"The strongest powers of this world are the cultivation sects. But… there are other individual human clans that can be considered to be strong as well. My master was from one such clan…" The Slim arm ape said.

"What!?" The demon spine ape said with absolute shock.

​​

The demon spine ape had known that his father was once a tamed beast of a human and disliked that fact. This was also amplified by the fact that his father seldom talked about it and thus he thought he hated that time of his life.

But now that he heard it, the demon spine ape realized that might not be the reason why he didn't talk about his past. It sent the ape into a memory, trailed as he started linking up the times that he had talked to his father about it.

After a minute of silence, the Demon spine ape composed himself into a calm demeanor. This was quite unlike him and was frankly against his innate instincts due to having the bloodline of the Demon Spine Ape.

Yet even then, the calmness and composure of the Slim Arm Ape he inherited from his father were currently shining through the cracks. He took a calm breath before looking at his father, who continued to gaze upon the forbidden hill.

"Where… where did you human master come from?" The Demon Spine ape questioned.

"He was from a human clan by the name of Tian. It is a rather small clan overall and appears weak to the rest of the human world, but in reality, they might not be any less than the top cultivation sects.

It is simply that they do not wish to compete and stay hidden away. But their power is nothing to scoff at. My master was not that strong in the clan yet even then he was powerful than most cultivators of the world.

He was at the… Dao Shell Realm." The Slim Arm ape said as his eyes glazed over with nostalgia.

The Demon Spine ape knew about the Dao Shell realm very well and knew that it was the next realm after the Nascent Soul realm. The five rulers of the millennium forest all strive to reach it, yet even after several thousand years, no one had reached it.

Many beasts even wondered if this was a curse of some sort. Their progress would get very fast when they entered the sixth ring of the Millennium forest, but once they reached the Adult Stage of the Nascent Soul realm, it could come to a screeching hall.

The Twin Lights Liger King was was the best example of this. It had been over two centuries since he had reached the Adult stage of the Nascent Soul realm and even then he had been unable to progress further.

"Then why did he come to this place, father? You said that he died in this forest… if he was so strong, how could he die here?" The Demon spine ape questioned.

"As I said, there are fortunate encounters hidden here. The only question is if one is fated with it. My master he… he was dying. He had been sick his entire life and despite cultivating and reaching the Dao Shell realm, he was unable to resolve the sickness.

His disease would drain his lifespan continually. No one knew what disease it was and even in a clan as old as the Tian clan, they had no records of it. Thus, my master set out on a journey to find a cure.

In his travels, he went to a lot of places, whether they be ruins, ancient temples, forests, mountains, and even the great ocean. This all happened when I wasn't even born. Then one day my master found me in one of the forests and tamed out of sheer boredom.

At that time, I didn't even have the same level of intelligence that I have right now and thus didn't comprehend what he was doing. But as my cultivation base grew, so did my intelligence and my memories of that time finally started to make sense to me.

Eventually, my master realized he did not have much time to live. Thus, he decided to go out on one last journey, but since he did not have that long to live, he ended up picking the location closest to him that he had read about in some ancient records.

This place was none other than the Millennium forest. But that record did not call this place the millennium forest… rather it had a different name." The Slim Arm ape explained.

The Demon spine ape was both nervous and thrilled upon hearing all this. He did not expect his father to know so much.

"So what was the name of this forest in it?" The Demon Spine ape asked carefully.

"The records called this place as… the Dark Celestial's Tomb!" The Slim Arm ape revealed, his eyes flashing.

"The Dark Celestial's Tomb?!" The Demon Spine Ape repeated with shock. "Just what would make someone name a place with an imposing name like that?" he asked.

~Sigh~

The Slim Arm Ape shook his head.

"I don't know. All I know is that my master came in search of hope here. But all he found was despair… before he died, he seemed to be relieved. He felt that all the stress he had felt in his entire life was finally gone and he felt peace.

Yet even then, he had a slight regret in his heart. And thus he freed me, before giving me his final wish. He asked me to find the secret of this place and if it was possible, let it be revealed to the world… to his clan.

You see, he was shamed by his clan for being useless and weak. They thought that he was a disgrace, roaming around the world looking for forgotten myths and legends. Yet he wanted to prove to them that something existed." The Slim Arm ape explained.