The last skill was what messed up Mane's Trace, and it was so strong that Hildegarde had been affected just by being close to Mane. Silver was smart enough to use Distort on Mane when Mane was healing him, and since it wasn't a life threatening skill, Mane's senses didn't pick it up. It was highly useful and Mane was impressed by it. Now that he knew there was no danger, he could appreciate Silver's genius.
With his Trace back on he was able to tell the differences in the auras of the Crystal Monkeys here. Surprisingly, all of them were much older than Silver. In fact, from their auras Mane was able to tell that Silver was younger than all the monkeys by a large margin. Yet his energy level wasn't the least amongst the group, and that showed that Silver was very talented. At least he was more talented than any of the other monkeys. There was another interesting detail however.
"You are related?" Mane asked with a pleasantly surprised expression on his face. Silver was stunned when he heard Mane's words. But he eagerly nodded his head and pointed to the Emerald Monkey with an expression of pride on his face.
"Why aren't you green then?" Mane asked in confusion. The thing that he found interesting was Silver's origin. Silver's aura was very much linked to the Emerald Monkey's aura. In fact, Silver's aura felt like it was born from the Emerald Crystal Monkey's aura. The other Crystal Monkeys didn't share that kind of connection with the Emerald Crystal Monkey. That was why Mane was curious to know the relation between the two. And his guess was right. Silver confirmed that the Emerald Monkey was his mother! But if that was the case, why wasn't Silver also green?
Silver scratched his head in embarrassment and looked down. He kept moving his feet in anxious embarrassment whilst sneaking glances at the Emerald Crystal Monkey. The large beast that towered above even Silver gestured a few times to Mane whiles pointing at Silver. It seemed that it understood what Mane was asking and was providing an answer.
"He lost his color?" Mane was stunned by the reply that he received. Although logically he shouldn't be able to understand the monkeys, for some reason he did. Maybe it was because he had been speaking to Silver for some time now. Or it was because the mother and son duo were really good at gesticulating and signing their intentions, but they got their message across.
According to the Legendary Class Emerald Crystal Monkey, Silver had lost his color.
The Emerald Monkey nodded its head and pointed at the Light Tree behind them. Then it pointed at itself and to the other Crystal Monkeys as if to say that the tree was beneficial for them. Mane was confused for a short while as he tried to make heads and tails of what he was being told. He finally got it after a few more minutes of thinking.
"I see. The light from the Light Grass helps you maintain your true colors and form," Mane was very intrigued by what he was hearing. Since Crystal Monkeys were so rare, very few people in the universe knew about their physiology. In fact, before now Mane didn't know that Crystal Monkeys had other colors other than silver. He didn't know they were so intelligent that they could pick up human speech. And there had never been a sighting of a Heaven Realm Crystal Monkey – ever. But here he was, speaking to a Heaven Realm Crystal Monkey. And this monkey had a different color too. Initially, Mane thought that its color was due to its strength. That maybe Crystal Monkeys had their color changed to green when they broke into the Heaven Realm. But he was wrong. Apparently it wasn't that way. Green was the color she had been born with, and coincidentally she passed that color over to her son who had somehow lost his 'complexion'.
Light Tree seemed to do more than provide light for the crystal monkeys, and that may be the reason why they had transplanted the tree to their home. It not only gave them light, but maintained their 'complexions' and helped them in training. The rays from the Light Tree were absorbed into the bodies of the crystal monkeys whose special physiques allowed them to convert the Edict inside to their own.
Silver had run away from home a few years ago, and had been without the rays of the Light Tree for a long time now. It had slowly lost its color over the years, and its inner energy slowly stagnated at the 7th Stage of the Earth Realm. Without the rays of the Light Tree to 'feed' on and grow, it had not improved since the time it had left. It was only able to break through after Mane had unwittingly helped it out. If not, it wouldn't have improved.
Mane once again felt his Scholar abilities improve when he found this out. His strength climbed to the peak of the Mid-Level Scholar Realm. Mane was confused by the change. After all, he didn't figure this out himself. It was the Emerald Crystal Monkey that told him. But soon he understood the reason why.
Since his conversation partners were monkeys, Mane wasn't expected to understand what they were saying. Yet he did comprehend their words, and his manual credited to him as his genius. It was a welcome surprise, and a gift that Mane was more than happy to receive. Mane quickly passed on what he had learned to Hildegarde through Lock-On.
