Chapter 783: Blade of the Scythe
A relieved and joyful smile appeared on John's face as he heard those words, confirming that Daoist Eternal Weapon would finally create his weapon for him. He had been unsure if that surprise attack of his hurt or helped his chances, but it appeared that it had the desired effect of convincing Daoist Eternal Weapon to make his weapon of choice.
John walked over to the stone table and sat down on the seat opposite Daoist Eternal Weapon. The building they were in was mostly empty, save for this table, some forging tables, and some smelting furnaces. John could tell that Daoist Eternal Weapon was a rather simple man based off just this alone, and so he decided to skip the small talk and get straight to the point.
"I want you to make me a scythe," John said.
"A scythe? That's an interesting weapon choice," Daoist Eternal Weapon replied with some surprise, not expecting John to request such an obscure weapon. "Are you sure you wouldn't want something else? Something that fits you better as a body cultivator. Maybe a great sword? A hammer? A great axe?"
A small smirk appeared on John's face as he took out a weapon from his spatial storage, which clanked onto the stone table between them.
"I already have a great axe," John replied as he placed the great axe he had obtained in the Jade Dragon Empire Realm. This weapon had been used by the Jade Dragon Emperor himself during his youth, and so its quality was without question.
Daoist Eternal Weapons eyes widened slightly as he quickly picked up the weapon and studied it closely, from the shaft to the blades. He seemed to be enjoying himself quite a bit, as a small smile of intrigue lingered on his face the entire time.
After studying the weapon carefully, he placed it back on the stone table and nodded his head in approval.
"This weapon is truly a magnificent creation. While it's only a Dao Transformation grade weapon, even I would be hard pressed to create something of equal quality," Daoist Eternal Weapon praised the craftsmanship of the battle axe. "This battle axe will even be useful in the World Expansion realm as well, despite being crafted for a Dao Transformation cultivator. Absolutely impressive!"
The grade of weapons wasn't related to their quality, but to the cultivation realm they were intended to be used at. Things like weight, material quality, and the core used were things that factored into what grade a weapon was.
"That's good to hear that this axe will last me through the World Expansion realm," John replied, relieved to hear that.
"That it will," Daoist Eternal Weapon reconfirmed before frowning slightly. "So if you already have such an impressive weapon, why spend so many spirit crystals for my services? Surely the winning bid wasn't cheap."
"It wasn't. It cost me over eighty billion spirit crystals," John mumbled with a frown as he recalled the amount he had spent, while Daoist Eternal Weapon raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting the sum to have gone that high.
"So why spend over eighty billion spirit crystals for a weapon that is less suitable for you than what you already have? Scythes are not good weapons for body cultivators, and are instead more suitable for essence cultivators. Are you purchasing this weapon for someone else? If so, I'll let you know right now that I won't make a weapon for anyone else other than the winning bidder."
"The weapon is for me," John confirmed. Daoist Eternal Weapon was right that scythes were not great body cultivator weapons, as they focused on speed and nimbleness instead of the things that body cultivators specialized in such as strength and brute force. To emphasize the speedy aspect of the weapon, they were also much lighter than normal weapons, while heavier was better for body cultivator weapons. Finding a heavy scythe was next to impossible, as no one could properly wield such a weapon. John was the one exception, and this was the absolutely perfect opportunity to obtain a scythe that utilized both his essence and body cultivation talents.
Instead of explaining it, which he knew Daoist Eternal Weapon wouldn't believe, John raised his left arm and pointed it sideways.
Daoist Eternal Weapon raised an eyebrow at John's actions, and his eyes widened as the building suddenly lit up brightly.
Boom!
A powerful beam of lightning blasted across the room as John unleashed a Lightning Disintegration, slamming into the opposite wall of the hollow building. The beam exploded outwards with ruinous power, shaking the entire chamber with its might. Based on the durability of the stone, he knew the wall would be able to take the attack without shattering.
However, the wall was charred black where the lightning had blasted onto, a small remnant of the essence power he had unleashed. Daoist Eternal Weapon stared at the charred spot for a short while before his gaze shifted back to John, clearly surprised at what he had just witnessed.
"Like you said, scythes are better for essence cultivators, which I am as well," John smirked as the power and profundity of his attack had clearly indicated he was a powerful essence cultivator as well. That casual attack from John had been at a level above what a Late Heaven Tribulation cultivator was capable of, indicating that he had somehow not sacrificed the power of either his essence or body cultivation to cultivate both.
Daoist Eternal Weapon stared at John for a short while before he sighed deeply and shook his head lightly.
"You are more of a monstrous freak than I could have ever imagined existed. The new generation surpasses the old, huh?" Daoist Eternal Weapon mused, and eventually nodded his head in firm approval, as if he was truly happy at how things had turned out.
"I recently came out of my hundred years long secluded meditation, where I gained profound insights beyond my wildest imagination. I wanted to put these insights to use to create the finest weapon this world has ever known, and so I put my seal up for auction, for a World Expansion cultivator to obtain, so I could create the ultimate weapon and have it displayed at the pinnacle of this worlds stage.
I had thought you to be unworthy of such a creation when you first appeared, but it appears that the weapon I create for you is the only thing that shall be tested on its worthiness. I could not have asked for a better inheritor for my pinnacle creation," Daoist Eternal Weapon said, his voice firm as if he was prepared for the challenge of making a weapon worthy of John's talents.
"Very well. I shall make you the finest scythe this world has ever known," Daoist Eternal Weapon boomed, as if the prospect of such a task was boiling his blood with anticipation. "Tell me, what materials have you brought for me to create this weapon? Surely you will not disappoint me."
"I think you'll be quite happy with the materials I brought for you to use," John replied, "but I must forewarn that I only brought the materials for the blade and the core. I have nothing for the shaft," John explained.
"Do not worry about that," Daoist Eternal Weapon dismissed John's concerns, "for if you provide me with a blade and core worthy of my finest creation, I shall use the finest material for the shaft that exists in this world. So, sate this old man's curiosity. What have you brought me to work with?"
"I brought this," John said as an object appeared between them and fell onto the stone table. Daoist Eternal Weapons stood up in shock and his eyes went completely wide as he watched the object land sharp side down and slice partly into the durable table, just from falling onto it.
If force was used instead of it just being a casual fall, the table would most likely have been sliced in half. The stone table was made from the same material as the rest of the building, which had easily resisted John's powerful lightning attack, giving insight to just how frighteningly sharp the object was.
The object was roughly five feet long, and pitch black in color, like it came from the darkest of abysses. It was shaped like the blade of a scythe, although it didn't appear to be forged from metal, and was instead of some other unknown material.
Daoist Eternal Weapon stared at the object in shock for quite some time before carefully reaching out and picking it up, making sure to avoid its sharp side. He ran his finger over the sharp side of the object, and pulled his finger back as a small cut appeared on his finger.
"How sharp!" he exclaimed, as something that was able to cut his freakishly durable body so easily was beyond his wildest expectations. After inspecting the object for some time, he turned his gaze to John, who sat there with a small smile on his face, as he could tell Daoist Eternal Weapon found it more than sufficient.
"What is the origin of this blade?" he asked, as he could not identify its origins.
John's small smirk grew in satisfaction as he explained the origins of the blade.
"It might appear like a blade, but it's technically not a true scythe blade. Instead, it's a natural protrusion of a demon I killed, a Darkfiend Demon to be exact," John explained, as the object was none other than the scythe-like protrusion from the back of the Darkfiend Demon's elbows, which he had used to kill that terrifying demon.