The hovering Double Headed Battle Axe absorbed immortal Qi as if it were a desert and it were raining.

Everyone watched with careful eyes, as they knew depending on how much Immortal Qi the Axe absorbed, its grade would vary. This would also determine whether the weapon would form a weapon spirit or not.

~HUALA~

Minute after minute passed, as the Double Headed Battle Axe continued to absorb the immortal Qi. By now, a vortex had formed above it, and the Immortal Qi had become concentrated enough that it looked like a thick mist.

Ten more minutes passed, and the suction force of the Axe had only increased further.

~thud~

A few of the weaker cultivators in the hall actually stumbled and fell to their knees, unable to bear all of this. Some of them were unable to absorb any Qi due to the suction of the Axe, while others were feeling pressed form the rising energy of the Axe.

"Juniors who are unable to endure this should retreat for their own safety.

" Head Elder Dajian warned.

"Y-yes…

" Even if they wished to watch it from up close, the juniors had no option but to retreat.

If they didn't do that, they would end up passing out and completely lose any chance at observation.

About fifty percent of the observers moved back at this moment while the other half still stayed put. But even the number of those that could endure it started to fall, as the pressure only kept on increasing.

Two hours passed like this and by now over 95% of the people had retreated. Only Lin Mu, Shuijing Mingzhu and a few more promising individuals of the Serene Glass Valley were left standing.

Lin Mu looked around and saw that nearly everyone had a cultivation base at the Third Tribulation Stage of the Immortal realm and above. As for those that were at the Second Tribulation Stage of the Immortal realm, they were enduring through the use of immortal tools that reduced the pressure for them.

'They won't be able to hold on for much longer.' Lin Mu knew upon seeing the conditions of the Immortal tools.

Similar to cultivators with higher cultivation bases being able to suppress those with a lower cultivation base, Immortal tools and weapons could suppress weaker Immortal tools below them too. As of now, the Grade of the Double Headed Battle Axe was at the High rank.

Whereas, all the immortal tools they were using to withstand the pressure were at the Mid or low grade.

'They'll last ten minutes more perhaps.' Lin Mu reckoned. 'If they had experience in bearing pressure of stronger individuals though, they would have been able to withstand this without immortal tools too.' He thought while looking at Shuijing Mingzhu.

She was able to bear it without an immortal tool too and almost seemed unaffected showing that she had excellent control over her Qi.

~THUD~ THUD~

Ten minutes passed and just as Lin Mu had predicted, the cultivators who were using the Immortal tools to resist the pressure were forced to kneel too. Knowing that it was no use in staying here, they too retreated, leaving only seven people standing.

Among these seven people, Lin Mu and Shuijing Mingzhu were also included.

'Hmm… Two from the Chang'an clan, two from Guan clan and one from Shuijing Clan.' Lin Mu glanced at the ones who were left standing other than Shuijing Mingzhu. 'Guess these are the cream of the crop for the three clans. All the minor clan's members have been forced to retreat.' He thought.

~HONG~

Shortly after this, a change happened with the Double Headed Battle Axe.

The Vortex around it grew and fully covered the Axe while Dao Traces started to appear!

"It's happening!

" Head Elder Dajian and Head Elder Heng were excited.

Lin Mu on the other hand tried to figure out what kind of Dao Traces were appearing. His immortal sense tried to sense them and didn't recognize them at first. But when Lin Mu side his Spatial perception to check it further, he immediately got his answer.

'This feeling… there's no doubt about it. This is a Heavenly element… The Light Element!' Lin Mu identified.

The appearance of Dao Traces meant that the weapon was about to upgrade to the Peak Grade. And if it successfully managed to absorb the Dao Traces, it would have fully turned into a Peak Grade Immortal Weapon!

'Since the Double headed Battle Axe was made from the sap of the Snow Glass Pear Tree, it makes sense that it ended up attracting Light Dao Traces.' Lin Mu understood. 'Though I don't know if this was intentional or not… it doesn't really make sense for a heavy weapon like this to have the Light Element.' He thought.

Still, Lin Mu had faith in the elders and trusted their experience. He didn't think they would make such an amateur mistake of using the wrong material for the wrong weapon type.

~SSSSSSSSSS~

But just as Lin Mu was thinking this, the Double Headed Battle Axe suddenly dimmed down. The flow of Immortal Qi around it also became slower while the Dao Traces started to fall.

"No!

" Head Elder Heng shouted in frustration.

"We need to use the backup!

"

"We now have no option, use it!

" Head Elder Dajian agreed.

Head Elder Heng summoned and item from his Spatial Storage Treasure. It was an object that was about seven inches tall and one inch thick.

It also had a small black cord coming out from its top.

No matter what angle one looked at it from, they would think of it as a very mundane object.

It was a candle!

"Ancestor help us.

" Head Elder Heng muttered lightly, which Lin Mu heard too.

~SHUA~

Upon his words, the candle suddenly lit up!

But the surprising part was that there was no flame burning on the wick. Instead, an orb of light had appeared on the wick!

And from this wick, one could feel strong Light Dao Traces.