Time Raiders/Content

Many years prior, at the Nepalese border in the Himalayan mountains, a local mountain tribe is being held captive by armed men, threatening to shoot them. In the tent, the leader of their company Coral Scientific, Hendry Cox, interrogates their tribe leader. In his search for immortality, he collected 23 of 24 gold plates, supposedly leading to the Chinese secret to immortality. The tribe leader only tells him death is inevitable for everyone, hence Hendry Cox shoots the leg of one of the clan members. Outside, a snow storm is starting to brew with the locals starting to pray to the mountain gods. In the midst of them is Zhang Qiling, silently praying without movement and having a vision about the future. A soldier comes close to him but Zhang Qiling fights him off before he can be hurt. He defeats the soldiers, throwing some of them off the mountain, resulting in part of the tent going down the mountain as well.

Zhang Qiling shoots Hendry Cox with an arrow and goes to talk with the tribe elder. The elder reveals the last gold plate to him and tells him off his mission to destroy the secret to immortality once and for all. About to leave, Hendry Cox asks him who he is but receives no answer. Zhang Qiling walks away, remembering the training and suffering he endured during his life to prepare him for this moment.

Back to time in the beginning, a writer is led to the warehouse of the Wu Clan and meets a middle-aged Wu Xie. When the writer tries to disturb him, Wu Xie informs him that he is waiting for a friend. When completing the puzzle, Wu Xie orders the writer to open the third blind half open and the image on the cards is fully revealed. The writer tells Wu Xie he is there to write down his story about his past, his exploration with Zhang Qiling. Wu Xie starts retelling his story.

Wu Xie was born bringing joy to his whole family with everyone waiting for his birth for a long time. Just born he is shown to his family and his grandfather names him Wu Xie, hoping for him to have a normal and good life.

In Wu Xie's childhood days he plays with the other kids by using his flute to direct butterflies around him. Afterwards they decide to play hide-and-seek and searching for a good hiding spot, Wu Xie enters a locked up house, decorated in black and gold. He goes into the second floor and finds a room full of mirrors and candles. He opens a cabinet, finding a decorative rattle with coins hanging on it. One of them stating "Ninth Family". Suddenly a hooded and masked figure appears behind him, asking for something with his open hand. Scared Wu Xie runs away with the rattle still in his hand. He continues running, followed by the figure. Once he reaches the gate, the figure already waiting for him, he throws the rattle to the figure, giving it back and runs away. When the figure examines the rattle it finds the coin missing.

The coin is later found on Wu Xie's necklace during a funeral. Wu Xie tells the writer how it took him some time to find out his family were grave robbers and part of the Old Nine Clans: The top three families were aristocrats, the middle three thieves and the lower three merchants.

### The key to the tomb

Many years later, a 20-something Wu Xie explores the Widow's Grave of the Warring States period of the local museum. Communicating with his partner, he reminds him not to tell his uncle. But once Wu Xie makes his way out of the underground tunnel he encounters his uncle face-to-face. He tries reasoning with his uncle but is scolded by him instead. When Wu Xie turns back to take a photo of the vampire moths, they wake up and start attacking them. Wu Xie and Wu Sanxing run for it but the floor below them breaks and they find themselves in an underground chamber with a giant iron cage. From a mural they find out about an ancient kingdom in the Gobi desert, led by King Xiang and the Snake Empress, called Tamutuo. After being caught by King Xiang, Iron Mask, the author of the mural in the chamber, was forced to build the tomb of the Snake Empress.

Wu Xie finds an iron mask on top of the cage and is curious enough to try it on. A mechanism is activated, opening the cage and revealing an ancient box. Wu Xie takes it and activates another mechanism, bringing more vampire moths to them. They manage to make it outside but Wu Xie bumps against another person and drops the box. He grabs it again and they jump into their partners car, making their escape.

In the mountains, Hendry Cox sees footage of the moth outbreak around the museum and sees Wu Xie dropping the box and a scan of the box reveals it to be what they have been searching for. At the same time, Zhang Qiling watches the footage from the top of a high-rise building.

Wu Xie and Wu Sanxing start taking the box apart. Opening the box frees a sudden jolt of electricity and reveals a intricate mechanism to them, showing a countdown. Examining it, Wu Xie finds there are only eight days left on the countdown. The outside of the box, showing a fox face, reminds Wu Sanxing of an old drawing in Wu Laogou's notebook. They look inside the notebook and find a story about the Snake Empress as she fell in love with King Xiang and shared her secret of immortality with him. They caught a man named Iron Mask to build the tomb for them and King Xiang was buried for 2000 years, to rise again as an immortal once the time was up. Imprisoned, Iron Mask then crafted the 24 gold plates to write down what he knew. Wu Sanxing and Wu Xie tinker on the box and find it to be a key.

They start preparing for a tomb exploration, getting everything ready. They display an ancient sword, originally belonging to Hei Bei The Sixth, and promise to take the fighter who can lift it onto the exploration. In the queue of fighters is also Zhang Qiling.

While no one before him manages to lift the sword, Zhang Qiling starts feeling the sword before picking it up, aggravating the people behind him. Da Kui shoves him and a fight ensues. Zhang Qiling picks up the sword during the fight with ease. Managing to overthrow Da Kui, Zhang Qiling is also attacked by Pan Zi but manages to defeat him. When Da Kui picks up a table to smash it onto Zhang Qiling, he finally draws the sword and cuts the table in half. Wu Sanxing relents and agrees to take him with them.

On his way out, Zhang Qiling and Wu Xie cross paths and when the sword accidentally cuts Wu Xie's coin necklace, Zhang Qiling picks it up and hands it back.

### On the way

The team becomes more acquainted with each other once they are on the way to find the tomb and Wu Xie talks with Zhang Qiling, trying to find out more about him. Despite Zhang Qiling refusing to talk, Wu Xie claims he knows he is a good guy and starts playing with a gun. When he looks into the gun barrel, Zhang Qiling immediately moves the barrel away from him. Wu Xie reveals he took out the bullet beforehand but states this as an example of how Zhang Qiling is actually a good person. Wu Xie reveals he wanted to go on this trip because of his continuous nightmare regarding being caught in a maze. Zhang Qiling himself tells Wu Xie about specific kind of people from the west who will forgot their past after a while, revealing himself to be suffering from the affliction. Wu Xie tells him he does not need to worry anymore, as he will now record everything with his camera.

They continue their travels.

Finally arriving at their destination, Wu Xie takes a photo of Zhang Qiling and tells him he does not need to be worried as he will take care of him. Wu Sanxing asks for the key from a naive Wu Xie, pretends to have forgotten something in the truck and locks Wu Xie there but even Zhang Qiling doesn't free him, thinking it is safer for him there.

Before being able to free himself, various cars make their way forward, filled with soldiers and one female leader, Ning. They are employed by Hendry Cox to fulfill his ambitions.

### Inside the tomb

Wu Sanxing's team makes their way down to the valley and bombard their way through stone to open the way into the tomb. They enter the first hall, revealed to only be a small path, falling into the unknown on the left and right, only being supported by a structure of beams. Before they can decide where to go further, they are attacked by Ning's team and have to take cover. Wang Pangzi, part of Ning's team, translates between the groups, to no avail. A fight ensues. Zhang Qiling and Ning fight face-to-face and the team manages to climb their way down, escaping from the mercenaries.

Wu Xie, having freed himself, follows into the tomb entrance, finding the aftermath of the fight. He climbs down as well and finds himself in a room of armored statues. Suddenly he is grabbed by Zhang Qiling, saving him from the mercenaries. Bats distract Ning's group enough so they can make their escape. Ning does a scan of the tunnels, providing Hendry Cox with a full map of the tomb.

