In May 2016, Lay starred in the Chinese television drama "The Mystic Nine", a prequel to "The Lost Tomb". The series achieved an unprecedented success, placing first in the television ratings and establishing a record for obtaining several online visits within 24 hours, and has accumulated more than ten billion visits in total. The television series went on to have a secondary story called "The Mystic Nine Side Story: Flowers Bloom" in February, which focused solely on Lay's character, Er Yue Hong.