Adoramei

It's really easy to find! Like, there's one English translation for the whole thing up that's easy to access right now. So, if you lose it in the future and want to google it, just know that it's easy to find. :) You can download the translations in pdf or epub format, I believe. They're not perfect, but they're pretty good. Uh... my only issue is that they call Xiao Ge Little Brother, which is... well, that's not a great translation of the name. It could literally be broken down into little (Xiao) and elder brother (Ge), but it's not the word for little brother. And it's already a word, that means something else altogether, which is why they call him that-- but I digress. The only thing that might get confusing on that note is that you'll have Little Brother and Little Brother Zhang existing in the same place, which.. gets confusing, because they're both from the Zhang clan. XD Anyways, just saying: it's not perfect, but it's pretty good.

Southern Archives is here:
https://merebear474765851.wordpress.com/the-southern-archives/

And here's the main page with the chronological map:
https://merebear474765851.wordpress.com/

Hiding it under a spoiler tag just in case. I wanted to make it clear that it would be easy to search for and not give it out directly, because that's how things get taken down. Less likely with this, since they already stopped trying to publish this in English. But you never know.

Then, any of the other Lost Tomb dramas I mentioned will definitely fit those interests, whenever you feel like picking them up. But Time Raiders and Lost Tomb 1 are both shorter... like... 10 for Lost Tomb, 18 for Time Raiders. They're the ones that cover the same plot, roughly. Time Raiders is newer, and I've barely started it, but I've heard a lot of people say that it's good. I have a soft spot for The Lost Tomb 1, mostly because it was the thing that introduced me to the series. I hope you get some time to watch!

I feel you on the tragic endings thing. For the most part, I limit my "tragic endings" series, unless there's a novel canon or something that actually points to a good ending. Then, I can kind of ignore the sad I'm seeing on screen easier. Like Guardian was great, until the end destroys you, but I know that the novel ending is a happy one. And with Untamed, depending on which version you see, the end can either seem depressing or hopeful. But the novel definitely ends on a high note. And Word of Honor, The Spirealm, Mysterious Lotus Casebook, etc etc etc.

If my time was still limited like that, I definitely wouldn't want to invest my time, only to have to emotionally digest a sad ending. I hope in the meantime, you find something more to your liking. :)

I almost forgot to mention! There are movies! There are two Iron Triangle ones that aren't hard to find, from 2023: Conjuring Curse and Misty Creed. They're more adventure-y and less... relationship building than Ultimate Note. (Mostly because everything is already established.) I enjoyed them, and it's something quick to watch. And there's a good one with Hei Xiazi and Pink Shirt (Xie Yuchen), teaming up in the post-Reunion era. I think that one's called Mystery of the Abyss. All of these are more adventure-based and don't have any tragic endings. Plus, they're each easy to find. :) There are more movies, but if you like the dynamics between familiar characters with close relationships like in Ultimate Note, these are the first ones I think of.

Yeah, I can see why Southern Archives wouldn't be for you. It's not my favourite part of the story either. Personally, I'll watch or read anything with Xiao Ge and Wu Xie in it. (As long as nobody's throwing some forced romantic plot in there for either of them, since it's just... out of character. I mean, even in the novels, after Book 8, they have the Reunion era stories. The Iron Triangle are finally living together, having a wild time.)

There are people out there who post the best parts of the novels, so you can read the best stuff, without reading an entire novel to get it. (I mean, I'll admit, even as a fan, I get overwhelmed with the length of them. I start skipping around a lot, especially if Xiao Ge is absent for long periods of time. Which he honestly tends to be a lot. Just runs off without saying anything, while Wu Xie overthinks it.) Just a thought, in case you wanted to catch the stuff you missed out on, without all of that commitment. None of the dramas could depict how unhinged they are in their dynamic, especially in the lengths that they go to to protect each other. So you'd get the best parts in a few paragraphs at a time. i mean, I'm assuming that like me, that's the part you liked, considering you also enjoyed the Untamed.

