Boom!

The eight-limbed Other pawed at the ground, raising clouds of dry dust as it tensed up, ready to spring.

The corrupt energy it was radiating left the three with no doubts about its strength.

At least a Fourth Pattern!

In a direct clash, they would be trampled flat.

They hurried out of its way.

Dong!

The eight-limbed Other landed and whirled, springing again. Its eight legs (but actually hands?) adroitly maneuvered it around.

The three hastily deployed their escape skills to dodge again.

All three were prepared for overwhelming power, and they knew all too well that the twisting vortex of corruption would take them in a trice if it contacted them.

The desperate fleeing continued for quite a while.

On a nearby tree, Jiang Qing'e's squad watched with tense faces.

"Leader, they're in trouble," Tian Tian said.

Qiu Bai nodded. "Close to Fifth Pattern for sure. Pretty dangerous for them."

Jiang Qing'e remained silent, her golden eyes closely following the battle, but her squad could sense her light resonant energy building.

Preparing to attack.

A pity. One more step and Li Luo's squad would have been able to purify an entire tower by themselves.

Still, there was no need to beat them up over it. They had already performed very admirably for newcomers.

The eight-limbed Other redoubled its attacks, fleshy limbs thundering forward towards the three.

It headed straight for Li Luo. It could sense that he was the greatest threat among the three.

This time it was even faster than before, and it was all too clear that Li Luo wasn't going to make it. An ominous shadow loomed over him.

Jiang Qing'e's heavy sword came up, light resonant energy gathering.

Whoosh!

The ground beneath the Other gave way, revealing a pit. Li Luo was just on the edge.

The Other was not. It fell in with a heavy thump.

"What-" Qiu Bai sputtered.

"They must have dug it before. There's water inside too, probably water resonant power. But for what?" Tian Tian mused. 

A little dunking wasn't going to take down a white eroder.

Jiang Qing'e's hand loosened up. She had no idea what they were up to, but knowing Li Luo, it would probably be good.

Surely he had something up his sleeve?

Li Luo sprang up before the Other could claw its way out.

"Fluttering Star!" Bai Mengmeng cried out. Her astral resonant power formed a butterfly of light that caused the thrashing Other to freeze up as it faced unknown illusions.

It reasserted itself very quickly, smashing through Fluttering Star with its corruptive powers.

"Blight Bindings!" Xin Fu cried. Long, black shadows extended out from him, the lines wrapping themselves across the Other before solidifying. They managed to stop it from climbing out of the pit.

"Leader, I can only do it for five seconds!" Xin Fu said through gritted teeth.

"Xin Fu! Language! You vulgar animal, Mengmeng's here, bless her heart," Li Luo cried out. 

Xin Fu almost spat blood at him. Was this the time for joking?!

Still, Li Luo was actually moving his feet as fast as his tongue. He was busy unleashing a resonance art that he had been preparing for quite a while now.

"Tiger-general resonance art, Flowing Shear!"

Swoosh!

The water in the pit formed a huge sphere of water, the Other still struggling within.

The water began to spin, picking up tremendous velocity as it squeezed and tore at the Other's body.

The enormous pressure was starting to peel the white skin away.

Underneath, red flesh showed, and a strange roar sounded. The other Other had shown back up!

Li Luo's Flowing Shear had forced it out again.

Human Skin howled in misery and fear. It was facing a two-pronged attack now, both the external, shearing water sphere attack and an internal war as the fleshy Other tried to claw its way out.

No matter how it struggled, there was no way it could fight this.

After a few tense moments, there was a high-pitched keening, and the eight-limbed Other split into two.

"Leader, it worked! You're a genius!" Bai Mengmeng squealed, clapping her hands. 

Xin Fu gasped as well.

He had had his doubts about Li Luo's plan, a violent, forceful separation of the two Others. He wanted to stop Human Skin's evolution and cause them to fight among themselves.

Li Luo's brain sure worked in different ways...

Their leader was a real gem.

Xin Fu felt his respect rise for the brain under that head of silver hair.

Li Luo took their success a little more calmly. He alone knew that he had strengthened his Flowing Shear significantly.

Other cultivators might just circulate water around, and there was a limit to the speed they could reach. But his water was sharpened by his light resonance, forcing it to far greater speeds that could even harm the human skin Other.

He had much higher chance of success than others might think.

Shing!

The water sphere burst, and two creatures tumbled out.

But both of them were significantly diminished now. Clearly, the separation had taken a heavy toll on both.

They stared at each other with blatant hate, ready to tear each other to bits.

But they did not. Both turned and ran.

They might not be too intelligent, but they had an instinct for survival. They knew that they were too weak to remain here.

Run.

Straight into Li Luo and Xin Fu.

Li Luo drew circles in the air with his swords. "Trying to get your skin out of the game? Stay a while, I promise I'm only going to cut you... skin deep."

In their weakened states, both were roughly only First Pattern in strength. It was the best time to finish them off.

Xin Fu didn't bother with bad jokes, instead choosing actions over words.

Li Luo followed, irritated.

This time, the fight went down very differently.

The three seniors stared numbly at the turn of events.

The solution had come out of left field...

This guy had cooked up some 200 IQ moves right here. Squeeze the food back up and make it fight the eater? 

Qiu Bai and Tian Tian shared a look. "Well, today was a real eye-opener."

Jiang Qing'e just sat there, smiling to herself.

Li Luo's performance was perfect.