Candle in the Tomb/Ghost Blows Out the Light: Watch Order

The Legend of Ba Yi’s Grandpa (2024) (standalone lore prequel, loosely connected)

is a spin-off prequel story in the Ghost Blows Out the Light / Candle in the Tomb universe.

Where it fits in the timeline

It is set BEFORE all the main Hu Bayi (Hu Ba Yi) adventures.

More specifically:

• It focuses on Hu Bayi’s grandfather’s generation

• It explores the early origins of the family’s tomb-raiding / feng shui knowledge

• It happens decades before:

  • The Wrath of Time (2019)

  • Candle in the Tomb (2016)

  • all later Hu Bayi stories

• It is not required viewing for the main story.

• It’s more like a lore/backstory expansion, similar to a “pre-prequel.”

• Different productions in this franchise often don’t share strict continuity, so it’s best treated as “earliest era lore,” not a tightly connected season.

• Set during the Republic of China era (roughly 1920s–1930s).

• Follows Chen Yulou and Partridge Whistle.

• Earliest major story in the franchise timeline.

This is the earliest major story in the live-action universe, taking place during the Republican/Warlord era decades before Hu Bayi's adventures. It serves as a prequel explaining the older generation of tomb raiders and the origins of several mysteries that affect later stories

adaption

The movie and the 2019 series adapt the same novel/story arc (Nu Qing Xiang Xi / Wrath of Time), but they are separate adaptations with different casts and production teams. That means there is no official chronological placement where the movie goes before or after the series.

the movie does not go before or after the series—it is an alternate adaptation of the same storyline.

Mojin: Guardian (2021) is a standalone prequel movie showing an early Hu Bayi adventure, but it belongs to a separate movie continuity and does not fit directly into the TV series timeline.

“Young Hu Bayi origin story (alternate universe)”

• Mojin: Guardian (2021) ← young Hu Bayi first tomb expedition (this one)

• The Tomb of Weasel (2021 movie) (parallel early-era story)

Weasel Grave = earlier youth/college-era adventure

The drama tells the story of young Hu Ba Yi in the 1960s, when he was only a college student,

~1960s–early 1970s

• Inner Mongolia military reclamation period

• Young Hu Bayi experiences supernatural incident that shapes him

• Prequel to all main adventures

alternate version of “The Weasel Grave” story arc

So:

• It goes SIDE-BY-SIDE with the 2017 series, not before or after it

• Both cover the same events in different ways

✔️ The Tomb of Weasel (2021 movie) = parallel retelling of “Weasel Grave” arc

The movie follows:

• A young Hu Bayi

• A government/scientific excavation in late 1970s China

• Discovery of massive fossil creatures in mountains

EARLY Hu Bayi career (around late 1970s / early expedition era)

So it belongs very early in the character timeline, before the famous tomb-raiding journeys

is a standalone movie showing an early Hu Bayi adventure set in the 1970s, but it is NOT part of the TV series timeline and exists in a separate movie continuity.

• It is a separate movie universe

• The story is heavily changed from the novel

THE START OF THE MAIN TV SERIES STORYLINE

(Jingjue Ancient City arc)
~early 1980s

• Hu Bayi, Shirley Yang, and Wang Kaixuan form core trio

• First major expedition together

• Discovery of Jingjue / Desert Ghost City

Candle in the Tomb (2016) is the main starting point of the TV series universe, covering the Jingjue Ancient City expedition and serving as the foundation of the entire franchise timeline.

A movie remake of the “Jingjue Ancient City” (精绝古城) story arc
✔️ The same core story as Candle in the Tomb (2016 TV series)

alternate retelling

Mojin: Ancient City of Cadota (2022) is a standalone movie remake of the Jingjue Ancient City story arc, parallel to the 2016 TV series, not part of the main timeline.

(Longling Labyrinth)
early 1980s (shortly after Jingjue arc)

• First major underground labyrinth expedition

• Introduction of deeper curse lore and relic systems

This season follows the trio after their desert adventure:

• They travel to Shaanxi Province

• Discover the Dragon Ridge caves system

The Lost Caverns (2020) is the second main TV series arc in the Candle in the Tomb universe, continuing directly after the 2016 Jingjue story and following the trio into the Dragon Ridge cave system.

Alternate retelling of the Dragon Ridge arc
Same story as Lost Caverns (2020)
Exists in a separate movie universe

Tomb Adventurer (2022) is a movie retelling of the Dragon Ridge (Longling Labyrinth) story arc, the same core plot as “The Lost Caverns (2020)” TV series, but it is not part of the main continuity.

t is a parallel retelling of the same Dragon Ridge story

Mojin: Longling Misty Cave (2020) is a standalone movie retelling of the Dragon Ridge/Longling Labyrinth arc, the same story adapted in “Candle in the Tomb: The Lost Caverns (2020)” TV series, but in a separate continuity.

Mojin: Dragon Ridge Shrine (2020) is a standalone movie retelling of the Dragon Ridge/Longling Labyrinth story arc and does not belong to the main Candle in the Tomb TV timeline—it is a parallel adaptation of the same events.

Mojin: Mysterious Treasure (2020) is a standalone movie set in the Ghost Blows Out the Light universe where Hu Bayi goes to Xiangxi to find a legendary creature’s inner elixir to cure poisoning, and it does not belong to the main Candle in the Tomb TV timeline.

after returning from the Longling Cave, leading the Golden Triangle into the iron triangle. In Pingshan, Xiangxi, the story of searching for the long-lost six-winged centipede in the legend of the rivers and lakes, and obtaining the life-saving inner alchemy.

