Candle in the Tomb: South Sea Tomb

Hu Bayi has crawled through enough underground nightmares to last a lifetime, but now someone is sending him out to sea. Commissioned by Professor Chen, Hu Bayi and his crew head to Coral Temple Island in the South China Sea to track down the Qin Emperor's Bone Mirror — an ancient artifact tied to one of China's most mythologized rulers. They hire a local sailor named Ruan Hei and his apprentice, board a ship called the Trident, and sail straight into waters where things stop making sense pretty quickly. This is a 17-episode ONA adapted from the beloved Gui Chuideng novel series, and the maritime setting gives it a different feel from the usual underground tomb-crawling entries. There's something unsettling about being trapped on open water with people you're not sure you can trust, and the show leans into that tension early. The animation from Original Force and Wonder Cat Animation handles the ocean environments and action sequences with a level of detail that keeps the atmosphere thick. If you enjoyed the supernatural treasure-hunting vibe of Beyond The Ocean or the dark adventure tone of Embers, this fits right alongside those. Fans of Yujin Xingzhe will also recognize the blend of historical mystery and modern crew dynamics. It's action-packed but patient enough to build its characters before throwing them into chaos — and the South China Sea setting is a genuinely fresh backdrop for this kind of story.