✨ Title: Tomb of the Sea

ℹ️ Alternative Title: 沙海, Sand Puzzle, Sand Sea

🌎 Country of Origin: China (Mainland)

🗓️ Aired: July 20, 2018

🍿 Format & ⏳Length️: TV Series (52 Episodes)

🔥Rating: PG-13 (Teens 13 and Older)

Action / Adventure, Tomb Raiding, Treasure Hunt, Antiquities Protection, Supernatural

A restless high school student named Li Cu finds his world upended after a chance encounter with a deranged stranger leaves him scarred with mysterious carvings etched onto his back. Unwittingly drawn into an ancient intrigue, he is whisked away against his will by the enigmatic Wu Xie—a seasoned explorer with a shadowed past—into the harsh, shifting sands of the Badain Jaran Desert. Within their company is an eclectic mix: hardened mercenaries led by the determined Su Nan, the ambitious Boss Ma who desperately seeks the secret to eternal life, a documentary crew craving the next headline, and others whose true motives remain concealed beneath layers of mistrust and necessity. Each journeyer’s eye is set on the forbidden city of Gutong Jing, a lost place rumored to be rich with treasures and peril, and the marks on Li Cu’s back may be the map to its secrets.

As Li Cu navigates this world of shifting alliances and buried truths, he finds himself forced to rely on his wits and cautious honesty, becoming a fulcrum in a group where every member carries secrets and self-interest. Woven through sandstorms, cryptic riddles, and encounters with ancient dangers, he uncovers not only cryptic clues to the desert’s mysteries but also the blurred boundaries between trust and betrayal. All the while, the ordinary life he left behind—his friends growing concerned over bizarre packages and disappearances—begins to intertwine with his journey, drawing them toward the same unforgiving dunes in search of answers. With each unspoken secret and choice under the relentless desert sun, Li Cu’s world becomes ever more uncertain, haunted by both the promise of revelation and impending doom.

The Grave Robber Chronicles

✒️ Author: Xu Lei (Nan Pai San Shu)

🗓️ Publication Date: 2007

#️⃣ There are many prequel, sequel, and side stories in the Grave Robber Chronicles universe, but this show is particularly based on one of the larger sequels (Sand Sea | Sha Hai).

The best place to find information about the original Chinese edition and the direct translation by Merebear is the translator’s website here.

The first few volumes of the main story has been adapted into a series of English Translated volumes and one graphic novel. There is no official English publication of the prequels or sequels.

⚠️ Please Note: The shows do not directly align with either the original Chinese or the English editions. Nor do the English editions directly align with the original Chinese. Parts are spliced together, cut out, or otherwise edited to create the various adaptations.