So, Lin Guang turned his wrist and took out several Ethereal Crystals from the Storage Ring, grinding them into fine needles with Spiritual Power.

The next moment, the Inheritance Compass projected densely packed Spirit Patterns, all of which had appeared in the previous levels.

The old man seemed oblivious, as if the Compass did not exist in his eyes at all.

In the next moment, Lin Guang guided the Spirit Patterns on the Compass, activating them, and began engraving an Array on the old man's body.

The old man appeared to have incredible endurance; even as Lin Guang traced needles on his body, only his eyebrows twitched. In contrast, his Divine Thought continued to sweep around, seemingly inspecting Lin Guang's actions.

Yet Lin Guang seemed to genuinely be honestly engraving the Spirit Patterns.

Shortly after, Lin Guang stopped his actions, looked at the Array composed of four One-Star Spirit Patterns and one Two-Star Spirit Pattern on the old man's back, and took out several pieces of Wood Element Spiritual Materials from the Storage Ring: "Senior, you can use your Divine Sense to activate the Array now."

"How should it be used?"

Lin Guang was also a bit uncertain: "... It should be consumed? Refinement on the surface might also work, but it may be slower to take effect."

Without any hesitation, the old man took the Spiritual Materials from Lin Guang's hand one by one.

Cyan Spirit Vine, Withered Heart Wood, Thousand-Year Serpent Patterned Bamboo...

The old man didn't care about their shape or material, swallowing them whole like jujubes, and any that required chewing he bit into before forcefully swallowing.

Those Wood Element Spiritual Materials, through the operation of the internal Array, transformed into essence, impacting the Earth Element Restriction within his body.

Soon, the old man lifted his eyebrows in surprise, laughing towards the sky.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!"

He wasn't afraid of any issue from eating random Spiritual Materials; as long as Mana could be summoned, he could expel them directly out of his body.

His Golden Core was not just for show.

"Hahaha, hahaha!"

"Uh—!"

The old man's laughter abruptly stopped, his voice tinged with fear: "How is it possible, why can't I stop?!"

"Divine Thought... No, my Golden Core also..."

"What did you do?!"

He revealed a ferocious expression, trying to raise his hand: "I'll kill you!!"

However, in the next moment, his eyes suddenly seemed to bulge as if extreme pain had abruptly attacked him. It felt like tearing that seemed to come from his Divine Thought, making it impossible to control his Mana anymore.

And the Wood Element energy within the old man's bodies of Spiritual Materials, seemingly like a dragon swimming across the seas, drilled into his body, cooperating with the Array, began extracting the remaining power in his Golden Core.

It could be seen that the old man's body expanded rapidly, growing like a plant in a wild burst, and his flesh and blood body rapidly woodenized, even his consciousness slowed and stagnated.

Clatter, clatter—

The sound of rapidly growing wood.

"I...no..."

Before finishing his words, the old man transformed into a gigantic blood-red tree towering dozens of meters high, with vermillion leaves and thriving branches, standing out in stark contrast to the surrounding desert.

Only the massive, painfully aged face remained on the trunk.

He stopped thinking, just like a true plant.

"I thought he could endure more."

Lin Guang shook his head: "And now he can't move?"

He was actually worried this blood-refined old ghost could endure massive negative statuses and continue counterattacking, so he had set up several layers of hidden tricks.

Yet it collapsed before they were even used.

The Array Lin Guang set on the old man was genuine, indeed capable of breaking his restriction, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to deceive a Golden Core Cultivator.

But...

No one stipulated that the function of a constructed Spirit Rune Array couldn't change, especially for a Spirit Master with such strong Spiritual Power who understands the True Understanding of Needle Dao.

The moment the needle penetrated his body, his life was already decided, just a matter of how many tricks were played on him and whether he had the chance to retaliate before his death.

So, what next...

Lin Guang pondered for a moment, then turned around looking towards the horizon where a small village could be seen.

As he gazed in that direction, there seemed to be a feeling of longing emanating from within his heart.

The young voice sounded again, appearing somewhat complex at this moment.

[Who would have thought, just on a whim, I actually created a new Array Dao Technique, capable of forming an Array on a person's body, thus exterminating the blood-refined old ghost.]

[This old ghost was indeed decisive, not wanting to let me benefit, he destroyed the Storage Ring before dying.]

