Hirano Saburo did not feel surprised by Abe Daishi's reaction. In fact, he was well aware of how difficult it was to manufacture Soul Gems. However, as the saying goes, start high and bargain low!
"Abe-kun, I don't want to force your hand. Then tell me, how many Soul Gems can you provide us?" Hirano Saburo said with a smile.
"Thirty per year, that's our limit!" Abe Daishi gritted his teeth and said.
"That's far from enough, Abe-kun. You must understand that while our God-Bestowed Warriors are very powerful, without a certain guarantee in numbers, they are meaningless! Thirty Soul Gems a year are not enough to form combat effectiveness, not even enough for our basic testing!"
"General Hirano, it's not that we don't want to help you, but we are simply unable to. I believe you must have heard that more than half a year ago, our Abe no Seimei Shrine suffered heavy losses on Hell Paradise Island. Almost half of our elite Onmyoji perished on that island. Among the remaining Onmyoji capable of producing Soul Gems, there are very few. Even if we give you thirty, that's their limit. These individuals do nothing else but produce Soul Gems all day. It's already remarkable if one person can produce four per year!"
"Abe-kun, things are not as exaggerated as you say. I know that your Abe no Seimei Shrine has very deep foundations. Although you suffered some losses on Hell Paradise Island, that is only temporary! Abe-kun, you must understand that the mess your Seimei Shrine has gotten into this time is enormous. It will take a lot of resources and favors to resolve this matter! If you don't show some sincerity, it will be difficult for me to persuade others in the military to support you!"
Hirano Saburo's words were accompanied by a smile, but to Ambassador Abe, they sounded malicious. He first informed Abe Daishi that the secrets of the Abe no Seimei Shrine were within his grasp, and then conveyed that if Abe no Seimei did not agree to his demands, the shrine would not be able to resolve the severe consequences of the flood.
"You... this..."
Abe Daishi certainly understood the unspoken meaning in the other's words. He was about to get angry but immediately restrained himself. He also knew that the other party's threat was not unfounded! Although in a sense, the Abe no Seimei Shrine was also a victim, the floodwaters had indeed flowed from the mountain of the Abe no Seimei Shrine, and these waters were accumulated by the formations of the White Fox Palace. No matter what, the White Fox Palace could not escape responsibility for this matter, which was what troubled Ambassador Abe the most. Although the Seimei Shrine had its own connections and considerable influence, resolving this matter was not easy, and external assistance was still needed. Hirano Saburo and the Japanese military behind him clearly possessed this capability!
"Forty, that's our limit..."
"Abe-kun, at least two hundred..." Hirano Saburo still had a smile on his face.
Thus, after half an hour of negotiation between the two old foxes, an agreement was reached. The Abe no Seimei Shrine would provide the Japanese military with eighty Soul Gems in a single transaction, and thereafter, provide at least fifty Soul Gems annually. Of course, this was not provided for free; the Japanese military would offer corresponding material and financial compensation for each Soul Gem. Furthermore, the Japanese military would step forward to coordinate and resolve this flood incident for the White Fox Palace, and they would also send people to investigate the matter and find the true culprit. This was in exchange for the Japanese military providing ten God-Bestowed Warriors to the White Fox Palace annually. After all, the Ghost Realm barrier protecting the White Fox Palace was gone, and the White Fox Palace had suffered a great loss in strength. The Ghost Realm barrier was not just an ordinary defensive formation; it was also a pasture where the Abe no Seimei Shrine raised its Shikigami. Without the Ghost Realm barrier, many Onmyoji of the Abe no Seimei Shrine would have nowhere to house their Shikigami, especially the powerful ones, all of whom perished with the destruction of the Ghost Realm barrier! Now, even to protect themselves, the Abe no Seimei Shrine had to rely on external forces!
...
In the Spirit Realm, Ling Tian opened his eyes. He had been meditating and cultivating here for three days and three nights. The terrifying scar on his chest had scabbed over. The day Ling Tian entered the Spirit Realm, he had applied the special medicine and then began cultivating. His true essence circulated within his body, repairing the wounds on his body. The medicinal ointment provided by his third master, Gong Heming, had a very significant healing effect. That Kiri-Kiri samurai sword was indeed no ordinary item. Ling Tian had rarely suffered such a serious injury in his life. Ling Tian stood up and stretched his body, feeling that his injuries did not hinder his movements, and then let out a sigh of relief. Ling Tian went to the blacksmith shop in the Spirit Realm and directly took out two Kiri-Kiri swords. One was the Kiri-Kiri sword that Ling Tian had forged himself, and the other was the famous sword Hagakure, a legendary weapon that had once severed Ibaraki Doji's arm. Ling Tian liked the Hagakure sword very much, as he had personally experienced its power. However, the problem was that he dared not use this sword lightly. This sword was too famous. If anyone discovered him using it, some people might associate Ling Tian with the flood incident at the White Fox Palace. Ling Tian had received the teachings of his fourth master, the King of Assassins Xiang Yuntian, since childhood: when carrying out a mission, leave no trace and give opponents no room for speculation. After all, in matters of revenge, sometimes evidence was not needed; a mere suspicion could bring disaster. Although only the three elders, Xuanyuan Jie, Xie Liheng, and Zhuge Tianji, knew about Ling Tian's trip to Japan, and he trusted their character, there were no impenetrable walls in the world. If, for various reasons, this matter leaked out and someone connected him with what happened in Japan, he would be in trouble! As the saying goes, Ling Tian himself was not afraid of trouble, but he was afraid of bringing trouble to his loved ones and friends! The blacksmith's furnace was opened, and the blazing flames within instantly raised the room's temperature by tens of degrees. With a thought from Ling Tian, the two Kiri-Kiri swords floated in mid-air and were then thrown directly into the blacksmith's furnace! The terrifying furnace had flames reaching five to six thousand degrees Celsius, a temperature that could even melt tungsten, the most heat-resistant metal in the world.