How to free the Black Myth Wukong Man in Stone

The Black Myth Wukong Man-in-Stone questline in Chapter 2 sees you come across a figure trapped inside a rock at the end of a ravine in the Fright Cliff region. Ultimately it’s one of the stranger quests in Black Myth Wukong as freeing the Man-in-Stone leads you into fighting an optional boss (of sorts) called the Mother of Stones in a nearby cave. Then, you have to fight the Man-in-Stone himself. If you want a walkthrough guide to take you through the steps of this peculiar quest, here's how to free the Man-in-Stone in Black Myth Wukong. It’s a short quest chain, but one that’s worth doing.

Full Man-in-Stone quest walkthrough for Black Myth Wukong

The Man-in-Stone side quest in Black Myth Wukong involves two optional boss fights, but ends with one of the Chapter 2's best rewards: the Azure Dust spell, which allows you to shapeshift temporarily into a high-defence rock monster. 

To get it though, you'll need to complete a small quest chain that initially starts as an attempt to free the Man-in-Stone from his confinement - here's how it goes.

1. To find the Man-in-Stone, go to the Squall Hideout checkpoint in Chapter 2's Fright Cliff area. From there, go straight ahead - between the cave networks on the left and the enemy fort on the right, there's a crevasse running through the ground - and the Man-in-Stone at the end of it.
2. Speak to him and he'll explain he's been trapped by a Guai in some nearby caves, and wants to be freed.
3. Now you need to find the Guai. Head into the cave network mentioned in step one, as though you were heading towards the Rockrest Flat checkpoint, and on the left-hand wall going in that direction is a staircase with blue-fire braziers. Go up those stairs.

4. At the top is a path leading to a huge creature covered in glowing blue rocks. Attack it to trigger a boss fight with the "Mother of Stones." This is barely a boss fight though - the Mother just stays stationary and summons minions. You need to hold them off while also damaging her until she's beaten (you can also find one of the Black Myth Wukong Buddha's Eyeballs on the outside ledge next to her, if you're doing that questline).
5. Once beaten, you'll get the "Stone Essence" key item. Go back to the Man-in-Stone and give it to him, only for his tone and demeanour to suddenly change.
6. Attack the Man-in-Stone to trigger a boss fight. He hits hard, but is slow and highly-telegraphed - agile players who stay behind him shouldn't struggle.

Once defeated, you'll have completed his side quest, and get an immediate reward - the aforementioned Azure Dust spell, that turns you into an incredibly durable Rock Guai temporarily. 

Not only that, but the Man-in-Stone will then become a merchant from that point on with a small range of unique items - including the Sobering Stone, which is how to sober up the drunk Black Myth Wukong pig, if you're doing that side quest.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission