"Hello, everyone. Thank you for the warm welcome, but I'd prefer it if you guys acted more casual and informal when around me." Yuan said to them after seeing them treat him as though he was some kind of emperor.
"My name is Yuan, and you can call me as such."
The people there looked at each other with doubtful gazes. Can they really address a Dragon Emperor so casually? They won't receive divine punishment from their ancestor for doing so?
"If you say so— Yuan." The Dragon King said.
"Anyways, let us introduce ourselves."
The royal family then began introducing themselves starting from the Dragon King.
Once everyone there was done, the Dragon King invited Yuan inside the building.
"By any chance, are you hungry? We are preparing for a feast right now." The Dragon King asked him sometime later after they were all sitting down.
"I am a little hungry." Yuan nodded.
"In the meantime, if there's anything we can help you with…"
"I am trying to find a way back to my own world, but I'm not sure how I even got to this place in the first place."
"Can you describe to me what had happened before you came here?" The Dragon King asked.
Yuan proceeded to recall everything that had happened.
"So you touched the entrance of an immortal cave and got teleported here… By the way you described it, I believe it was a teleport formation that specializes in long-distance transportation." The Dragon King said.
"Do you think I was teleported to the Fairy Paradise by accident?" Yuan then asked.
"No, I don't think so. Long-distance transportations usually have a set destination, and they are very precise. If the teleport formation took you to the Fairy Paradise, that means whoever created the teleport formation meant for it to happen."
"Then is there a way to return to my own world? Maybe if I find the teleport formation again..." Yuan then asked.
Back when he was teleported to the Ancient Dragon City, he was able to teleport back using the same teleport, so maybe he could do the same if he can find the Zither Goddess' teleport formation.
However, the Dragon King shook his head and said, "When you appeared in this world, you weren't on top of a teleport formation but high up in the sky, right? This means that the teleport formation that transported you here was a one-way teleport formation."
"So I cannot return to my world?" Yuan mumbled in a low voice.
"If you came from the upper heavens, you can use the Stairway to Heaven to return, but it will be a little tedious." The Dragon King said.
"What if I want to go to the lower heaven?" Yuan suddenly asked.
"The lower heaven?"
The Dragon King raised his eyebrows in a puzzled manner, but he didn't question it and answered, "That would be a little tricky. If you want to go to the lower heaven, you'll need to speak with the lord of this realm to get permission to go to the lower heaven, and the lower you go, the more resources you'll need to expend."
"The lord of this realm? Who is this lord?" Yuan asked.
"That would be the Fairy Empress…"
"She was the lord of this realm?!" Yuan was surprised to learn this information.
'I just left that place too…' He sighed inwardly.
"Are you really trying to go to the lower heaven, Senior Yuan?" Shen Shi asked him.
"Well… I have some business there, so yes…"
The Dragon King pondered for a moment before speaking, "Fortunately, you're only a Spirit Grandmaster, so it will be easier for you to descend— but not by too much, since you'll still need to speak with the Fairy Empress and have the resources to activate the formation."
"I will speak with the Fairy Empress later."
"Thank you." Yuan nodded.
"Is there anything else you want to ask?"
Yuan pondered for a bit before speaking, "Do you know of a place called the Ancient Dragon City?"
He wanted to know how the royal families outside that place view the city.
"The Ancient Dragon City?" The Dragon King seemed to be puzzled by Yuan's question for some reason.
"Yes… Is there something wrong with that place?" Yuan tilted his head in a questioning manner.
"The Ancient Dragon City? Isn't that a mythical world where only dragons live? It's a very popular legend." Shen Shi suddenly said.
"Eh? What do you mean a legend?" Yuan's eyes widened with surprise upon hearing her words.
"You don't know? The Ancient Dragon City is a legendary world that was created during the Primordial Era by the Dragon Ancestor because dragons were hunted for their precious blood, but nobody has ever been to that place— at least nobody in this world." Shen Shi explained.
"A legend…" Yuan mumbled to himself.
"It is also called the Dragon Paradise by some people." Shen Shi added.
"Why are you interested in the Ancient Dragon City?" The Dragon King asked him.
"Don't tell me that you'd actually came from that place?"
Although the Dragon King spoke as though it was a joke, nobody there was laughing, and they just silently stared at Yuan for a response.
"Of course not." Yuan quickly denied coming from the place, which was the truth.
"Then do you think the Ancient Dragon City exists somewhere out there?" Shen Shi asked a moment later.
"I do." Yuan nodded with a profound smile on his face.
Sometime later, the Dragon King was notified that the feast had been prepared, so everyone there began making their way towards the area.
"This feast is to honor the Dragon Emperor's presence!" The Dragon King announced.
Once the cheering stopped, they began feasting on the food, allowing Yuan to show off his eating talents.
"As expected of a Dragon Emperor! Even his food consumption is top-tier!"
"Look at how quickly he's cleaning up the plates! He's treating the food as though they are air!"