If you want all of those.. character dynamics and you still want something where at least the main characters survive, any of the dramas with the Iron Triangle would work. Like.. Time Raiders came out pretty recently, and that covers the Iron Triangle meeting each other and kicking off their journey. (Personally, I'd watch both that and The Lost Tomb, because the PingXie is strong in both. They both cover the same plot, basically, while The Lost Tomb veers way off course from the novels, especially at the beginning. But if you don't read the novels, it doesn't really matter, right?) Then, there's The Lost Tomb 2/Explore with the Note (Part 1 and 2). Ultimate Note picks up after that, then there's a weird skip. But there's technically Tomb of the Sea/Sand Sea next, but it doesn't feature the Iron Triangle, since Xiao Ge is stuck somewhere at the time. And it feels a bit different. Like, it's enjoyable on its own, but it feels like Wu Xie got old all of a sudden. He's a bit of a different Wu Xie in his time without Xiao Ge. This one I feel can be watched separately. Then, there's Reunion/Reboot Part 1 and 2 (not a story reboot but a reboot of the Iron Triangle antics). Ultimate Note and Reunion seem to have a similar number of fans and honestly, they're the highest quality productions of the series. Reunion has one of the most charismatic, playful versions of Wu Xie-- same with Pangzi. Like, if it wasn't for the fact that Xiao Ge isn't in it as much, and they had some with female characters to make it less... y'know, it would definitely be my favourite drama in the series. (But like, nothing actually pans out with the female characters. One is a one-sided crush on Wu Xie, but she's much more annoying than her novel counterpart, who I actually find tolerable in text. One is a weird, short-lived, no-chemistry thing with Sunglasses/Hei Xiazi.) The only thing with Reunion is that you'd have to dig deep to find Part 2 properly. (The ending has a sad element to it, but that's like.. all Cdramas. And it has nothing to do with the fates of the iron triangle. It's overall a victorious end to a journey.)

Like, I can see that this specific drama isn't for you. I'm probably going to watch it once, just to watch it, then be done with it, but fortunately, there's still a lot of Lost Tomb out there that might fit your interests. :)

Editing to add: Almost forgot Adventure Behind the Bronze Gate, somewhere between Reunion and Sand Sea/Tomb of the Sea. Oops.

Yeah, it's related to DMBJ (Daomu Biji)/ The Lost Tomb/ Graverobber's Chronicles. Novel-wise, I think that Ultimate Note events happen with bits of Novels 4-7 out of the primary 8. (All set in modern times, with the adventures of the Iron Triangle that you're familiar with). This is based on the South Sea Archives, which is like.... prequel-era, set around the Chinese Republican Era (so, almost 100 years prior?) and shares some of the timeline of the Mystic Nine, I believe. (I haven't read the Mystic Nine, but a primary character from that does show up in the novel for this one. A not-immortal one, so it has to be around the same time.) Anyways, this is basically Xiao Ge's Zhang family. Much later, the lives of Zhang Hailou/Little Brother Zhang and the Iron Triangle intersect. Basically, after Ultimate Note is over. And way after, or between the plots of, the dramas that take place after.

There are translations for the current novels up, on a single site, if you're interested. Ultimate Note ends right before some of the best parts. They barely cover it at all in the dramas that take place after that, so the novels are where you get the best coverage of the emotional rollercoasters. Hopefully, I answered the second question clearly enough. Haha. Sorry. I know you didn't ask about the novels, but the novels are a clearer timeline that you can hold the dramas up to when you need a roadmap.

Just saying.. technically, Chinese productions have to be more "sci fi", if you're following the strictest definitions. Like, censorship (or whatever it falls under) and all typically makes them explain once or twice like, "Nothing is unexplainable." or something. (Then, you'll see something that they can't really explain, and that may or may not be addressed. You just have to accept that things tend to be left unsaid and read between the lines.) I believe it has something to do with cutting down on superstitious attitudes and all that. Now, the books definitely have more fantasy/supernatural elements. Things don't have to be explained. Though, it's not like science is just ignored-- sometimes, the narrator just goes on a spiel about some obscure thing that the learned somewhere. Which, really, just makes the unexplainable parts more real, since they're allowed to exist together like that.

In general, when watching Chinese anything, you'll only confuse yourself if you take every word literally. So.. the answer to this isn't quite cut and dry. I mean, officially, sure, just say that everything is explainable. But if you're actually watching... y'know.