If you’re tired of the classic “ordinary mortal rises against the odds” formula in xianxia novels, *Zhe Tian* (*Shrouding the Heavens*) will hit you with something entirely fresh. The story opens with the haunting image of nine dragons pulling a coffin through the depths of space—immediately setting the stage on a cosmic scale. The protagonist, Ye Fan, is no chosen one. He’s an ordinary college student swept onto an ancient starry road, burdened with a “Primordial Sacred Body”—once the ultimate physique for cultivation in ancient times, now a crippling liability in the present. This stark contrast fuels the novel’s core tension: a young man written off by everyone, forced to carve his own path through sheer grit in a world overflowing with prodigies and ancient clans.
From surviving the deadly Great Thunderclap Monastery on Mars, to witnessing the cruel passage of time in the Forbidden Ancient Region, to enduring scorn as a waste in the Spirit Ruins Sect—Ye Fan’s resilience shines brightest in his darkest moments. He drinks herbal concoctions like water, forging his golden bitter sea with raw determination. The unyielding spirit of “I alone control my fate” makes every page exhilarating. As the Demon Emperor’s tomb, a rogue Daoist priest, and sacred clans emerge one after another, the vast and mysterious world unfolds. Keep reading, and you’ll witness a mortal walking the path of immortality with nothing but flesh and blood—flicking his fingers to shroud the heavens.