~mid 1980s

• Journey into Yunnan jungleThis season is the Yunnan Worm Valley arc, one of the most dangerous expeditions:

• The trio searches for the “Dust Bead” (Mu Chen Pearl), believed to help break curses

• Their journey leads them into southern China (Yunnan region)

Candle in the Tomb: The Worm Valley (2021) is the third major TV series arc in the main Tencent continuity, following the Dragon Ridge expedition and focusing on the Yunnan jungle tomb adventure in search of a cure-related artifact.

A separate movie universe retelling of the Worm Valley arc

Mojin: The Worm Valley (2018) is a standalone movie adaptation of the Yunnan Worm Valley arc, separate from the 2021 TV series, and does not belong to the main Candle in the Tomb continuity.

Candle in the Tomb: The Worm Valley (2023) is a standalone movie retelling of the King Xian / Yunnan Worm Valley arc, separate from the 2021 TV series and other films, and does not belong to the main Candle in the Tomb continuity.

Weasel Grave (2021 movie) = mid-point filler story in the MOVIE universe, between early origin movies and later Kunlun/Sea expedition movies.

mid-to-late 1980s

This arc continues directly after the Worm Valley expedition:

• Hu Bayi, Wang Kaixuan, and Shirley Yang

• Travel to Tibet / Kunlun Mountains

• They are hired to find a mysterious “crystal corpse”

Kunlun Tomb (2022) is the fourth main TV series arc in the Candle in the Tomb continuity, continuing the story after Worm Valley as the team travels to the Kunlun Mountains in Tibet to investigate a crystal corpse and the curse.

Mojin: Kunlun Shrine (2020) is a standalone movie retelling of the Kunlun Shrine expedition arc and does not belong to the main Candle in the Tomb TV timeline—it is a parallel adaptation of the same story.

late 1980s

• Ocean expedition storyline

• Transition from land tombs → maritime ruins

This season follows Hu Bayi, Shirley Yang, and Fatty Wang:

• They are sent on a mission to the South China Sea

• The goal is to find the legendary Guixu (归墟), a mysterious “sunken sea realm”

• They search for an artifact called the Qin Emperor’s Bone Mirror

South Sea Tomb (2023) is the fifth main TV series arc in the Candle in the Tomb Tencent continuity, where the team travels to the South China Sea to explore the mythical underwater realm of Guixu and search for a cursed ancient artifact.

• Hu Bayi + crew join a South China Sea salvage mission

• They are hit by a shipwreck

• They discover a lost underwater ancient city

Mojin: Return to the South China Sea (2022) is a standalone movie adaptation of the South Sea/Guixu underwater tomb arc, separate from the 2023 TV series, and does not belong to the main Candle in the Tomb continuity.

At the beginning of the 1990s,

Mojin: The Lost Legend (2015) is a standalone blockbuster movie adaptation of the Ghost Blows Out the Light novels, showing Hu Bayi returning from retirement to search for a resurrection artifact, and it exists in a separate movie universe unrelated to the Candle in the Tomb TV series timeline.

Flashback to Weasel Grave (1969) but takes place 20 years later.

The Legend Hunters (2026) belongs to the Mojin movie universe and is a later continuation/reboot entry after “Mojin: The Lost Legend (2015),” but it does not fit into the Candle in the Tomb TV series timeline.

Wu Xia Guan Shan (Coffin Mountain of Wu Gorge) is the final Volume 8 story in the Candle in the Tomb novel series, set as the ultimate expedition in the Hu Bayi timeline, and if adapted, it will come after South Sea Tomb as the concluding arc of the main Tencent TV continuity.

This story is the final-stage tomb-raiding arc in the novels, where:

• Hu Bayi, Shirley Yang, and Fatty Wang

• Travel to the Wu Gorge (Wuxia) region

• Investigate the legendary Coffin Mountain (棺山)

Mojin: Raiders of the Wu Gorge (2019) is a standalone movie adaptation of the final Volume 8 Wu Xia Guan Shan arc, representing the “endgame” tomb adventure, but it does not belong to the Tencent Candle in the Tomb TV timeline or connect to other movie entries.

~2000s (post-Hu Bayi era)

• Takes place years after Hu Bayi’s retirement

• Focus: Hu Tian (Hu Bayi’s son)

• Modern-era tomb exploration with legacy connections

Ghost Blows Out the Light: Finding Hu Ba Yi (2017) is a Hu Tian (Hu Bayi’s son) spin-off web series that explores a separate timeline and is not part of the main Hu Bayi TV continuity or Mojin movie universe.

• a side-universe spin-off

• loosely inspired by the Ghost Blows Out the Light world

• focused on the next generation (Hu Tian)

The Secret of the Lost Pearl (2026) / The Legend Hunters belongs to the Mojin film universe as a later continuation of the rebooted movie timeline and is NOT part of the main Candle in the Tomb TV continuity or Hu Bayi’s canon story order.

Similar as the 2nd-4th volumes in the novel series "Candle in the Tomb" (鬼吹灯

The Secret of the Lost Pearl Season 2 (2026) is a standalone tomb-adventure drama inspired by the same genre as Ghost Blows Out the Light, but it is not connected to Hu Bayi, the Mojin films, or the Candle in the Tomb timeline.

The Secret of the Lost Pearl Season 3 (2026) is the continuation of its own standalone drama series and is not connected to Hu Bayi, Mojin films, or any Candle in the Tomb timeline—it exists in a separate tomb-adventure universe with entirely different characters and storyline.