SUPREME ARCH-MAGUS

Chapter 992: The Heart’s Cure!

A scrying circle shimmered to life before the old man, like a mirror of soft blue light, revealing a clear image of Kent’s current life as Phillip Salt.

He watched as the young man—sharp-eyed and full of cunning—walked away from his confrontation with Lily White, his aura now brimming with a quiet, confident fire.

A fire many before him lacked.

“So many fated ones,” the old man mused, “all of them failed at this stage. Some turned selfish, others too attached. A few even fell into obsession and corruption. But this boy… This Phillip Salt—or should I say, Kent—he’s weaving the strings like a skilled spider.”

He flicked his wrist, and the image changed.

Now it showed Manuka Lan, silently brewing a delicate potion from Moonshade leaves under a violet lantern, her fingers steady, her face unreadable—but her thoughts clearly disrupted. She paused occasionally, her expression taut, her mind drifting.

“He captured her attention,” the old man chuckled, shaking his head. “A miracle in itself. Thousands of soul-trial walkers came before—some heroic, some brilliant. All tried to draw her gaze. None succeeded.”

He flipped open the tome in his arms. The pages flipped rapidly with a gust of unseen wind, until it stopped at a particular entry. A single name glowed faintly there.

Candidate 4879: Kent / Phillip Salt – Scaled Blood. Status: Active. Progress: Phase II.

Soul Integration: Stable. Ego Retention: 94%. Corruption Influence: 0%.

Emotional Bond Formation: Pending.

Temptation Resistance: Unknown.

He chuckled again, amused at the words on the page.

“You haven’t tasted the real temptation yet, boy. So far, you’ve resisted the pull of pride, power, and even seduction.”

“But what will you do when your heart desires more than your purpose allows?”

He closed the tome and slowly sat down cross-legged beside the well. As he did, blue sea fog slithered up from the cracks between the stones, winding around him like vines of the deep.

He reached into a small pouch tied to his belt and took out a single white pearl, ancient and cracked, but still glowing faintly.

The pearl hovered, pulsing in rhythm with Phillip’s footsteps within the illusion.

The old man blinked.

He tapped the rune circle again. This time, a different vision opened.

It was of the Sea God’s Throne, buried deep within the abyss, still sealed under layers of soul karma and celestial barrier. It pulsed once every few minutes—each pulse sending a ripple across the waters of the real world and this illusion.

“The throne still slumbers,” the old man said. “Waiting for someone worthy to awaken it.”

He stood slowly and faced the well.

“You’re not the first ’Scaled One’, Kent,” he whispered. “And you may not be the last. But you’ve made it further than most. Still… the temptation has not yet revealed its final face.”

He turned toward the eastern sky, now painted with twilight hues of faded gold.

“Lily’s pride. Manuka’s curiosity. Salt Clan’s politics. The Sword of Inheritance. The legacy of a broken soul. All this… and the possibility of love…”

He sighed.

“Can your heart carry them all without breaking?”

With a flick of his fingers, he dismissed the vision. The scrying mirror shimmered and then dissolved into the mist again.

The well gurgled softly, as if laughing with him.

He looked down into the ancient well and smiled, now not in mockery—but in hope.

“Let’s see what kind of storm this boy brews in the coming days.”

The old man closed his eyes.

And the Watcher faded into mist once more.

—

Three days had passed since Phillip Salt’s bold maneuver with the fake herb. The ripples of that strange request had yet to settle in the Lan Family Herb Garden. Though the garden remained busy with alchemists and workers, the air was tinged with quiet curiosity—for everyone awaited Lady Manuka Lan’s next move.

In the heart of the Lan Family’s alchemical compound, where rare herbs were stored in climate-controlled formations and spirit-sensing vines grew along the walls, a new commotion began. One of the junior herbal assistants rushed into the central courtyard, out of breath, clutching a palm-sized jade box.

“Lady Manuka!” he called, bowing swiftly. “The guest from the Salt Clan has returned. He brings… a pill. And he requests the ingredients to recreate it.”

Manuka Lan, dressed in simple but elegant robes dyed with the subtle sheen of silversage blue, turned from her inspection of a Soul Petal Vine. Her eyes, calm and intelligent, sparkled faintly with curiosity.

“Another one of his games?” she muttered under her breath. But a strange feeling settled in her heart. Unlike the others who often tried to impress her with empty bravado, Phillip Salt—or whoever he truly was—brought her questions worth thinking about.

She extended her hand. “The pill. Let me see it.”

The assistant carefully placed the jade box into her hand. The moment she opened it, a rich fragrance escaped, pure and harmonious, with a delicate undertone of spring essence. Her brows lifted in surprise.

“This is not a child’s attempt. This is master-level pillcraft…” she murmured. With a soft gesture, she summoned her inner qi to circulate and peered into the pill’s structure.

Three soft rings of pale green surrounded its core—a signature mark of a perfectly formed pill.

“He called it the Heart Lotus Reversal Pill,” the assistant offered, kneeling. “He said it can purge latent heart poisons of any race.”

That drew a sharp breath from Manuka.

Heart poisons were among the deadliest afflictions—stealthy, lingering, and capable of eroding a cultivator’s foundation over years. Most known antidotes were race-specific, and even those had less than perfect results.

“Fetch Luma,” she ordered suddenly.

“L-Lady?” the assistant stammered.

“The servant-girl with Shadow-leaf Poison in her meridians. Bring her.”

Within an hour, the chosen servant was brought to the inner chamber. Luma, a meek girl of perhaps sixteen, bore eyes dimmed by months of suffering. Her veins often pulsed visibly with poison when her qi faltered.

Manuka sat before her, holding the Heart Lotus Reversal Pill.

“Luma,” she said softly, “this pill may cure you. But I cannot guarantee what will happen. Are you willing to try?”

Tears filled the girl’s eyes, and she nodded. “I trust you, Lady Lan. Even death would be kinder than this pain.”

With a final inspection, Manuka nodded and passed her the pill.

Luma swallowed it.

The next moments…