Black Myth: Wukong - Who Is Erlang Shen?

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• Who Is Erlang Shen?

• Erlang Shen In Journey To The West

• Erlang Shen In Black Myth: Wukong

When you begin your journey through Black Myth: Wukong, you will come face to face with one of heaven’s fiercest warriors, Erlang Shen. While it is impossible to defeat him during this fight, many players might be left wondering who this powerful character was.

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If you only got the Bad ending, then that’s where the story ends, but there is much more to it than that. Erlang has much more to do with the story, and his roots go far beyond the realm of the novel Journey to the West, since he was already a deity by the time the tale was written.

Who Is Erlang Shen?

Erlang has a few conflicting origin stories, since he was a character used to deify old historical figures that existed during the history of China.

The important part of his story is that he is the nephew of the Jade Emperor, one of the main deities of Chinese mythology, positioning Erlang as a sort of god since birth.

The term Shen is usually used to refer to a god.

If you’re more familiar with the Greek myths, Erlang works as a sort of Hercules, being related to the pantheon but earning his place through action, and being known far and wide as a powerful hero.

His main role in the Celestial Palace is to subdue the most powerful demons in existence, and that role would eventually lead him to face off against Wukong.

Xiaotian Quan, Erlang’s Canine Companion

Among Erlang’s most notable features is his dog, Xiaotian Quan. While a faithful companion and crucial in taking down Erlang’s most fierce foes, there isn’t much to their story together: Erlang found a dog, taught it magic tricks, and that was that.

Erlang’s Third Eye

Each mystical character has their own special ability, and for Erlang, that ability is his third eye, letting him see through deception and illusions.

This prevents him from ever being deceived, even by the crafty Wukong, who tries to hide from Erlang while disguised as a temple.

It is significant that, during Black Myth: Wukong, it is inside this third eye that Wukong’s real memories are stored. It seemed that Erlang was keeping them safe, a truth that he decided to keep hidden within the eye that can’t be deceived.

Erlang’s Transformations

Much like Wukong, Erlang is capable of transforming into over 70 forms, be it a bird, a fish, or an inanimate object.

This is why he is capable of transforming into a bird when Wukong flies off to continue the battle later, or why he can become a giant stone creature when facing the Destined One during his questline.

Erlang’s Ax

A curious feature present in the initial fight of Black Myth: Wukong is Erlang’s Ax, a weapon that can grow to impossible sizes and is capable of cutting a mountain simply by using its shockwave.

This is an interesting interpretation of how Erlang used his Ax in the myths since it is an item barely mentioned, even though it is impressive.

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In Journey to the West, the Ax is mentioned when the author is describing Erlang. The description goes over his spear, his eye, his attire, and, of course, his Ax that can cut mountains in half.

This weapon, however, isn’t mentioned that much afterward, and it wasn’t even important during his initial fight against Wukong, at least in the novel.

Erlang Shen In Journey To The West

Erlang has made other appearances in Chinese culture, but his most prominent one was in Journey to the West. In that novel, he is summoned by the Celestial Palace to subdue Sun Wukong, a fierce monkey warrior that no one seemed able to stop.

Erlang and Wukong were evenly matched, and it was only thanks to the intervention of other gods that Erlang managed to emerge victorious. Wukong, however, wasn’t slain, but tricked by Buddha to wear a Golden Headband so that he would never again rise against the Celestial Palace.

If this sounds familiar, it's because a similar fight ensues at the beginning of Black Myth: Wukong, except that the outside intervention through which Erlang wins is the Golden Headband itself.

Still, Erlang wasn’t always Wukong’s opponent, and he even aided him in one of the many fights during the novel.

Erlang Shen In Black Myth: Wukong

When told in chronological order, the story of Black Myth: Wukong has Erlang at the center of it all, even though most players will see this character only once. This is because you need to have seen the True ending to understand what Erlang was trying to do.

During his final duel with Wukong, Erlang and the Monkey King reached an agreement, albeit we don’t know if this was planned ahead of time, or if it was an unspoken agreement.

Wukong would die that day, but his Senses would be spread among Erlang’s sworn brothers in arms, with the essence of Wukong’s Mind being kept safe in Erlang’s third eye.

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The plan was that, eventually, a monkey would rise to take on Wukong’s mantle. This monkey would inherit everything that Wukong was: his Senses, his powers and his armor, but would leave one thing behind; the dreaded Golden Headband.

This was the freedom Wukong longed for, one that was promised by the Buddha at the end of Journey to the West, but not truly given.

The True Ending of the game has the Destined One rise as a true heir of Wukong, a goal that, for some reason, Erlang was after.

Why Did Erlang Help Wukong?

Erlang Shen and Wukong aren’t enemies, and even though they don’t talk to each other as friends, there is a clear level of respect between the two warriors.

When you look at everything that Erlang stands for, at least when reading his myths, he isn’t about blindly following a doctrine, but about justice.

Everything that happens to Wukong during the game is an injustice, no matter how you slice it. His only crime was not wanting to live in heaven anymore, and when confronted about it, he is subdued by the very tool he was promised would never be used on him again.

It might be that Erlang sympathizes with Wukong’s goals; it isn’t the same monkey he had to take down centuries ago, but a powerful warrior that reached Buddhahood through merit alone.

He might even see himself reflected on the monkey, wanting to aid someone he sees as an equal to achieve something resembling freedom.

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