Recommendation: The Lost Tomb Show Franchise
** Listed in chronological story order, not by release date!
** No movies were included.
The Mystic Nine (Series Prequel)
** No prior series knowledge needed
In the 1930s, Changsha was under the protection of nine upstanding families known asĀ āThe Mystic Nineā orĀ āThe Old Nine Gatesā. Pillars of society, these nine families followed strict codes to help one another and protect the people of the city.
Who would have guessed that those nine families were also the most prolific tomb robbing families in China?Ā
When a ghost train filled with corpses pulls into the station at Changsha, the head of the Mystic Nine, Zhang Qishan, is sent to investigate. The tracks lead in a distinct path to another well-known city, but Zhang Qishan finds an area where the tracks have been altered for another, secret route.
The train came from a mine in the mountains- a mine atop a mysterious tomb of unknown origins.
To solve the mystery of the Ghost Train, the Mystic Nine will have to first come together to find a way to save one of their own from a terminal illness, survive the tomb within the mine, and race to stop a dangerous plot that could destroy Changsha and its people forever.
** No prior series knowledge needed
Wu Xie is fresh out of college and already causing trouble.
Young and idealistic, Wu Xie steals back a stolen artefact and flees back towards China, intending to turn it over to the proper authorities and ensure it is not in a private collectorās hands, but those of a museum.
When he finds half of a map hidden in the artefact, things start to get weird fast. Wu Xieās home is ransacked, assassins are after him, and he has no choice but to join up with his Third Uncle (the one heās closest to) and follow the map to a long lost tomb.
Joining them on their journey is a man with questionable morals known asĀ āPangziā (Fatty), and the mysterious Xiao Ge- Zhang Qiling. An elite warrior who carries a sword around with him, Wu Xie runs into him twice- once when he first found the map, and again when assassinās attacked him. Xiao Ge rarely speaks, his hand has been mutilated in a way common of ancient tomb robbing families, and no matter what horrors the tomb throws at them, itās as if Xiao Ge already knows every trick and trap.
Who is Xiao Ge? Which side is he on?Ā
And what is hidden inside the tomb that so many people are willing to kill for?
The Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Note
** Should first see: The Lost Tomb
Wu Xie has found a photograph among his missing uncleās belongings that raises more questions than answers.Ā
The photo depicts those who departed long ago to explore a rumored deep-sea tomb off the coast. Of those in the picture, only a very small number were ever seen again.
Including Xiao Ge- Zhang Qiling. Except if that was him in the photo, he would be middle-aged now, not in his early 20s.
The Tomb of the Sea was a disaster for the Mystic Nine families that participated in the exploration. Many were lost forever, and those who came back came backā¦ haunted. To find his Third Uncle, Wu Xie will step into the tomb that should never have been disturbed.
Ā When Xiao Ge suddenly appears on the way to the tomb, Wu Xie is apprehensive. Zhang Qiling appears to have no memory of being in that tomb before, but he is in the photograph of the expedition, knows all the tricks to survive inside, and as they make their way through the tomb he remembers one single thing: Wu Xieās uncle becoming strange, vanishing, and then attacking them all.
Whatever happened all those years ago cannot stay buried for long, and inside the Tomb of the Sea they find clues that points to another long lost tomb. Wu Xie, Xiao Ge, and Pangzi once again band together to survive the tombs and solve the mystery- but with Xiao Geās penchant for vanishing they canāt even be sure if theyāll survive the journey.
The Lost Tomb 2.5: Heavenly Palace on the Clouds
** Should first see:Ā āThe Lost Tombā;Ā āThe Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Noteā.Ā
While previously 2.0 was referred to asĀ āExplore With the Noteā, that title has been applied to each of the Lost Tomb 2 shows. I chose to differentiate them thus.
The iron triangle: Wu Xie, Zhang Qi Ling and Wang Pang Zi find themselves on a train headed for the mountainous Korean border in search of a mysterious, mythical palace in a world of glaciers, avalanches, and blizzards.Ā
They have no idea why Wu San Sheng has sent the message that brought them all together again, but they soon discover that they are not alone in their search for the peak that holds the palace, A-Ning is on the same trail with a team of foreigners. Not only that, Chen Pi A Si has his own interests to look out for and so brings along Monk Hua, Lang Feng and Ye Cheng.
Ā They are joined by a guide as well, Shun Zi. As they move deeper within the maze of mountain tunnels, all of them begin to wonder if this adventure will be their final quest.
** While this does begin a bit before the end ofĀ āThe Lost Tomb 2ā³ (leading up to Wu Xie waking up in the mountain village), the main focus is on events after the end ofĀ āThe Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Noteā.
The Lost Tomb 3: The Ultimate NoteĀ
** No prior series knowledge needed. It begins with something resembling a āPreviously Onā, but does not tie in to the previous shows so just ignore.
Wu Xie, Pangzi, and Xiao Ge/Zhang Qiling are now well schooled in dangerous tombs (well, as the 70+ year old scion of the semi-immortal Zhang family, Xiao Ge was already pretty well schooled), and Third Uncle isā¦ still a mystery.
