Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil.

Professor Sprout, combining practical needs with the arrangement of classroom tasks, explained clearly, "Students who have mastered the skills can take this opportunity to consolidate and improve, while those with weak foundations or who have not yet fully mastered the skills can use this practical exercise to make up for their shortcomings. Next, we will all practice in groups, specifically practicing the defensive and expulsion spells against the Devil's Web."

After the classroom instructions were given, the students around them moved their feet and lined up to take their places, fully engaged in the pre-class preparations. Only Puni, standing in the crowd, was distracted for the first time in class, his thoughts completely detached from the current classroom order.

The scene of the Devil's Network shedding its disguise and suddenly launching an attack was deeply imprinted in his mind. He replayed it repeatedly, every detail crystal clear, and he kept reviewing the whole process.

At that moment, the blurred magical energy trajectory around the Devil's Net suddenly expanded and extended during the hunt. The originally simple and orderly magical energy circuits rapidly multiplied and intertwined, and the overall structure became more and more complex and dense. However, due to the insufficient level of his own holy light, he could only capture the surface anomalies and could not see through the complete process of magical energy reconstruction, let alone analyze the core principle of its anomaly.

Even with incomplete observations, Puni still had a strong intuition. The process by which the Devil's Net instantly restructured its magical framework, switched forms and attack modes was highly consistent with the magical reconstruction logic when a wizard casts a shapeshifting spell. As long as he could thoroughly analyze this pattern of change, it would definitely help him delve deeper into the core mysteries of shapeshifting and break through his current learning bottlenecks.

"If my level were higher, with holy light enveloping my eyes, I would be able to see through other people's magic power and circuits directly."

With this thought in mind, Puni no longer hesitated.

He held his breath and concentrated, mobilizing the holy light source power accumulated within his body, slowly pouring it into his eyes, actively activating the holy light, attempting to break through the current level's constraints and complete the ability advancement.

Similar to the physical sensation of first awakening the Holy Light, his sensory world underwent a radical change in an instant. The real scene before him began to shatter and peel away layer by layer, and his vision was filled with fine black cracks. Countless colorful and dazzling magical lines and blocks of color surged out from the cracks and floated everywhere in his field of vision.

The scattered magical elements did not drift aimlessly; instead, they followed specific rules, constantly converging, piecing together, and recombining to outline countless precise and clear magical structural patterns.

The number of patterns continues to increase, the arrangement becomes more and more intricate, and the layers are stacked and intertwined to vividly present the magical essence of all things in the world.

The complex images kept filling the field of vision until the concrete outlines were completely blurred.

In a fleeting moment, the shattered vision quickly converged and reconstructed, and the real-life scene of the Hogwarts greenhouses reappeared before our eyes.

The surrounding greenery, wooden crates, classmates, and teaching aids have all been restored to their original state, but in Puni's eyes, everything is different.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, calmly savoring the transformative process of this advancement in his abilities.

He remembered that when he first activated the Holy Light, his perspective was macroscopic, allowing him to overlook the overall magical workings of all things.

As his strength grew, his observational dimension gradually shifted to the microscopic level, allowing him to capture the most subtle magical flows and structural changes beneath the surface of all things.

Eddie turned to look at Puni, who was standing there lost in thought, and gently beckoned to him: "Puni, come and line up, it's almost our turn for practical training!"

Puni snapped out of her daze, gathered all her thoughts and magic, strode forward, stood firmly behind Eddie, and joined the queue.

Eddie glanced at him sideways: "You were spacing out for a long time, you were completely blank."

“No,” Puni shook his head gently. “I just went to bed too late last night and was a little sleepy.”

Marcos, who was nearby, overheard the conversation and immediately came over: "Why are you up so late? I went to bed a long time ago."

"Nothing, just reading too much." Puni explained simply why he stayed up all night. He then looked away and gazed at the Christmas cactus growing quietly in the wooden box not far away. After the holy light covered his eyes, the ordinary magical plant in front of him showed a completely different appearance.

Beneath the lush green leaves that were visible to the naked eye, layers upon layers of magical energy were clearly visible. Every trajectory of magical energy flow and every point where energy converged was clearly visible, without the slightest blurriness.

Puni noticed the difference in magical power between magical plants and ordinary potion ingredients. Artificial potion ingredients that have been artificially purified and processed have a regular and simple magical trajectory, which is mostly presented in the form of fixed symbols and is very easy to find. However, the magical structure of naturally growing magical plants is several times more complex.

