The Rich Cultivator-Chapter 383. Into the Colourful Forest

Tyler and the others had spent an entire day inside the massive tent of wonders. After indulging in sightseeing, exotic performances, and extravagant shopping, everything seemed perfect—until they realized something was wrong.

Alna, the cheerful guide assigned to escort them, had vanished. After a brief search, they discovered the truth: she had been kidnapped. Under the threat of a group of pirates, Tyler and the girls reluctantly agreed to follow them.

With heavy steps and guarded expressions, the group—Tyler, Lily, Mana, Mathilda, and Darla—was led towards the other half of the Island. The five pirates surrounding them bore tattoos of grinning clowns on their arms, a telltale sign of their affiliation with the Circus who rules this Island.

Eventually, they arrived at the edge of the island, where an uncanny sight met them—the entrance to the Colorful Forest.

Despite its cheerful name, the Colorful Forest was anything but comforting. The trees were unnaturally vibrant, as if dipped in fresh paint—bright reds, glowing blues, rich purples, Goldish Yellow and emerald greens. Every plant, bush, and even the rocks seemed doused in surreal hues, the air shimmering with unnatural vibrancy. It was nearing evening, and the multicolored leaves reflected the sunset in brilliant, disorienting patterns.

"Where is Alna?" Tyler asked as they stepped into the forest.

"She’s deeper inside," one of the pirates replied vaguely, refusing to meet his gaze.

As they advanced, Tyler noticed strange creatures nestled in the trees—giant tarantulas, each as large as a grown man’s forearm, clinging to their webs like patient hunters. Strangely, even these spiders bore striking colors—bright reds and blues—and their webs glimmered in rainbow threads.

"Don’t worry about them," said another pirate. "These Mini Tarantulas won’t bother us unless we provoke them."

Without slowing his pace, Tyler gave a slight nod, but his eyes remained vigilant. Despite the pirates’ assurances, he didn’t trust the surroundings—or the company.

"Those are Mini?" Darla mouth twitched as she muttered.

They moved deeper into the forest. Soon, one of the pirates exchanged a subtle glance with his companions and gave a signal. With an almost synchronized motion, they summoned their weapons—short blades, curved sabers, and concealed crossbows.

Tyler stopped. The others followed suit.

"What do you plan to do?" Tyler asked coldly, his tone shifting. "It’s true you have a hostage, but that doesn’t mean we’ll stand by while you try to ambush us. We just met that girl yesterday."

The pirates hesitated, clearly taken aback by Tyler’s composure.

"Also," he continued, his gaze sharpening, "you’re all just Master-level Immortal Practitioners. So I suggest you think logically before making any foolish decisions."

Silence. The forest held its breath.

Then—"Now!" one pirate barked.

Suddenly, glowing lines emerged from beneath the ground, encircling the group. They had walked right into a trap.

A transparent dome shimmered into existence, enclosing them in an invisible cage of energy.

"Hahaha! You fools think you’re clever?" one of the pirates laughed. "This is our territory. Did you really think we’d be scared?"

Tyler ignored their taunts, crouching slightly and pressing his palm against the glowing array etched into the earth.

"Heh... What’s wrong? Trying to break it already?" another pirate mocked. "Don’t waste your time. This array can’t be cracked so easily—"

"It’s an Absorption Array fused with a Material Suppression seal Array. " Tyler said aloud, cutting him off. "These types are commonly used in prisons. The longer you stay inside, the more it drains your Prana and Aura. Eventually, you collapse."

The pirates stopped laughing.

Mathilda frowned. "That sounds like a pain in the ass. Can we break it?"

"Not easily," Tyler said, standing up. "But it’s manageable. The key is to prevent total depletion of your energy. If you lose it all, you’ll fall unconscious. That’s their plan—to wear us down slowly."

The pirates exchanged uneasy glances. Clearly, they hadn’t expected their trap to be so easily analyzed.

"Wait... Is he an array expert?" one of them whispered. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

But Tyler was no longer interested in a slow solution.

"We don’t have time for that," he muttered. Though he could use his unlimited supply of Aura and Prana stones to overwhelm the array and force it to break through energy overload, he had no intention of playing defense.

"I’ve decided to end this quickly." Tyler said loudly.

The pirates blinked in confusion.

One of the Pirate hesitated.

"What?" Another pirate noticed that and jabbed at him.

"Well is that shrine was always there?" The pirate pointed towards a direction.

