"Zodiac Village Unlock Guide: Chen Loong's Questline & the Yin Tiger (Extra Curio Slot)"
Published 2026-10-072 min readSpoiler level: Low
TL;DR
Zodiac Village is Chapter 3's unique secret area: defeat Chen Loong at the North Shore of the Bitter Lake → finish Xu Dog's Chapter 2 questline for his special pill → deliver it to Chen Loong. Inside, challenge the Yin Tiger twice — the first win grants his transformation, the second unlocks an extra curio slot.
Zodiac Village is Chapter 3's secret area, and it's a different flavor — less a dungeon, more a home base: gear smithing, a sparring partner, and a rare extra curio slot. Unlocking it takes Chen Loong's questline, which briefly sends you back to Chapter 2 for Xu Dog.
Step 1: defeat Chen Loong at the Bitter Lake
Teleport to the North Shore of the Bitter Lake shrine (guaranteed by the turtle main quest) and find Chen Loong nearby. Beat him, and he'll ask for medicine — a special pill only Xu Dog can provide.
The North Shore is also home to the missable Apramana Bat — kill it on the same trip. See the Apramana Bat guide.
Step 2: Xu Dog's questline (back in Chapter 2)
Xu Dog's quest starts at Sandgate Village's entrance in Chapter 2: hop straight down the steps from the village gate and he's there. After finishing his requests:
Teleport to the Crouching Tiger Temple's entrance shrine;
Interact with the mechanism on the steps to open the cellar;
Walk to the end of the cellar and keep talking to Xu Dog until he hands over the special pill.
Step 3: deliver the pill
Return the pill to Chen Loong at the North Shore, and Zodiac Village opens.
Inside: the Yin Tiger, twice
The village's Yin Tiger is both smith and sparring partner:
He crafts equipment for you;
Challenge him: first win grants his transformation; second win unlocks an extra curio slot.
The second challenge is easy to forget — fight him twice.
When to unlock it
Never missable, but mid-Chapter 3 is ideal: smithing plus the extra curio slot directly power you up for the chapter's back half and Chapter 4.
FAQ
No — unlock it at any point, including after the credits.
Fetch-and-carry errands inside Chapter 2, no combat gate. The key outcome is access to the temple cellar where the pill dialogue happens.
Noticeably harder than the first fight — come back with finished gear. The prize is a curio slot, one of the rarest upgrades in the game.
Not directly. Mount Mei's prerequisites are three vessels plus two questlines — full list in the Mount Mei guide.
Afraid of missing it? Let RegretPill warn you in-game
RegretPill pops up a reminder when you approach points of no return in Black Myth: Wukong. It only says what you would lose — details unfold only if you ask. Free and open source, for Windows / Steam.
