Welcome, brothers, to the next challenge in Chapter 5 of Black Myth: Wukong! The battle against the Keeper of the Flaming Mountains and the Yin-Yang Fish is not just a typical skill check, but a unique confrontation divided into two distinct phases. First, you’ll face the illusionist and summoner – the Keeper of the Flaming Mountains, and immediately after, a fight for survival against the giant creature, the Yin-Yang Fish. Don’t worry, this article, drawn from our combat experience, will provide step-by-step tactics, useful tips, and important notes to help you overcome this hurdle most effectively.
How to Find the Keeper of the Flaming Mountains?
To begin this encounter, find the Shrine named ‘The Emerald Hall Keeper’s Shrine‘ in the Furnace Valley area within Chapter 5. This location is quite easy to recognize.
From the Shrine location, simply go left and head up the stairs.
When you reach the top area of the stairs, a rather long cutscene will automatically trigger; you don’t need to do anything else.
In this cutscene, you will temporarily transform into a Cicada and fly into the center of the great hall. Here, you will witness a conversation between Pingping, her mother Rakshasi (Actually Zhu Bajie in disguise, a surprising twist!), and our main antagonist: the Keeper of the Flaming Mountains.
The battle will officially begin right after the moment the Keeper uses magic to bind Pingping and Bajie‘s true identity is revealed. Prepare yourself!
A small note: When the fight starts, the Keeper will teleport you to a special illusion space, characterized by a monochrome color tone, where the real battle takes place.
Warning: Don’t Miss the Dark Thunder Transformation!
This is an extremely important note you must know BEFORE defeating the Keeper of the Flaming Mountains. There is a very useful Transformation Spell called Dark Thunder, and you can miss it permanently if you don’t follow the correct steps. You can read more in the guide article here.
Keeper of the Flaming Mountains Boss Fight and Guide
Phase 1: Facing the Keeper of the Flaming Mountains – Master of Illusions
The first phase of this battle focuses entirely on the Keeper of the Flaming Mountains. Your goal is to wear down his health bar to a certain point to trigger the next phase.
Luckily, you are not alone. Your reluctant ally, Zhu Bajie, will fight alongside you for most of this phase, providing significant damage support.
White/Black Projectiles: The Keeper often floats and shoots white or black energy orbs or beams. What makes them annoying is that they can be homing or change trajectory unexpectedly.
How to dodge: Always maintain a moderate distance and continuously move sideways strafing. Perform a Dodge at the right moment when the projectile gets close. Absolutely do not stand still and always keep an eye on their flight path, even after they’ve passed you.
Revenants/Guai Spirits Summo: When the Keeper‘s health is around 60-70%, he will fly high up and summon minions.
Types of minions: There will be two main types: large, mace-wielding White Revenants, focusing on melee; and Black Revenants who are Archers, attacking from a distance.
Target Priority: DESTROY THE ARCHERS (Black Revenants) FIRST! This is extremely important. Their ranged attacks are incredibly annoying, deal considerable damage, and constantly interrupt your attacks on the Keeper or the melee units. Dealing with them first will make things much easier for you.
How to handle: Quickly close the distance and finish off the archers with strong attacks or area-of-effect skills (if available and not too resource-intensive). Then deal with the white spirits.
Ma Tianba Summon: When the Keeper‘s health is only around 30% or lower, a significant event will occur: Bajie will leave the battle, leaving you to face the rest alone. Immediately after, the Keeper will summon Ma Tianba (the demon horse you encountered with the cart). Ma Tianba appears with his own health bar (like a regular enemy, not a boss) and uses a whip as a weapon.
Phase 2: Yin-Yang Fish Rises – The Giant Battle
Immediately after you defeat Ma Tianba (or when the Keeper‘s health is nearly depleted), he will perform his final action in this phase: dropping the tiny Yin-Yang Fish into the water surrounding the arena. Don’t be fooled by its initial appearance; this creature quickly emerges in enormous size, ready to crush you.
Your sole objective now is to completely defeat this giant Yin-Yang Fish. The Keeper of the Flaming Mountains will temporarily disappear from the fight.
Core Strategic Tip: Remember how we saved resources in Phase 1? This is the time to “go all out”! Use all your strongest Spells, most useful Transformations, and don’t hesitate to use healing or buff items when needed.
Jet Spray: The fish will raise its head high and spray a powerful stream of water straight forward, dealing massive damage in a long line.
How to dodge: A quite effective tip is to get close to the fish’s body. The water jet usually sprays from its mouth and has a long range, so standing close will help you avoid it. However, be careful, as standing close puts you at risk of the tail whip.
Tail Flick/Whip: This is an extremely fast counter-attack when you stand too close or are attacking its tail section. The telltale sign is the fish slightly tilting its head towards you before violently whipping its tail sideways. This move comes out very fast!
How to dodge: As soon as you see the head tilt sign, Dodge away immediately or time your dodge precisely. Quick reflexes are key here.
Projectiles/Orbs: Similar to the Keeper, the Yin-Yang Fish can also shoot energy orbs that chase you.
How to dodge: Use the same tactic as dealing with the Keeper‘s projectiles: run around the arena and Dodge when they get close.
Floating Projectile Barrage: This is one of the most dangerous attacks. The Yin-Yang Fish will soar into the air and rain down a dense barrage of projectiles covering a large area. Although the damage per hit isn’t too high, if you get hit by one, you’re very likely to be hit by many others consecutively, and the total damage will be utterly devastating.
How to dodge: ABSOLUTELY DO NOT STAND STILL. As soon as you see the fish fly up, continuously run and Roll around the arena. Non-stop movement is the only way to avoid being “showered” by this rain of projectiles until it ends.
Erratic Movement: When the Yin-Yang Fish‘s health drops to about half, it will become more “hyperactive”. The fish starts moving extremely quickly and erratically, darting back and forth across the arena, making it difficult to approach and attack.
How to handle: Use the Cloudstep ability to quickly catch up to it. Another useful tip is to use the Immobilize spell to temporarily lock the fish down, creating an opportunity for you to attack.
Howling: Occasionally, the Yin-Yang Fish will stand still and tilt its head back, howling at the sky for about 7 seconds.
Tip to Exploit: This is a golden opportunity for you to deal maximum damage. As soon as you see it start howling, unleash all your strongest attacks, spells, or activate transformations to attack it continuously.
When the giant Yin-Yang Fish falls, the battle officially ends, and you will receive the Yin-Yang Daoist Robe – “From the embrace of heaven and earth, all things flourish; Where yin and yang converge, the world transforms unpredictably.”
Congratulations on overcoming the challenging battle with the Keeper of the Flaming Mountains and the Yin-Yang Fish! The key to victory lies in effectively managing the summoned minions (especially prioritizing taking down the archers) and avoiding the Keeper‘s constant ranged attacks in the first phase, while saving resources. In the second phase, quick reflexes against the Yin-Yang Fish‘s high-speed attacks, especially moving constantly to avoid the projectile rain, and fully utilizing powerful spells and transformations are decisive factors. Experience shows, don’t hesitate to use healing items when necessary. Now, with valuable spoils, you are ready for the next challenges on the path of pilgrimage in Black Myth: Wukong!