"So that is why Crystal Monkeys in the True Universe have their strength stuck in the Earth Realm," Hildegarde stated in understanding. She had been on the sidelines all this while. She didn't really understand what was going on, neither did she comprehend how Mane was able to communicate with the beasts. But now that she had been informed, she understood the lot.
"It seems that Crystal Monkeys are highly talented then. As long as they have the Light Tree, they can keep on growing." Hildegarde added.
Mane was inclined to agree with the small fairy. Silver was the perfect example of what Hildegarde was saying. He had broken through a small stage when Mane forced Edict into its body. Through the use of True Eyes Mane was able to see how it absorbed Edict into its body. Crystal Monkeys were basically sponges. They could absorb Edict endlessly.
The issue was the purity of Edict. They couldn't absorb tainted Edict because their bodies didn't have mechanisms for cleansing impure Edict. And that was why they found it hard to grow. And it was the reason why the Light Tree was so vital. It was one of the few treasures in the world that utilized pure and uncontaminated Edict to provide light. However, because there was just one tree and it wasn't that large, the Crystal Monkeys didn't get to absorb that much. That was why most of them were still stuck in the Earth Realm. In fact, all of them were, with the exception of the Legendary Class Emerald Crystal Monkey.
"Will he get his color back?" Mane asked, keeping his eyes on Silver who had been besieged by the other Crystal Monkeys and was seemingly answering some questions.
*Roar*
The Legendary Class Emerald Crystal Monkey nodded its head confidently whilst pointing to the tree.
"So as long as he stays, he will get his color back," Mane nodded in understanding.
"Didn't Silver say he will go with you?" Hildegarde asked.
"That was only to deceive us into coming here," Mane smiled bitterly and said.
"Is that what you think?" Hildegarde smiled.
"What are you getting at?" Mane furrowed his brows and asked.
"He didn't bring you here the first chance he got. In fact, it was only after you asked for the Revival Grass that Silver brought you here. And he was reluctant to come here the whole time. You guys basically forced him into making a decision."
"He only did that to make us believe that we should come here." Mane argued.
"And the fact that his mother claims that he run away from home years ago?" Hildegarde counted.
"Humans don't really come to the Dark Valley. So it makes sense that he was roaming the place whilst looking for someone to deceive." Mane bashed her counter.
"Mane, Silver bowed down to you. No matter how intelligent he is, he is still a beast. Beasts don't submit to a person and forget about it. They don't take that lightly." Hildegarde sighed and explained.
Mane furrowed his brows in thought. Right now he was confused, and didn't really know what to think. However, he didn't get to think for long. Silver seemed to have successfully shaken off the curious monkeys and made its way back to Mane.
*Roar*
Silver roared and beat its chest, drawing Mane's attention.
"What is it?" Mane asked
Silver beat its chest again. And then it pointed at the Emerald Crystal Monkey whilst nodding its head and drawing a flower in the air with its hands.
"She has a Revival Grass?" Mane asked, stunned by the most recent development.
What was the reason why Mane and Lily came to Dark Valley? They were looking for Revival Grass. That grass was their best bet to waking Lam up from his coma. And so they made this trip. A trip to a land that was feared by so many humans. Just so that they could find the flower that only grows in Dark Valley. And that was why they had followed Silver to this place in the first place.
The large monkey told them that they could find Revival Grass here, but they will have to get past a guardian. Yet when they came they found no Revival Grass. All they found was a Crystal Monkey habitat. And if not for Silver's intervention, Mane and the other monkeys would be embroiled in a fearsome fight right now. So you can imagine Mane's surprise when he found out that there was indeed Revival Grass in this place.
Silver nodded his head and Mane turned to the Emerald Monkey for confirmation. Once it nodded its head, Mane was filled with excitement. The largest monkey retreated to a spot behind the Light Tree and returned with a pouch. It pulled the pouch open and took out a beautiful leaf with seven clovers. The mere presence of the leaf filled this place with life, and Mane could tell right away what it was.
Revival Grass!
There was no doubt about it. It was the same as it was in the images Ivor had shown him before he made the trip here! The Emerald Monkey pulled out another Revival Grass and gave both to the dumbfounded Mane. Because the monkey was so large, the grass looked small when it was in its hands. But once they were in Mane's hands, he realized how large they were. Each clover was about the size of his fist, and the two flowers looked like small shirts in Mane's hands.
"Thank you," Mane expressed his thanks sincerely, and the Emerald Monkey nodded its head.