After joking with Zhang Qiling, the quiet man finally reveals his name and they become friends.

Wu Sanxing and his men find a door with a handle in the middle and Da Kui pulls the handle to open it. It is revealed to be a trap, almost cutting of his arm with a guillotine. The blade is stopped in the last moment by Zhang Qiling arriving and blocking the blade with his sword and the others have time to free Da Kui's hand. Wu Xie asks for the key back, so he won't be left behind again. Exploring the door, Zhang Qiling smashes yellow pearls in two statues mouths, letting sand fall through to the ground. The weight balance finally opens the door in front of them.

### The puppet room

The group enters a room full of puppets, many of which have instruments. Wu Xie discovers a mechanism with rolling balls and lights it, soon lighting devices all across the room and revealing two coffins in the center of the puppets to them. Curious about the treasures in the coffins, they start opening the coffins but soon find one to be empty. At the same time Wu Xie examines the instruments and puppets themselves when suddenly the puppet in front of him starts playing music. The other puppets join and Zhang Qiling tries to warn them to cover their ears but it is too late.

Wu Xie starts dreaming about his encounter with the masked figure, while Wu Sanxing finds himself with the personification of the female main puppet of the room, seemingly trying to seduce him. Da Kui hallucinates about seeing a lion attacking him. Pan Zi dreams of giant puppets cornering him. Zhang Qiling uses the power of his blood to wake everyone up and kill the female puppet and reveals the music to be the song of the dead to make people hallucinate.

Wu Sanxing starts wondering how Zhang Qiling knows so much about this tomb and the others confront him but Wu Xie tries to step in. Wu Sanxing decides to listen to Zhang Qiling's warning and they leave.

They find themselves in a corridor full of spinning pillars with swords and they struggle to avoid being cut into pieces. Zhang Qiling protects them as best as he can and makes it back to the puppet room. Just then, he finds Wu Xie having figured out the rhythm of the pillars and easily evading them. Following the rhythm almost as if they are dance steps, they make their way away from the pillars and back to the puppet room as well. Suddenly the smaller puppets start shooting arrows at them. They hide between the coffins and a mechanism in the floor is activated, letting them fall down a tunnel below them.

### Insects

They find themselves in a cellar-like chamber and fall onto skeletons below. Zhang Qiling manages to catch Wu Xie before he can fall. Reading a sign on the wall, they find themselves to be in a chamber for a punishment involving thousands of insects. Scared, one of the men, Dan Dan, quits and walks away but stops at the end of the hallway. They realize a horde of flesh-eating insects is coming for them from the side and the front and they have to watch as Dan Dan is attacked by them. Wu Xie tries to help him but is held back by the others and slapped by Wu Sanxing to come to his senses. To ease his suffering, Wu Sanxing shoots Dan Dan. The insects soon turn to them and corner them from all sides. Zhang Qiling defends against the insects while the others start climbing onto fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Once everyone is safely hanging, one bug hangs onto Da Kui's long coat and Wu Xie tries getting it off. He falls down.

Now in danger of being eaten by the insects, Wu Xie gets his flute and uses the trick from his childhood to navigate the insects. He orders them away successfully and everyone manages to come down from the ceiling.

Suddenly they are attacked by Ning and her team and Zhang Qiling smashes the door behind them, as it is their only exit. They make it through and Hendry Cox informs Ning of another tunnel where she should have the opportunity to cut them off.

Wu Sanxing continue further down the corridors but a thunderstorms collects over the area. A lightning bolt comes down on the underground tomb, making the ceiling collapse and Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling are separated from the others. With Wu Xie standing on the collapsing floor, he says goodbye to Zhang Qiling but Zhang Qiling refuses to accept it and promises to catch him. The ground starts breaking even more and Wu Xie tells Zhang Qiling he does not regret coming down to the tomb. The ground breaks and Wu Xie falls, landing in a room many floors below.

