You’re wandering through the misty, spider-choked depths of the Webbed Hollow in Chapter 4, and suddenly, there he is. A spindly, unsettling figure with too many arms and a grudge. This is the Black Myth Wukong Venom Daoist, a boss that isn't necessarily the hardest in the game, but he is arguably the most frustrating if you’re a completionist.
Most players stumble into this fight and just start swinging. Big mistake. If you kill him too fast, you lose out on one of the most unique armor pieces in the game. It's a classic Game Science move—hiding a secret behind a specific mechanical requirement that the game never explicitly explains to you.
The Secret of the Venomous Armguard
Here is the thing about the Black Myth Wukong Venom Daoist: he’s basically a walking loot box, but you have to break the box correctly to get the prize. Specifically, we're talking about his multiple arms. During the first encounter in the Pool of Shattered Jade, he’s got these four insect-like appendages sprouting from his back.
If you just deplete his health bar normally, he retreats. You get some XP, you move on, and you’ve permanently missed the Venomous Armguard.
To get the drop, you have to position yourself behind him. It sounds simple, right? It isn't. The guy moves like a twitchy grasshopper on caffeine. You need to use Immobilize or wait for his big lunging attacks to get behind his back and focus all your damage on those extra arms. You'll know you’re doing it right when you hear a distinct snapping sound and see an arm fly off. Break four of them before he hits roughly 20% health, or you're out of luck until New Game Plus.
Honestly, the hitbox for the arms is finicky. I’ve seen streamers spend thirty minutes trying to bait the right animation just to get that one specific "snip" sound. It's the kind of cryptic design that feels straight out of a 2000s-era action RPG, and while it's cool, it's also a total nightmare for anyone playing blind.
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Finding the Venom Daoist: A Lesson in Map Navigation
Navigation in Black Myth: Wukong is notoriously difficult because of the lack of a mini-map, and finding the Venom Daoist is no exception. He’s hidden away in the Pool of Shattered Jade. To get there, you have to find a specific path near the Upper Hollow shrine. Look for a bunch of cocoons hanging from the ceiling—that’s usually your first hint that you’re heading toward something unpleasant.
Once you beat him the first time (hopefully having harvested his limbs), he isn't gone. This is a two-part questline. You have to find him again later in the chapter, near the Court of Illumination.
The Second Encounter and the Secret Area
The second fight is where things get real. He’s faster, more aggressive, and uses more poison-based AOE attacks. But the stakes are higher here because defeating him for the second time is the literal key to unlocking Mount Mei and the Purple Cloud Mountain secret area.
You can’t just skip him. Well, you can, but you’d be skipping some of the best boss fights and lore reveals in the entire game. The game basically gates the "true" ending content behind these weird, multi-step NPC encounters.
Combat Strategy: Don't Get Poisoned
The Venom Daoist is a glass cannon. He hits hard, especially with his multi-hit combos that can stunlock you into a quick death, but he can't take much punishment.
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- Use the Staff Spin: His projectile needles are annoying. Use the staff spin to deflect them while closing the gap.
- Transformation Timing: Don't waste your transformation early. Save it for the second phase of the second fight when he starts getting desperate and the poison pools start covering the floor.
- Focus on the stagger: If you’re using the Pillar Stance, you can often outrange his shorter swipes and land a heavy hit that interrupts his flow.
The poison build-up is the real killer here. If you haven't been crafting Antimiasma Powder, you’re going to have a bad time. The status effect ticks down your health surprisingly fast, and in the second fight, the arena is small enough that you'll almost certainly get infected at least once.
Why This Character Matters for the Lore
There is a lot of debate in the community about who this guy actually is in the context of Journey to the West. In the original novel, the Seven Spider Sisters had a "brother," the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master. The Venom Daoist is essentially a subordinate or a mutated variation of that mythos.
He represents the corruption of Taoist alchemy. Instead of seeking immortality through purity, he’s using insectoid mutations and poisons. When you look at his character design, it’s grotesque—the way the human torso melds into the chitinous insect parts. It’s a visual storytelling cue about the cost of power in this universe.
He’s a tragic figure, in a way. He’s guarding the path to the higher-ranking demons, acting as a gatekeeper for a master who probably doesn't even care if he lives or dies. You’re just another obstacle in his way, and he’s just another victim of the Destined One’s journey.
Avoiding the Common Pitfalls
I see people complaining on Reddit all the time that the Venom Daoist "glitched" and didn't drop the armor. Nine times out of ten, they just didn't break the arms.
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- Stop using Spirits: High-damage spirits like the Wandering Wight can kill him too quickly before you’ve targeted the arms.
- Avoid the Pluck of Many: Your clones are stupid. They will attack his front, his sides, and his legs, draining his HP without helping you get the secret drop.
- Check your gear: If you’re over-leveled, unequip your high-damage curios. You want this fight to last longer, not shorter.
If you mess up the first fight and he runs away without you getting the armguard, you cannot go back. You have to restart the cycle or wait for NG+. It’s brutal, but that’s the game.
What to Do After Defeating Him
Once the Venom Daoist is down for good at the Court of Illumination, he’ll point the way toward a wall. Interacting with this wall transports you to the Secret: Purple Cloud Mountain.
This area is massive. It contains its own set of bosses, including the Scorpionlord (who is a total beast) and the Duskveil. More importantly, finishing this secret area gives you the Weaver's Needle vessel. If you're struggling with the final boss of Chapter 4, the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master, you need that needle. It's the only thing that effectively counters his second-phase golden light transformation.
Actionable Next Steps for Your Playthrough
- Restock on Antimiasma Powder: Buy or craft at least 10 before heading into the Court of Illumination.
- Respec into Immobilize: Ensure your Immobilize spell is maxed out to give you the longest window possible to get behind his back during the arm-cutting phase.
- Manual Save (PC Only): If you're on PC, back up your save file before the first encounter at the Pool of Shattered Jade. If you kill him without getting the armguard, you can just reload and try again.
- Look for the Wall: After the second fight, don't just fast travel away. Walk to the back of the arena and interact with the mural to enter the secret zone.
The Venom Daoist is a perfect example of why Black Myth: Wukong is so compelling. It's not just about the twitch combat; it's about paying attention to the details of the world and the specific ways you interact with its monsters.