After commanding the guards to look for Yuan, the Dragon King gathered his family to notify them of the situation.
"What?! Senior Yuan disappeared from his room?!" Shen Shi exclaimed in a shocked voice.
And she continued, "Are you sure he didn't leave his room to go somewhere?"
"I have confirmed this with the guards— he hasn't left his room since he entered it, and the windows were still locked when I went to check on him." The Dragon King shook his head.
"Furthermore, the guards had sensed a disturbance inside his room before he disappeared, so there's a good chance that something had forced him to disappear."
"Why would anyone want to kidnap the Dragon Emperor?" Someone there asked.
"Maybe it's the Fairy Paradise! What if they released him so that they cannot be held accountable if anything happens to him afterward?!" Another person there speculated.
"That makes sense! How despicable!"
"It must be the Fairy Paradise! I found it suspicious how they allowed the Dragon Emperor to leave so easily!"
The majority of the royal family believed that the Fairy Paradise was responsible for Yuan's disappearance at this point.
"Calm down, everyone." The Dragon King eventually spoke.
"Although we are not always on good terms, I know the Fairy Empress very well. She is not the type to do something like this— at least I hope that's the case. Anyways, I will speak with the Fairy Empress later. Until then, you guys try to look for the Dragon Emperor."
"If he doesn't show up and the people from the upper heaven begins looking for him, we'll be responsible for his disappearance, as he'd disappeared while inside our territory! This will look incredibly bad for our royal family!"
The others began mumbling to each other.
Indeed, if someone had to take the blame for Yuan's disappearance, their royal family would be first on the list since Yuan had disappeared while staying in their family, and that could be disastrous for their family, especially since Yuan had connections to the one and only Dragon Ancestor!
"Uses whatever resources we have to find the Dragon Emperor! We will not rest until we find him or find whoever is responsible for his disappearance!"
Thus began the royal family's investigation on Yuan's disappearance that would lead them across the entire Fifth Heaven.
Meanwhile, the Dragon King went to meet the Fairy Empress outside the Fairy Paradise.
"Dragon King, why did you summon me? What is so urgent that you cannot wait for a few more days until my meeting with the Dragon Emperor?" The Fairy Empress asked him.
The Dragon King didn't want to waste any time and went straight into the topic, "The Dragon Emperor is missing. He'd suddenly disappeared from his room."
"What?" The Fairy Empress frowned upon hearing this information.
And then she spoke in a grim voice, "I hope you didn't call me here just to accuse me of kidnapping him or something like that, right?"
"To be completely honest with you, many people in my family believe the Fairy Paradise had something to do with his disappearance—"
Before the Dragon King could even finish his sentence, the Fairy Empress shouted in a loud voice, "You dare?!"
Her cultivation base exploded from her body, causing the surroundings to tremble.
However, the Dragon King remained calm and continued to speak, "Calm down, Fairy Empress. If I am going to blame you for his disappearance, would I even be here?"
The Fairy Empress retrieved her cultivation base after hearing his words, but the frown remained on her face.
"It's fact that the Dragon Emperor had disappeared, and he's only a Spirit Grandmaster, so it wouldn't take much effort for anybody above Spirit King to kidnap him. However, the question is who would kidnap him."
"I will tell you right now that the Fairy Paradise had nothing to do with his disappearance! If you dare blame us for it, we will not sit still and let you accuse us!" The Fairy Empress said.
If their Fairy Paradise takes blame for Yuan's disappearance and the god-like entity shows up, it would be disastrous for the Fairy Paradise.
In other words, unless they find Yuan, both the Fairy Paradise or the Royal Dragon Family could face severe consequences.
"I believe you, so why don't we cooperate to find out the real culprit behind his disappearance? If we don't find him and the people from the upper heavens show up, we'll both get in trouble."
The Fairy Empress didn't immediately respond and took a moment to ponder.
"Do you even have to think about this? If you don't help me, it will only make the Fairy Paradise look guilty! Furthermore, you imprisoned him for three days and even threatened to kill him!"
"Che!" The Fairy Empress coldly snorted.
"Fine, we will help you search for the Dragon Emperor."
"Thank you."
The Dragon King remained with the Fairy Empress for a little longer to explain the situation in more detail.
Meanwhile, in the Lower Heaven, Yuan was completely oblivious to the chaos that he'd caused by disappearing.
"Anyways, that's my story. What about you guys? What have you been doing for the past few months? Did you get a good look at the Lower Heavens, Yingying?" Yuan asked them after explaining his situation.
"Yes, I got to visit many places from all four continents. It was a great experience, and I even managed to increase my cultivation to the peak of Spirit Grandmaster from all the treasures we found." Lan Yingying said.
"Sounds like you guys had a great time," Yuan said with a smile on his face.
"What are your plans now, Young Master?" Feng Yuxiang suddenly asked him.
"Once I am done here, I will be challenging the Stairway to Heaven," he calmly responded.
"Eh? Really? I thought you wanted to explore the Lower Heavens a little more before leaving."
"That was my original plan, but I have more important priorities now."
He then turned to look at Song Ling'er and continued, "I missed the performance, right?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Do you still want me to do it?" Yuan asked.
"Of course! I will gather the disciples again! We will be ready for your performance tomorrow!" Song Ling'er eagerly nodded.
"Great," Yuan said.