You’re likely staring at the crafting menu in Black Myth: Wukong feeling a mix of awe and annoyance. You see it. The Sky Piercing Horn. It’s that one elusive material standing between you and the Jingubang or the high-tier Monkey King Sage set weapons. If you’ve spent any time roaming the flaming mountains or the snowy peaks of Game Science’s masterpiece, you know that the game doesn't exactly hold your hand when it comes to finding these legendary ingredients.
It’s frustrating.
You’ve beaten bosses that made your thumbs ache, yet you're still missing that one component to max out your damage. The Sky Piercing Horn Wukong players hunt for isn't just a random drop from a low-level mob. It’s a literal trophy of your progression through the game’s most grueling late-game encounters. Honestly, if you're looking for it, you're probably already deep into Chapter 4 or 5, realizing that your current staff just isn't hitting hard enough against the bosses that have three phases and a grudge.
What Exactly Is the Sky Piercing Horn?
In the lore of the game, which draws heavily from Journey to the West, everything has a purpose. The Sky Piercing Horn is a legendary crafting material. It’s not like the tiny pieces of Silk or Cold Iron you find in every wooden chest. This is "Mythical" tier.
Basically, you need it for the heavy hitters. We’re talking about the Staff of Blazing Karma or the ultimate Jingubang upgrades. Without these horns, your attack power plateaus. You’ll find yourself chip-damaging bosses that have massive health bars, which is a one-way ticket to a "Game Over" screen. The game rewards exploration, but it rewards specific victories even more.
Most players assume they can just farm these. You can't. They are finite. In a single playthrough, there are only a handful available, which means you have to be intentional about how you spend them. If you waste them on a staff you don't actually like, you're stuck until New Game Plus. That's a long way to go just to fix a crafting mistake.
Where to Find Every Sky Piercing Horn in Black Myth: Wukong
Let’s get into the weeds. You need locations.
First off, Chapter 4 is where the hunt truly begins. You aren’t going to see these in the early stages of the game because, frankly, the Destined One isn't strong enough to wield what they build yet.
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The Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master
This is the big one. The main boss of Chapter 4, the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master, is your primary source. Beating him is a rite of passage. It’s a tough fight—especially if you haven't found the Weaver's Needle vessel to negate his golden light phase. Once he falls, he drops a Sky Piercing Horn. It’s a guaranteed drop, so you don't need to worry about RNG (Random Number Generation) screwing you over here.
Secret Areas and Chests
Don't just run through the main path. The game hides these materials in "Mythical" chests, usually guarded by something nasty. In Chapter 5 (Flaming Mountains), keep your eyes peeled in the Bishui Cave. This is a secret area. To get there, you have to complete the quest involving the five Element Carts. It's tedious, yeah, but the rewards are mandatory for completionists.
Inside the secret area, after dealing with the Bishui Golden-Eyed Beast, you’ll often find the materials needed to round out your endgame gear. The Beast itself is a multi-stage fight that changes elements based on where you lead it in the arena. It’s a spectacle. And it’s where the high-level loot lives.
The Yin Tiger Challenge
Have you met the Yin Tiger in the Painted Realm? If you haven't unlocked the Zodiac Village yet, stop reading and go find the Chen Loong NPC near the north shore of the Bitter Lake in Chapter 3. Once you have the village, you can challenge Yin Tiger to a duel. He is fast. He is brutal. But defeating him—and checking the rewards from the blacksmithing menu afterward—is often the gatekeeper for the highest tier of gear. While he doesn't "drop" the horn in the traditional sense every time, the progression of the hub area is tied to your ability to use these materials.
Why You Shouldn't Just Craft Anything
Here is a mistake I see all the time. Players get their first Sky Piercing Horn Wukong drop and immediately spend it on the first shiny thing they see.
Stop.
Think about your build. Are you going for a Pillar Stance build that relies on heavy hits and tanking damage? Or are you a Smash Stance purist who needs critical hit rate?
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The Staff of Blazing Karma is incredible for fire-resistance and deals burn damage, which is great for certain mobs. But if you’re heading into Chapter 6, you might want to save your materials for the Jingubang. The Jingubang is iconic. It doesn't lose its focus bar over time when you're in the full Monkey King suit. That is a game-changer. Using a Sky Piercing Horn on a mid-tier staff when you're 5 hours away from the legendary gear is a heartbreak you want to avoid.
Common Misconceptions About Farming
I've seen forum posts claiming you can farm these from the giant beetles or the rock spirits.
You can't.
Game Science designed Black Myth: Wukong with a very specific power curve. If you could farm Sky Piercing Horns, you’d be overpowered too early, and the tension of the boss fights would evaporate. These are "milestone" items. They signify that you have conquered a specific portion of the world.
If you are short on horns, check your inventory for Will and other materials. Sometimes, people think they lack the horn when they actually lack the 30,000 Will required to actually click "Craft." It's an expensive hobby, being the Monkey King.
Breaking Down the Late-Game Crafting Requirements
To give you an idea of the scale, look at the requirements for the Visionary Staff.
You’ll need:
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- 4 Sky Piercing Horns
- Multiple Gold Tree Cores
- A staggering amount of Will
If you only have two horns, you’re halfway there. This usually means you’ve finished Chapter 4 but haven't fully scoured the secret areas of Chapter 5 or 6. The game has a way of hiding things in plain sight. For instance, the Mount Huaguo area in Chapter 6 is massive. Flying around on the Somersault Cloud is fun, but it makes it easy to miss small caves where Mythical chests are tucked away.
The Role of New Game Plus
If you want to max out every single weapon in the game, you literally cannot do it in one playthrough. There aren't enough Sky Piercing Horns in the world. You’ll get a fresh batch in NG+, where the bosses are harder but your gear is already semi-optimized. This is where the "true" power trip begins.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session
If you’re sitting at a Keeper’s Shrine right now wondering what to do, follow this sequence:
- Check your Journal: Have you defeated the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master? If not, head to the Temple of the Yellow Flower. That’s your first guaranteed horn.
- Unlock the Secret Area in Chapter 5: Complete the Ox-head questline. The Bishui Golden-Eyed Beast is the gatekeeper for the best materials in the volcanic region.
- Audit your Stance: If you prefer the Thrust Stance, look for the staff that complements long-range pokes. Don't waste a horn on a staff that boosts a stance you never use.
- Visit the Yin Tiger: Regularly. Not just to fight him, but to see if new crafting recipes have unlocked. He is the key to the late-game gear "menu."
- Save your Will: Stop buying every single consumable. The crafting costs for Sky Piercing Horn weapons are astronomical.
The Sky Piercing Horn Wukong hunt is basically the "endgame" before the actual end. It forces you to engage with the hardest content Game Science built. Take your time, learn the boss patterns, and don't spend those horns until you're absolutely sure which staff you want to carry into the final confrontation.
The transition from a standard staff to a mythical one is the biggest jump in power you’ll experience. You’ll go from struggling against common enemies to feeling like the actual Great Sage Equal to Heaven. It’s worth the grind. Just make sure you're looking in the right caves.
To ensure you don't miss out on these rare materials, prioritize completing the Loong questline as well. While the Loongs provide different materials like Vibrating Antlers, the overall progression usually leads you toward the chests and hidden bosses that house the Sky Piercing Horns. Keep an eye on the "Mythical" color coding in your inventory—if it's orange, it's precious. Don't sell it, don't ignore it, and definitely don't forget where you found it.