Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 542, Section 541: Fang Youliu's Self-Researched Project
This grand formation was vastly different from any Gu Yanzhi had ever seen before.

It was neither born from temple talismans nor as coordinated and orderly as a church magic circle.

As soon as Fang Youliu stepped down, the array diagram lit up, and countless runes surged out from around him. The array diagram rapidly expanded, instantly encompassing the entire street.

With a low, resonant hum, the entire array glowed with a dark purple light. Just one glance was enough to send a chill down one's spine and evoke a sense of malice.

Fang Youliu's expression was cold and stern. With a flick of his finger, he finished the last stroke of the rune: "Heart-piercing and bone-chilling."

While still in mid-air, Gu Yanzhi suddenly felt an invisible force clinging to her, and her whole body seemed to instantly fall into an abyss called "pain". Every bone and every inch of skin in her body, from the inside out, burst out with indescribable pain at the same time.

"Ugh—!"

Gu Yanzhi screamed uncontrollably and fell to the ground, her body curled up and trembling violently.

What made Gu Yanzhi even more panicked was that while physical pain could perhaps be resisted by willpower, there were other things that came along with the pain in his bones and muscles—all the painful memories of his life seemed to surge up at once, replaying before his eyes like a revolving lantern, almost instantly shattering his psychological defenses.

If Gu Yanzhi, who was in the middle of the formation, was in such a bad state, then the soldiers and police officers who came from afar to provide support were even worse. As soon as they stepped into the street and into the formation, they collapsed in large numbers, howling and wailing. Anyone who didn't know better would think that it was a ghost story in the middle of the night.

Gu Yanzhi lay prone on the ground, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably, but he gritted his teeth and struggled to look up at Fang Youliu not far away.

"Huh... what kind of evil magic formation is this?"

Fang Youliu sat cross-legged, occasionally gesturing with his fingers in front of him, causing the lines of the array to change accordingly, as if he were calculating and adjusting something.

Hearing Gu Yanzhi's question, he slightly raised his eyelids and glanced at her: "You can't label it as evil just because its power comes from the authority of 'pain'."

"As for the array you mentioned, I call it the formula for superimposing non-traditional array phenomena through rune deconstruction—by the way, this is also the research topic I used to advance to the Bachelor of Natural History."

Shunzi felt confused but also impressed, thinking that if his older brother were here, he would definitely understand what Fang Youliu was saying.

He overestimated Feng Xiuhu.

Anyway, Gu Yanzhi didn't understand, and gritted her teeth and cursed: "The rumors are indeed true. You graduates of the Mystic Arts Academy are full of heretical nonsense."

"Summer insects cannot speak of ice."

Fang Youliu sighed inwardly: "Knowledge is like a bright pearl hanging above everyone's head. As long as you are willing to look up, you can touch it. Unfortunately, people are always used to looking down at the mud under their feet."

Shen Tiankuo, who had witnessed the whole thing while cowering to the side, finally had a chance to interject: "So... you really are Ma Erye San?"

Shunzi puffed out her chest: "How could it be fake?"

Shen Tiankuo then looked at Fang Youliu and asked cautiously, "And who is this...?"

Fang Youliu smiled slightly: "My name is Fang Liu."

This was the most comfortable he had ever introduced himself in a long time.

Unfortunately, his comfort lasted less than two seconds before Shunzi interrupted him—he said smugly, "This is our driver!"

Fang Youliu's face stiffened slightly.

Shen Tiankuo was shocked: "Even the coachman has such skills!"

Fang Youliu was annoyed that Shunzi was oblivious to romance, and turned to Shen Tiankuo to scold, "Are you deaf? Didn't you hear what he just said? I am a naturalist from the Academy of Mystic Arts!"

He had wronged Shen Tiankuo. Although Shen Tiankuo held a high position, he only knew half of the facts about cultivators. After being scolded, he replied stammeringly, "It is quite remarkable that a scholar of natural history can be a coachman."

Having finally found an opportunity to clear his name of being a "lowly servant," Fang Youliu was determined to explain things clearly to him.

So he pointed to himself and patiently explained, "Natural History Scholar, do you understand? How many natural history scholars graduate from the academy each year? It's one in ten thousand! I just happened to be going the same way as them, I didn't come here to be their coachman!"

Shen Tiankuo didn't listen, because he clearly saw Gu Yanzhi take the opportunity to make a move. "Be careful!"

Shen Tiankuo spoke up to remind him.

Shunzi and Fang Youliu turned their heads at the same time and saw that Gu Yanzhi was actually forcing himself to make a hand seal and press it to his brow, shouting: "Burn the talisman and break the seal!"

A spark ignited between his brows, and the flames quickly transformed into ripples that covered his entire body.

The boundless pain receded like the tide, and Gu Yanzhi suddenly sat up.

Fang Youliu's eyes flashed: "It's not that easy."

As he spread his palms, runes lit up, and the lines and matrix of the array instantly changed. Dark purple light spots, carrying malice, converged on Gu Yanzhi.

The brief opening gained from breaking free was not enough for Gu Yanzhi to close in. He seemed to have anticipated this, so he made no big moves and instead reached straight into his robes—

A short, intricately patterned musket appeared in his hand, pointing towards Fang Youli.

Click.

The safety pops out, and the trigger is pulled.

boom--!
The magical weapon, engraved with runes, was fired, its flames trailing spirals of golden light as it hurtled through the air.

Fang Youliu's expression finally changed, but he had no time to dodge and just shouted, "Ye San!"

In fact, without his reminder, the moment Shunzi saw Gu Yanzhi draw her gun, he had already stepped in front of Fang Youliu to block her.

His two bare thighs were bulging with taut muscles, his hands gripped the gun barrel tightly as he swung it horizontally, roaring, "Go!"

Clang!

A loud crash echoed through the night sky.

Shunzi's palms went numb, and he quickly looked down to check the gun handle, only to find that one of the spikes that had been ejected had been broken off.

This broke Shunzi's heart. She glared at Gu Yanzhi across from her with resentment: "Now you not only have to pay for my pants, but also my gun!"

Gu Yanzhi stood still, a Fire Cage Trapping Sun Talisman floating in mid-air, burning. The fire cage rising from the ground trapped him inside, but also blocked the intrusion of the magic array's power.

He ignored Shunzi, but the other party sneered: "Sure enough, your damn formation uses itself as the base, so it dares not move an inch."

Fang Youliu's eyes twitched slightly, but he did not answer.

Seeing this, Gu Yanzhi sat down on the spot. He adopted a relaxed posture and said leisurely, "It's alright, let's drag it out and see how long your magic power can last. When the magic array dissipates and you are pointed at by hundreds of muskets from the Great Xuan Army, I want to see what other tricks you have up your sleeve."

Fang Youliu's face darkened: "You should be able to see that I did not use any killing moves from beginning to end, nor did I intend to harm anyone's life."

Gu Yanzhi sneered: "So what if I saw through you? Just because you didn't intend to kill me doesn't mean I can't kill you."

Shunzi, unable to contain his anger, raised the gun: "Why bother arguing with him? If you don't want to be the bad guy, then let me do it!"

Fang Youliu didn't say anything this time either; he knew he couldn't persuade Shunzi anymore.

"Pooh!"

Shunzi spat viciously: "We've been hiding and running away all night, and we're all covered in filth. If my older brother finds out, he'll definitely scold us for acting like old women!"

(End of this chapter)