[Though I've succeeded in shaking off this fiend, what about the sand bandits... and the village now?]

"..."

Lin Guang fell into a slight silence.

The next moment, he released three partners.

"Oh, turned into a tree!"

Vishdair stepped beside him: "So, what do we do next?"

"It should be... to fulfill his last wish, I suppose."

He took out Spiritual Materials from that removed ring, then took out the Compass, inputting Spiritual Power.

He began setting up an extremely simple Spirit Array on the ground with only two Tier One Spirit Patterns.

It had no other functionality, only able to discern north, south, east, and west.

This Secret Realm seemed so real, Lin Guang felt the Array should indeed be useful.

After a while, Lin Guang confirmed the direction, and then, somewhat solemnly, looked at the three partners.

"I don't run fast, please... ah!"

```

Before anyone could react, Chelina abruptly scooped up Lin Guang in a princess-carry style.

Lin Guang, to avoid falling, instinctively wrapped his arms around the girl's slender neck.

The two were thus pressed closely against each other.

Lisa's cheeks turned a rosy shade.

Vishdair's amber eyes flickered with a dangerous glint, "Damn it, Rupu, what do you mean by this!"

"We should be saving time now..."

The wolf-eared maid blinked her orange-red eyes, and her black leather shoes tapped lightly on the ground. Her beautifully slender legs, covered in thin black stockings, stepped forward on the blood-soaked sand with a calm expression: "I'm quicker at running while carrying the master and barely need to use Ether."

Even so, her wolf tail behind her wagged slightly on its own.

The silver-haired girl gritted her teeth but had to admit she was indeed right.

"Hmph!"

"...Oh, right."

In Chelina's arms, Lin Guang recalled something, and with a flick of his finger aimed at that tree.

A spark flew up.

The tree instantly ignited.

"Let's go."

In the next moment, Lisa and Vishdair returned to the Sea of Spirit, and Chelina's figure turned into a wisp of smoke, taking Lin Guang and disappearing into the distance.

Leaving only the blazing giant tree, emitting crackling sounds like the wails of the dying.

Then, it collapsed with a crash in the desert.

......

In the desert.

The sky was completely dark.

Most of the villagers were huddled in their rooms, only the able-bodied men stood guard at the village entrance with kitchen knives and various weapons.

The children and women hid in their cellars.

An atmosphere of unease lingered in everyone's hearts.

The news of the ruthless bandits imminent attack had been delivered by that youth earlier in the morning.

The boy's father was the most famous physician nearby, which also gave the boy considerable prestige.

However, the old, weak, women, and children in the village found it difficult to evacuate, so the able men had no choice but to fight to the death.

But at that moment, someone suddenly exclaimed.

"Someone's coming..."

"What?!"

All the able-bodied men tightened their grips around their weapons.

But upon seeing the approaching figure, someone else exclaimed:

"Archer, you're back!"

Everyone's expressions relaxed instantly, but then tensed up again.

"Those bandits..."

Lin Guang walked over, stood in front of everyone, and his ring glowed slightly as he tossed down a disheveled, blood-covered head.

Everyone was startled, but someone mustered the courage to prod it with their weapon for a better look.

Upon seeing it, he shouted instantly, "Ah, this, this is... the leader of those bandits!"

"I saw him on the city's wanted poster!"

"Archer, is it really you..."

Lin Guang surveyed the surroundings and declared loudly, "From now on, there will be no more bandits."

Someone was incredulous, "How did you do it?"

"Could it be, could it be you are the legendary Immortal Master?!"

Lin Guang smiled, said nothing, yet did not deny it either.

Someone had a sudden realization, "No wonder Doctor Liu is so impressive, turns out..."

But as they continued to speak, their expressions seemed to grow timid once more.

The so-called cultivator seemed as distant as legends to these ordinary people.

Lin Guang shook his head, "It's no big deal. I also need to eat and drink water, and I can't even fly yet."

"...Hahaha."

"Good!"

"Archer, you're amazing!"

"You are the true warrior, the hero who saved the village!"

In an instant, thunderous cheers erupted.

And at the next moment, the completion prompt also appeared.

[Seventh Stage Completed]

[Completion: 90%]

[Submit Score?]

Ninety percent? What's still missing?

…Wait a minute, the desert?

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