Curious about his uncleās past, Wu Xie watched a strange videotape, only to find himself accidentally mixed up in an elaborate conspiracy.
In his adventures he is joined by a new group of allies, including Xie family scion Yu Chen and Hei Yan Jing- a smart-ass elite mercenary well over 100 years old (thus one of the few Zhang Qiling responds to).
Itās time to solve the mystery of Zhang Qilingās chronically lapsing memory. Originally the team thought the old Zhang family manor might hold some clues as to why Xiao Ge suddenly re-sets, but they are stopped in their tracks by enemy forces.
What secrets do the Zhang Family Crypt hold? And to what extent will a semi-immortal dynasty of tomb raiders go in order to protect their secrets?Ā
Even Zhang Qiling may not be safe from the dangerous road ahead.
Tomb of the Sea // Sand Sea
** While it does tie in to Ultimate Note, no prior series knowledge is needed as this came out nearly 3 years BEFORE Ultimate Note.
Li Cu was nowhere near special. A below-average student forced to repeat high school (along with his best friend), trapped with an abusive father after his mother fled home, and had little to no ambition in life.
Then his friend returned from a trip to the desert and gave him a metal box. When he opened it something black pooled in the center and then struck him in the head.
That was annoying enough, but soon after a man attacks Li Cu in the street, chokes him to unconsciousness, and then takes a jagged shard of glass and fillets his back before taking his own life.
Li Cu wakes up in the hospital in agony, and is promptly kidnapped by a dark and dangerous man namedā¦ Wu Xie.
Wu Xie is the renegade of the Jiumen alliance families, he goes where he wants and does what he wants- this time that means entering the desert and seeking out Gutongjing. A place so evil that the Mystic Nine themselves forbade anyone from ever traveling there after hundreds perished in one fell swoop.
The desert holds a secret many would kill to claim as their own, but the real fight might be back home, where Zhang Rishan himself seeks to take advantage of Wu Xieās latest scheme and use it to flush out the mysterious tenth family, banished from the Mystic Nine long ago.
Li Cu is only 18, but heās trapped in the desert, held hostage by Wu Xie, and that filleted back of his? Well it turns out Wu Xieās friend was the one who did that to him- and in the skin of a young man he left a map that will lead them to the black heart of Gutongjing itself.
**Story follows Li Cu, with Wu Xie and the Iron Triangle playing supporting roles.
Reunion: The Sound of the Providence
** No prior series knowledge needed, but it helps to watchĀ āThe Lost Tombā just to be familiar with who is who.
Wu Xie,Ā āFattyā Wang Pangzi, and the quasi-immortal tomb raider Xiao Ge (AKA Zhang Qiling) have faced many dangerous tombs together over the past twelve years. Now it is time for them to go on their last grand adventure as the so-calledĀ āIron Triangleā before Wu Xie sets off on the one journey all must eventually make: death.
He always thought his end would come in a dark tomb, but instead it will be lung cancer that claims his life. With only 3-4 months left to live, Wu Xie hides the truth of his illness from most of his friends and family- with only Xiao Ge knowing the truth.
Once upon a time, Wu Xie was told that when a man meets his death he should do so with a clear conscience. But something has been weighing on Wu Xie- the disappearance of his Third Uncle long ago. Right on cue, a message from Third Uncle appears, sending Wu Xie on a desperate mission to find him before the cancer eating away at his body takes his life.
This will most likely be Wu Xieās final journey, but he will do anything to make sure his family and friends will be safe long after his time is up. In the final months of his life Wu Xie will seek to unravel the mystery ofĀ āThunder Cityā- starting with the most dangerous tomb heās ever explored, the South Sea Kingās Tomb.
Some believe the sound of thunder carries in it the voice of Gods. It is a belief men have killed for for millennia, but is there really a way to hear the words of god? Could Thunder City be a real place? Someone clearly thought so, but who? Is Third Uncle still alive, or is someone in the shadows manipulating Wu Xie to solve the mystery for them?
Wu Xieās enemies thought he was dangerous before, but now he is a dying man with a mission. There is no telling what lengths he will go to in order to achieve his goals and bring his uncle home.
Wu Xie might just manage to die in a tomb after allā¦
** No prior series knowledge needed, but this show features exclusively characters fromĀ āReunion: The Sound of the Providenceā.
Liu Sang and Li Jia Le have been assisting Wu Xieās team in his Wu Shan Ju antiques shop since surviving the terrors of Thunder City. Dispatched to an archaeological project far away, the two will return to their roots working in their capacity as archaeologists.
Within the site Liu Sang and Li Jia Le come across a mural recording the story of the Moonbend Princess Qi Xia and a young person named Jiang Wu. Within the story on the mural appears to be two figures that seemā¦ familiar.
Near the archaeological site Liu Sang and Li Jia Le come across a peculiar meteorite. While investigating this special jade meteorite, they are sucked into the world and times recorded in the mural and forced to live the parts assigned to them.
Can they make it back to their world, or will they find a new life in the story?
