and there he is: a silhouette, a question mark, a tiny thorn in an otherwise perfect collection. The game offers no pop-up. No quest marker. Just a quiet demand. The Destined One must go back, because the journal does not forget what the player overlooked.
On top of that, the Great Sage Shell entry only unlocks when New Game Plus begins. So the road to Yuan Shoucheng is not a single journey. It is a two-cycle pilgrimage. Finish the base game, start NG+, and keep exploring. The Destined One must return to familiar lands with fresh eyes, because some entries are tied to choices, questlines, and secrets that can be missed the first time around.
A sensible approach is to play the first run however it feels right. Do not obsess over every corner. Then open the journal and study the empty slots. Those gaps often hint at the locations that were passed by. Go back. Explore again. Talk to every NPC. Fight every optional boss. Check every suspicious wall and lonely cliff. In 2026, community maps and guides are everywhere, but the thrill of the hunt still belongs to the player.
Some entries are tied to enemies that vanish after a chapter. Others are tied to NPCs who move on if ignored. A few are hidden behind illusory walls or obscure item interactions. The journal does not judge, but it does remember. Players should treat it like a detective's notebook. Compare chapters. Look for odd absences. If a boss arena felt too quiet, return. If an NPC mentioned a name that never appeared again, follow it. If a shrine sits near an unexplored path, take it.
| Requirement | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Complete the base game | Opens the path to New Game Plus and final journal checks |
| Fill the journal | Yuan Shoucheng only appears when all other entries are complete |
| Start New Game Plus | Unlocks the Great Sage Shell entry, another required piece |
| Explore secret areas | Missable bosses and characters can block completion |
| Revisit NPCs and questlines | Conversations and side stories often add hidden entries |
| Check journal gaps | Empty slots often point toward missed locations |
So, yeah, the game really knows how to keep you guessing. It hides its final journal reward behind patience, exploration, and a second playthrough. Some players finish the story and walk away. Others hear the call of the empty page and cannot rest until every name is written. Yuan Shoucheng is the last stubborn ghost in that collection, the one who refuses to be remembered until everything else is.
In 2026, Black Myth: Wukong remains a favorite for action RPG fans, and Yuan Shoucheng remains its most polite troll. He stands there with his gourd, smiling, while completionists tear their hair out. He knows exactly what he is doing. The final reward is not power. It is closure. It is the feeling of opening the journal and seeing no empty spaces. It is the quiet satisfaction of knowing that every secret was found, every boss was faced, and every character was met.
When the journal is finally full, when New Game Plus has been started and the Great Sage Shell is recorded, the old man with the gourd will at last take his place among the entries. The page turns. The collection breathes. And the Destined One can finally say that the journey—every battle, every secret, every forgotten corner—has been truly completed. Trust me, it is a marathon, not a sprint. 🎮
For anyone still chasing that final entry, the advice is simple: be thorough, be patient, and do not expect Yuan Shoucheng to show up just because you shared a quiet moment with him. He is not being rude. He is just waiting for the rest of the story to be told. And when that story is complete, the journal will finally welcome him home.