The Rich Cultivator-Chapter 384. Dr. Juggler

Night had arrived.

Three moons floated in the sky, casting a gentle glow over the land. But the Colorful Forest was anything but dark. Under the celestial lights of moons, the entire landscape came alive in radiant hues. The trees shimmered with neon greens and electric blues. And some shades of colours are also shining. Leaves glowed like polished gemstones, while the rocks and even the earth seemed painted in vibrant strokes of red, orange, and violet.

Bathed in moonlights, the forest looked like a dream—or a drug-induced hallucination.

A small group made their way through this surreal wonderland.

"What are you looking for?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow as she noticed Tyler scanning the surrounding trees with intense focus.

"A tree shaped like a butt," he replied without missing a beat.

"...Huh?"

"Nah, never mind," Tyler said with a faint smirk. "Old joke. Used it twice already."

Lily blinked. "You’re weird."

"I was led astray by Mathilda."

"I didn’t do anything," Mathilda replied, dead serious. "But if you do find a tree shaped like a butt, you better tell me."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Anyway, why are the trees even colorful like this?"

Tyler stopped to inspect a bright turquoise fern glowing at his feet. "Good question. This doesn’t look natural. But I thought since it’s a ’Fun Streak Island’ under the ’Circus’, everything is painted for looks."

"From what I heard, someone once tossed a giant glitter bomb on the island," Lily said, shrugging. "Supposedly, it painted everything."

Tyler arched a brow. "You don’t actually believe that, do you?"

"Not really. Sounds like something the Clown would’ve done, though. According to the pirates at the tent, he wanted the whole island to look like a circus stage."

"Figures." Tyler looked around again, more thoughtful now.

Mathilda, walking slightly ahead, chimed in, "If I had to guess, they probably tampered with the water source. Tainted groundwater can mutate plant life—change pigments, bioluminescence, even shape. They may have injected alchemical agents into the soil as well."

"So we’re walking through a magically mutated art gallery?" Lily asked.

"Basically," Mathilda replied.

"We’re here," Mana said suddenly, her voice cutting through the discussion.

They came to a stop in front of a small white tent nestled beside a strange lake. The water swirled with streaks of orange, red, and pink. Instead of blending into a single color, the hues formed bold contrasts, like an oil painting with a life of its own.

The tent looked almost absurdly plain against the forest’s radiant backdrop. No guards. No barriers. Just a simple white structure near the water.

"This is it?" Tyler asked, eyes narrowing.

Mana nodded. "It matches the memory I extracted. Dr. Juggler’s lab."

"I don’t see any pirates," Tyler muttered, still scanning the area.

"Unless it’s absolutely necessary, no one comes here," Mana said. "Even the pirates avoid this place. They’re terrified of the doctor’s poisons."

The group approached cautiously, their eyes darting through the trees. Every step closer to the tent made the air feel heavier. The lake’s vibrant surface rippled unnaturally, even though there was no wind.

Then it hit them.

A wave of dizziness crashed over the group like a sudden tide. Tyler staggered, and even Mana, whose ghostly form rarely faltered, clutched her head.

The forest around them warped. Trees twisted, their colors blurring together. The ground undulated like it was breathing. It was like falling into a dream you couldn’t wake from.

"Tch. Petty tricks," Mathilda growled.

She reached into her pouch and pulled out a small packet, tossing its contents into the air. The powder hissed like water on a hot pan. For a moment, the air crackled—and then cleared. The dizziness faded, the illusions vanished, and the forest returned to its vibrant, though unsettling, stillness.

Everyone blinked as their vision stabilized.

"Not bad," Su Fei said, clearly impressed.

Mathilda winked. "Impressed, huh?." freewēbnoveℓ.com

Mathilda flexed her fingers, feeling her strength return. "Gas-based illusion toxins. Cheap, but effective if you’re not prepared."

"Is it normal for Toxins in the air?" Lily asked.

"No... Atleast not when the pirates are visiting."

"Looks like the good doctor knows we’re coming. He also guessed that we defeated his lackeys." Lily muttered, now more alert.

"Well, he still has an hostage," Tyler said. "So let’s proceed caution."

He took the lead, his boots crunching softly on the glowing grass, and approached the white tent with careful steps. Behind him, the others followed.

Boom!

Before they could step into the tent, a deafening explosion echoed through the forest, sending a shockwave rippling through the colorful trees. Birds scattered, tarantulas dropped from their webs in surprise, and a plume of black smoke shot out from the entrance.

