Chapter 625: The Phoenix Feather

’Yeah.’

Given his current level and abilities, expecting to produce the most powerful Saint-tier elixir right now was simply unrealistic.

"Master..."

Alana looked at him with a mixture of sympathy and guilt, and Marcus immediately understood what she was feeling. He stepped forward, took her delicate hand, and gently pulled her into his arms.

"Silly girl, what are you so upset about?" he said with an easy smile. "It’s perfectly normal that we can’t get our hands on a Saint-tier item right now. Even the Seven-Soul Devil probably won’t find one anytime soon. At worst, I’ll deal with him later and take the Yin-Yang Panda Egg back."

"Mm."

Alana quietly leaned against his broad chest, her expression softening as she settled into his embrace. The ethereal beauty of her face and the faint, intoxicating fragrance surrounding her made Marcus’s heart stir, and for a moment, the problem of the Yin-Yang Panda Egg was pushed completely to the back of his mind.

Right now, he simply wanted to hold his Alana and enjoy having her this close. His hand slipped around her waist, and his other hand began to wander over her graceful figure.

But just as the atmosphere was beginning to change, the system notification abruptly sounded.

Ding!

[Stonehaven, Princess Celeste is at the door. Would you like to let her in?]

’Damn it!’

Why did Princess Celeste have to show up now?

It wasn’t that Marcus didn’t want to see her. He was actually quite happy whenever she came to visit, but her timing really couldn’t have been worse.

"Let her in!"

Marcus reluctantly released Alana, lowering the hand that had only just begun exploring her figure. He cleared his throat before turning to her with a helpless smile.

"Sweetheart, Princess Celeste is here."

"Princess Celeste?"

Alana blinked, clearly surprised.

Marcus couldn’t help grinning with a little pride. "My intimacy with Princess Celeste is already at ninety-five. We’re friends now."

"Ninety-five intimacy?"

Even Alana looked genuinely startled by that number. Then, seeing the proud expression on her beloved master’s face, she couldn’t help smiling and giving him a teasing look.

"Such a flirtatious master..."

The two of them headed toward the front hall together, but halfway there, Alana suddenly began murmuring under her breath.

"Princess Celeste... Princess Celeste..."

She repeated the name several times, as though trying to connect it with something she had heard before. Then her eyes suddenly widened.

"Princess Phoenix!"

Alana abruptly grabbed Marcus’s arm, her beautiful eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Master! There’s a way! We might actually be able to refine a Saint-tier elixir!"

"Refine a Saint-tier elixir?"

Marcus stared at her in confusion.

Alana immediately gave him a radiant smile, bright and beautiful enough to seem like a hundred flowers blooming at once.

"Master, remember what I told you? We can potentially use the supplementary materials from the Three-Star Sacred Lotus to refine a Saint-tier elixir. The biggest problem is the refining time. Even with my abilities, the alchemical flame simply can’t dissolve those materials quickly enough."

Her expression grew increasingly confident as she continued.

"But what if we can persuade Princess Phoenix to let us use the royal alchemical treasure, the Dragon Flame Cauldron? If we combine that with the Divine Beast Phoenix’s Immortal Phoenix Fire and my Divine-tier Asclepius Herbal Staff, we might be able to overcome the problem. With those three things working together, we could actually have a chance of refining a Saint-tier elixir!"

"Divine Beast Phoenix... and its flame..."

Marcus’s eyes immediately lit up.

’Of course!’

The Phoenix’s flame was no ordinary fire. If they could use the supreme Immortal Phoenix Fire as their alchemical flame, it might be powerful enough to dissolve the Three-Star Sacred Lotus materials within the limited time they had.

Normally, system NPCs wouldn’t directly help players. However, Marcus and Alana had already completed the quest to heal Princess Phoenix’s Phoenixwood Tree. According to the kingdom-wide quest announcement, Princess Phoenix owed them a reward consisting of a Divine Artifact and a Phoenix Feather.

If they could persuade her to alter that reward in exchange for helping them refine the Saint-tier elixir, the problem might finally be solved.

And the key to convincing Princess Phoenix was Princess Celeste.

"Alana, you’re a genius!"

Marcus grabbed Alana and planted a firm kiss on her soft lips.

At that moment, Princess Celeste’s clear voice came from outside.

"Stone, where are you?"

Marcus reluctantly released the blushing Alana, and the two of them stepped into the flower-filled courtyard just as Princess Celeste entered with her two high-level warrior attendants.

"Stone, your courtyard is beautiful..."

Princess Celeste looked around at the fragrant garden with obvious appreciation as she walked toward him. Every flower, tree, and carefully arranged patch of greenery had been personally designed by Alana.

Of course it was beautiful. Alana had made it herself.

But Marcus had no time to admire his courtyard right now. He quickly walked up to the petite princess.

"Celeste, I need your help. Urgently. Desperately."

"What happened?"

Marcus immediately explained everything about the Divine Bamboo Paradise and the Yin-Yang Panda Egg, including the fact that the egg couldn’t be removed from the Paradise Bamboo Platform and would die if it was taken away before it healed.

Every second mattered, and Only twenty-six minutes remained.

Princess Celeste listened carefully before giving him a straightforward answer.

"Stone, I’ll help you. Let’s go to the palace and convince my sister. You helped save the Phoenixwood Tree, so she should be willing to make an exception for you."

Marcus nodded.

"Then let’s go."

There was no time to waste.

