“Cannot absorb Spirits without guidance” is a cryptic message you might run into early on in Black Myth: Wukong. You won’t find much guidance from the game, though.

Our Black Myth: Wukong guide to absorbing Spirits will explain how the mechanic works, what it has to do with the Blessed Gourd, and how Spirit Skill transformations work.

Certain enemies will drop these blue orbs of energy when you defeat them. The first place you might (might) find a Spirit that triggers the “cannot absorb Spirits without guidance” message is when you’re fighting the Wandering Wight.

We should note that this is different from the Red Tides spell you pick up when you defeat Guanghzi.

If you get the “cannot absorb Spirits without guidance message,” it’s because you haven’t met the right NPC yet. Once you gain the ability to absorb Spirits, return to any shrine and you can claim any Spirits you might’ve missed.

After you defeat the giant wolf, Lingxuzi, in chapter 1, continue to the Bamboo Grove Snake Trail Shrine. From there, head up the stone stairs.

At the top, take a right to meet a wise master. He’ll upgrade your gourd to The Blessed Gourd and unlock the ability to absorb the Wills of Spirits.

Not far from there, you can find the giant frog Baw-Li-Guhh-Lang in a swampy area. Defeat him, and you’ll be able to take his Spirit with your new Blessed Gourd.

This unlocks a new ability type called Spirit Skills. You can equip one Spirit Skill at a time and it gives you two benefits. First, you’ll gain a unique passive bonus while you have that Spirit equipped, like increased defense. Second, you’ll be able to build up Qi while adventuring and fighting in the world, which you can spend to do a special ability that very briefly transforms you into the Spirit you have equipped.

There are a wide range of Spirits for you to collect in Black Myth: Wukong, including minibosses like the Wandering Wight. But you can also collect Spirits from certain basic enemies. When you approach some enemies, you’ll see them glowing with blue fire. If you manage to defeat them — they’re more difficult than normal versions of that enemy — they won’t respawn again and they’ll drop their Spirit for you to absorb.

Like most mechanics in Black Myth: Wukong, Spirits have their own upgrade track and materials. Go to any shrine and select the Cultivate Spirits option under the Self-Advance menu. This will pull up a complete list of Spirits you’ve collected. Each Spirit — both rare and epic — has six tiers, and they all start at tier 1. Each upgrade tier increases both their passive bonus and the power of their active skill. It also, however, increases the upgrade cost.

At the start, most Spirits just require Will to upgrade. As they grow in power, you’ll need additional resources, like the Blood of the Iron Bull that you find from powerful enemies. The final tiers require a resource called Knot of Voidness, which is extremely rare and found in a few chests in chapter 2 and beyond.

Looking for more help on your adventure as the Destined One? Check out our other Black Myth: Wukong guides, which can help you find all three hidden bells in chapter 1, sober up the Yellow-Robed Squire in chapter 2, figure out how to craft medicine, and track down all of Buddha’s Eyeballs.