A man burst from the tent, coughing and stumbling. He was wearing a white lab coat—now singed and stained with soot—and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses that sat askew on his face. His hair stood up in frizzled tufts, and his face was smudged black with soot, giving him the appearance of a deranged chimney sweep.

"Ugh... another failure," he rasped, voice hoarse as if he’d inhaled too much smoke. He pulled off his glasses, wiped them absentmindedly on his soot-covered coat—which only made the lenses dirtier—and shoved them back on.

"Dr. Juggler?" Tyler called out, raising a brow.

The man blinked and looked up, squinting through his foggy glasses. "Huh... Oh my stars... they actually brought you all here." His voice carried a strange mix of excitement and disappointment. "Though it looks like the delivery boys aren’t around anymore."

He didn’t seem to be addressing the group directly. Rather, he was talking aloud to himself—as if they were part of some unfolding play he had already rehearsed in his mind.

"Wait," he said, squinting again, "you lot managed to walk all the way here and avoid the toxins in the air?"

Mathilda crossed her arms. "Petty tricks don’t work on professionals."

Dr. Juggler’s eyes lit up with curiosity. "Impressive. That formula should’ve at least made you hallucinate mildly... But the fact that you were able to insta counter it is already impressive. Guess I’ll have to make a stronger one next time." Then, without warning, he flicked his wrist and tossed a vial into the air.

Tyler’s eyes narrowed.

Before the vial could hit the ground, a red shrine shimmered into existence behind them. A glowing symbol lit up under their feet.

Clink.

The vial froze mid-air.

"Time ," Su Fei announced softly, Three tails flicking behind her.

Dr. Juggler adjusted his glasses, completely unfazed. "Oh ho... a Time Domain. Fancy. Must be expensive to maintain and it seems like you didn’t use your full power. Guess that gives me only one option."

Calmly, he wiped the soot from his face using the sleeve of his lab coat. Beneath the grime, a layer of white face paint became visible—painted on in jagged patterns like a clown’s mask. This, it seemed, was his true face.

He looked like a scientist straight from a circus—a painted clown with a lab coat.

"Right," he muttered, almost theatrically. "Time for the performance."

From his left pocket, he pulled out a set of crystal balls and began juggling them with surprising dexterity. His hands blurred, the glass spheres catching the moonlight in rainbow hues.

"Not this one... not this... definitely not this..." he mumbled as he juggled faster and faster. Then, with a sharp inhale, he stopped suddenly, snatching one ball out of the air. Then he stored all the balls into his pocket.

"Gotcha." His lips curled into a wide, unsettling smile. "This one’s yours, I presume."

He held the crystal ball out for them to see.

Inside it, suspended in a swirling silver mist, was a young maiden—unconscious, her limbs curled as if floating in a dream.

"Alna!" Mathilda gasped, taking a step forward.

Dr. Juggler raised the crystal slightly. "Ah-ah-ah," he chided, wagging a finger. "One more step and I crush it. And with it, your dear friend. Hahaha!"

His laughter echoed through the colorful forest, as unsettling as it was theatrical.

Tyler stepped forward calmly, eyes steady. "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Dr. Juggler repeated with a wide grin. "Oh, so many things. A stable corrosive gel that doesn’t eat my socks. A pet that doesn’t explode. A performance worthy of applause... but right now?"

He scratched his head.

He spun the crystal ball once in his hand and then held it close to his chest. "I want to see what kind of specimens you all are."

"We’re not your test subjects," Lily snapped.

"Oh, but you were supposed to be," he said, tilting his head like a curious child. "Especially the girls. I need you girls for a small experiment And you..."—his eyes briefly flicked to Su Fei—"You weren’t even in the program. Intriguing. The RingMaster will definitely snatch you away from me if he saw a such a high level Fox bloodline."

"Release the girl," Tyler said firmly, Aura subtly rising around him.

Dr. Juggler raised a brow. "Threats? You’re in my forest. My lab. My stage. If you want her back, you’ll have to entertain me first. Also I have the hostage so don’t do anything funny. Why do I have to repeat myself."

He sighed.

Mathilda cracked her knuckles, a gleam in her eyes. She is looking at something in the Air.

Dr. Juggler’s grin stretched unnaturally wide as he noticed Mathilda, "Ohoho... looks like there is really a genius alchemist in your group."

Suddenly, he stomped his foot. A wave of colorful spores exploded from the trees around them, swirling like mist in the moonlight.

"Welcome"," he declared, arms spread, "to my Dream Carnival!"

The trees themselves seemed to shimmer and sway like a painted illusion. The lake behind the tent bubbled unnaturally, and faint music—like a broken calliope—played from nowhere.

It’s his Domain.