The three of them immediately headed for the palace. Thanks to Princess Celeste’s luxurious royal carriage, the journey that would normally have taken considerably longer was completed in less than two minutes.

They soon arrived at Princess Phoenix’s residence, the Phoenix Garden.

Princess Celeste had clearly thought everything through. She told Marcus and Alana to wait at the entrance while she went inside to speak with her sister herself.

The next few minutes felt agonizingly slow to Marcus. Every second that passed brought the Seven-Soul Devil closer.

But after only three minutes, the doors opened again, and Princess Phoenix emerged together with Princess Celeste.

The little beauty gave Marcus a smug wink, her expression practically shouting that she had succeeded.

Marcus couldn’t help smiling.

His ninety-five intimacy with Princess Celeste had really paid off.

Princess Phoenix walked toward him in resplendent crimson phoenix-patterned royal robes. She carried herself with the dignity of royalty, yet there was an unmistakable warmth beneath her elegance, making her resemble a noble and exquisite crimson rose.

When she stopped before him, she spoke in a soft, dignified voice.

"Stonehaven, you and your attendant Alana completed my quest and successfully saved the Phoenixwood Tree. Originally, once the entire eighty-one-day process was completed, I intended to reward you with a Divine Artifact and a Phoenix Feather."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"Under normal circumstances, changing a kingdom-wide quest reward would not be easy. However, you also played an important role in killing the Heavenly Thunder Leopard. Therefore, if you are willing, I can modify the reward for the Phoenixwood Tree quest."

Princess Phoenix looked directly at Marcus.

"The new reward will be one Phoenix Feather, one low-grade Divine-tier healing herb, the Century Life Grass, and access to the conditions necessary to refine a Saint-tier elixir."

Ding!

[Player Stonehaven, Princess Phoenix has changed the reward for the Phoenixwood Tree kingdom-wide quest. Do you accept?]

"Accept!"

Marcus answered without the slightest hesitation.

The moment he accepted, the quest notification floating before the palace changed.

A bold QUEST COMPLETE appeared beside the Phoenixwood Tree quest.

"Holly crap! Someone actually completed Princess Phoenix’s quest!"

The exclamation immediately drew attention from the surrounding players.

"It’s really completed! Is that the knight riding the Nightmare Dragon Steed from before?"

"Damn, I’m so jealous..."

"My Divine Artifact! My Phoenix Feather!"

The discussion spread rapidly, and what had been a relatively quiet area around the palace instantly became lively. News of the completed kingdom-wide quest spread through the server like a stone dropped into still water, sending ripples in every direction.

Marcus, however, barely paid attention to the commotion.

He was overwhelmed by a mixture of gratitude and excitement.

He had genuinely not expected Princess Phoenix to be this generous. Not only had she agreed to modify the reward, she had barely reduced its value at all. He still received the Phoenix Feather, while the Divine Artifact had merely been replaced by a low-grade Divine-tier healing herb, and she had additionally provided him with access to the conditions needed to refine a Saint-tier elixir.

Clearly, she wasn’t simply trying to reduce his reward.

She was giving him the means to solve his current problem.

It seemed that his efforts to save the Phoenixwood Tree had left a much better impression on the proud, phoenix-like princess than he had realized.

Marcus received the two rewards.

The first was a Phoenix Feather radiating a brilliant crimson glow, while the second was the vibrant, emerald-green Century Life Grass.

The moment the rewards entered his inventory, Princess Phoenix led them toward the palace’s alchemical chamber.

As they walked, Princess Celeste quietly sidled up beside Marcus. A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.

"Stone, I really didn’t expect this..."

She lowered her voice and glanced ahead at her sister.

"I thought my sister would at least make things difficult for you, but she agreed so easily. And she even gave you the Century Life Grass. I’m honestly surprised."

"Heh heh..."

Marcus could only give an awkward laugh.

He glanced at the elegant Princess Phoenix walking ahead of them, wondering just how high his intimacy with her had risen after everything that had happened.

Then he examined the Phoenix Feather in detail.

—

Phoenix Feather: Special item. The Divine Beast Phoenix, the Immortal Phoenix, sheds a single feather once every three to five hundred years. Each feather contains an immense amount of energy and carries a powerful divine aura. Extremely rare.

Effect: Can be equipped in the back accessory slot. Increases all four basic attributes by 20, increases Fire Resistance by 80%, and increases Fire Attack by 20%.

Skill, Phoenix Rebirth: Passive. When equipped, the player can instantly resurrect upon death by using the Phoenix’s flame. Upon resurrection, all attributes are restored to their full values, with no penalties. Cooldown: 10 hours.

—

The Divine Beast Phoenix produced only one feather every three to five hundred years. That meant this feather was most likely Princess Phoenix’s only one.

Marcus couldn’t help feeling incredibly fortunate.

Without hesitation, Princess Celeste personally helped him equip the feather in the accessory slot on his back. The moment it was equipped, the radiant Phoenix Feather unfolded behind him, its crimson glow making his already imposing figure look even more extraordinary.

And the additional attributes increase from the Phoenix Feather made Marcus feel even more confident.

Alana had already explained the entire alchemical process to him. Marcus would serve as the primary refiner, relying on his exceptionally high Luck, while Alana would assist him from the side and help control the various stages of the refinement.

Everything was finally in place.

The Saint-tier elixir that had seemed completely impossible only minutes ago was now within reach.

"Wahaha!"

Marcus couldn’t contain his excitement. He was going to personally refine a Saint-tier elixir!