"What shrine?" The others looked with confusion.

In the center of some dense trees, they saw a red shrine. It seems like an old shrine that is blended with the surrounding for years. The structure suddenly shimmered with divine energy, casting an ethereal light over the woods.

"W-What is that shrine?" one of them asked.

"Something is not right. Focus! Capture them first—deal with the shrine later!" another barked.

The five pirates lunged toward Tyler’s group, blades drawn.

"Su Fei..." Tyler whispered.

A moment later, a clear, melodious voice echoed through the air.

"Time Reversal."

Reality itself bent backward.

The charging pirates froze mid-strike—then were thrown backward, flying in reverse as if someone had hit rewind on time itself.

Then she appeared.

Su Fei descended like a spirit of forest, her long hair fluttering in the wind, nine shimmering tails trailing behind her. Her eyes sparkled with divine light. Calmly, she walked to the edge of the array and tapped the invisible barrier with one of her tails.

The entire formation shattered like glass, releasing a ripple of multicolored light that danced across the forest.

The pirates were stunned, lying in a heap, groaning in confusion.

"W-Who the hell is she?" one gasped.

"Hmph... I can’t use my powers fully." Su Fei ignored them and said to Tyler coolly

Tyler walked over and adjusted his coat. "Yeah like Hell I will allow you to use your full power."

Tyler then looked at the Fallen Pirates.

They clutched their heads, their faces contorted in agony, as if a thousand ice needles were piercing their minds from the inside.

"Mana," Tyler called out softly.

"On it," she replied.

Floating gracefully in the air with her usual carefree poise, She quickly lunged towards the pirates. She possessed one of the pirate who seems like the leader of this small group. The man twitched violently as his body arched, then fell limp. His eyes turned milky white, and he began to float unnaturally, as if suspended by invisible strings.

"It stills gives me the creeps every time," Darla muttered, folding her arms as she watched the strange possession unfold.

Tyler didn’t respond. He waited as Mana scoured through the man’s memories. After a few seconds, the pirate’s body fell back to the ground like a discarded doll, and Mana hovered up above them, her expression unreadable.

"So?" Tyler asked.

"There’s a hidden facility inside this forest," Mana said. "A laboratory. And it’s not just any lab—it’s one run by someone named Dr. Juggler."

"A lab?" Mathilda’s eyes lit up with interest. "Like an alchemy lab?"

Mana nodded. "Exactly. According to his memories, this Dr. Juggler is one of the top crew members of the Circus Pirate Group. He’s the one who gave the order to kidnap us—specifically the girls."

A tense silence settled over the group.

Tyler tilted his head. "Dr. Juggler, huh? Like a Juggler role in a Circus? What’s his cultivation level?"

"He’s a Five-Star Grandmaster Mage," Mana replied. "But his strength doesn’t just come from his cultivation. His potions, toxins, and biological tricks are the real problem. According to this guy’s memories, even touching one of his needles could paralyze a Grandmaster Level Titans."

"Ohh~" Mathilda giggled, "A mad scientist, huh? I like it! Let’s go meet him—I want to see whose poisons are deadlier, his or mine!"

She spoke like a child eager to meet a new friend at the playground... one that made toxic death juice for fun.

Su Fei glanced at the pile of groaning pirates nearby. "Are you gonna kill them?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

Her nine elegant tails shimmered momentarily before retracting and vanishing into three, then finally disappearing altogether. She seemed to melt back into her more human form, her fox features hidden once more.

Tyler, deep in thought, narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t pondering the pirates. No, he was genuinely curious: had Su Fei made her tails invisible, or had they actually disappeared?

Acting on pure scientific curiosity (or so he claimed), his hand suddenly moved and spanked her butt.

Su Fei’s eyes widened in shock. She froze, then glared at him with all the fury of a thousand burning suns.

"Huh? I was just checking if the tails are still there," Tyler said with the most innocent smile he could muster.

Su Fei let out a sharp, suspicious snort, clearly not buying it—but not murdering him either.

"I want to check too!" Mathilda chirped, hand raised like a kid volunteering in class. She dashed toward Su Fei with glee.

Before she got close, a gust of wind whooshed past—and Mathilda was sent flying backward, tumbling through the air like a floppy doll.

A few minutes later...

With Mana in the lead and they continued moving deep in the forest. Behind them, Mini tarantulas began spinning shimmering rainbow silk across five frozen ice statues, like decorators in a haunted fairy tale.