### Confronting the enemy

Ning and her men enter a laboratory and find soldiers made from plants in the room. When Wang Pangzi examines one of them more closely, the soldier wakes up and attacks him. Hendry Cox orders them to not damage the soldier, as it is a precious sample for him. A fight ensues and they realize touching the plant soldiers too long, poisons and kills the human. To save one of her men, Ning cuts of his infected arm. Disregarding Cox' orders, Ning throws grenades at the plant soldier to save her men.

Wu Xie finds the laboratory and explores the room, just when Wang Pangzi wakes up, having been left behind. He confronts Wu Xie, threatening him to give him the key. Wu Xie tries to bluff his way out of the situation, just when Wang Pangzi retreats, seeing the plant soldier behind Wu Xie. They are attacked but saved at the last moment by Zhang Qiling. Zhang Qiling fights against the plant soldier but during the fight his sword gets stuck in a pillar. While trying to get it out, Wang Pangzi steals the key and is about to leave when Wu Xie claims this key to be a fake. Wang Pangzi tries to help in the fight again, and they manage to defeat the plant soldier. Wu Xie admits that the key is the real one and it is immediately stolen by Ning. Ning then runs off, being directed by Hendry Cox, and finds herself in a room full of coffins and moving plants. She asks Hendry Cox for the truth but is interrupted by Zhang Qiling and the others.

Recognizing Zhang Qiling, Hendry Cox asks for a conversation and they speak with each other. Zhang Qiling reveals Hendry Cox' real plans of finding a way against ageing and how he is after the secret of immortality of an ancient Empress. She managed to create an army of immortals in the past and swore her revenge when she was killed.

Ning, shocked at the revelation, decides to join forces with the others. Wu Xie also voices his support, refusing to let this mystery be undiscovered and his friends facing the danger on their own.

### The core of the tomb

They continue on their way and open the gate to the inner part of the tomb with the key. Zhang Qiling sends Wu Xie away but Wu Xie refuses to leave. Just then, the immortal Emperor Mu is reawakened and Zhang Qiling fights against him. While they fight, the witch Empress is slowly reborn from plants. Zhang Qiling seems to have the upper hand at defeating the Emperor but is attacked by the now alive Empress.

Fatally hurt, the Emperor dies. Zhang Qiling continues his fight while the others are joined by Wu Sanxing's group and Ning's men. The soldier in the laboratories and, together with the insects, start attacking everyone from the back and fleeing the tomb to attack the outside.

To escape, Wu Xie and Wang Pangzi, climb onto a side rail, while Ning fights against the plant soldier. Pan Zi and the other men also continue fighting but are struggling to win.

Zhang Qiling is infected by the plants of the Empress and remembers how Wu Xie promised to remember him if he ever got lost or disappeared. He then activates the qilin power of his blood and defeats the poison, freeing himself. Still his is unable to attack the Empress as she protects herself with a magnetic field. To get additional help, Wu Xie calls upon the flesh eating insects with his flute and attacks the Empress. He manages to get the upper hand but the Empress attacks Zhang Qiling and he is almost thrown off the platform.

### Breaking it apart to build again

Not knowing how to win, Wu Xie calls onto Hendry Cox' help. He gives up and tells them if they break the platforms, they can destroy the magnetic shield. Ning voices her support for Wu Xie and tells Hendry Cox she will accept his next offer, as long as it is the right thing to do. They send Wang Pangzi to bring the key to safety.

Using the architecture of the platforms, Ning and Wu Xie contact the others to destroy the platform pillars and save Zhang Qiling. Wu Xie manages to save his friend just when the platform breaks. They look on as the pillars explode. He jumps towards the Empress. Wu Xie falls off the wheel they were standing on but Ning catches him.

Zhang Qiling defeats the Empress. Wu Xie, remembering his past with his friend who wanted to have the coin on his necklace, throws the coin towards Zhang Qiling for him to catch.

### Fate

A short compilation at the end shows how the paths of Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling were connected by fate and the past.