The countless magical veins of the Christmas cactus are interconnected and interwoven, forming a complete and precise energy circulation system. The movement of each vein will affect the magical flow of the entire plant, which creates its lively and graceful state as it sways in the wind.

The new magical vision captivated Puni. He gazed quietly at the magical patterns of the plant, immersing himself in the observation and understanding of the essence of magic, completely ignoring the noise around him.

Just then, Professor Sprout's gentle voice called out clearly, interrupting his thoughts.

"Puni, are you ready? Step forward and prepare to practice with your wand in hand."

Seeing this, Marcos quickly reached out and gently nudged Puni's shoulder, whispering a reminder to snap him out of it.

Puni snapped out of his reverie, immediately pulling himself out of his immersive observation. Realizing the rudeness of his daydreaming in class, he stepped forward, bowed slightly to Professor Sprout, and sincerely apologized: "I'm very sorry, Professor, I was momentarily distracted."

Professor Sprout did not reprimand him. Instead, his eyes were full of gentle concern as he softly comforted him, "I understand. Your grades are very good. You must spend a lot of time studying, right? That's good. Of course, you should also take care of your health."

Then she changed the subject, her expression becoming more serious, and solemnly instructed, "However, you must be extremely vigilant. The hidden dangers of the Devil's Web are no less than those of a raging monster. In fact, in dark environments, its attacks are even more sudden and its lethality is more concealed."

"The core of this practical lesson is to teach everyone to use basic spells proficiently, build self-protection with the help of a magic wand, and calmly deal with and protect themselves when encountering a devil's web attack."

"I understand, Professor. I will do my best to complete the practical exercise." Puni gripped his wand tightly, adjusted his state, and focused his mind to prepare for the next challenge.

Professor Sprout watched as he adjusted his posture and then assumed a ready-to-practice stance, placing one hand on the latch of the black sealed wooden box lid while holding his wand at all times.

"I will open the box, and you will have more than ten seconds to react." She explained the practical rules in detail. "There is no need to force a breakthrough. As long as you can successfully force the plant back, you can use either the Light Illumination Charm or the Fire Illumination Charm, whichever spell you are most familiar with. If there are any signs of loss of control, I will intervene to suppress it immediately."

After confirming that Puni was standing steadily and holding his wand properly, Professor Sprout asked softly, "Ready?"

“I’m ready, Professor.”

With a crisp click of the latches, the lid of the sealed wooden crate was fully opened.

The devil's net inside the box was completely exposed, having shed its previous mimicry and camouflage. The entire vine was a deep, rich dark green, with taut branches and leaves.

But before he could think further, the exposed devil's net had already sensed the vibrant life force. Several thick, dark green vines shot out instantly, their branches stretching out and attacking from multiple directions—above, below, left, and right—with tremendous speed, aiming directly at Puni's body, attempting to instantly entangle and bind him.

Faced with the sudden onslaught of vines, Puni remained calm and composed. With a slight flick of his wrist, he precisely swung his wand and uttered a short, powerful incantation.

"Fluorescent flash!"

A dazzling white light burst forth from the tip of the staff, extremely bright, like a barrier of intense light that suddenly exploded, instantly covering the area in front of the entire box.

The pure magic of light precisely restrained the demonic web of darkness; the vines that were attacking swiftly stopped abruptly the moment they touched the white light.

The entire Devil's Net instantly exhibited a strong shrinking reaction. All the outstretched vines rapidly retracted, not daring to touch even a trace of the white light. Almost instantly, they all retreated deep into the wooden box, tightly curling into a ball, no longer daring to extend outwards even a fraction, completely losing their previous aggressiveness.

The practical course officially ended, and the students in the greenhouse gradually put away their wands and textbooks, leaving the teaching area in twos and threes.

Compared to the usual tedious and repetitive watering, pruning, transplanting and maintenance, the practical class where they could face dangerous magical plants and cast spells to defend themselves was obviously more popular with everyone. Everyone had an unsatisfied look on their faces as they walked and discussed the moment when the devil's net attacked.

The crowd in the greenhouse gradually dispersed, but Puni remained where he was, not immediately following the group away.

As Professor Sprout tidied up his magical wooden box and gardening tools for teaching, he casually kept an eye on the movements behind him.

Hearing no footsteps moving away from behind her, she stopped what she was doing, humming a light tune as she turned around.

"You stayed behind specifically because you still have questions about the course content that you'd like to ask me?"

Puni, clutching his neatly bound notebook, stepped forward: "Professor, I want to understand something. What exactly is the principle behind the Devil's Web's perfect mimicry of a Christmas cactus, making it flawless?"

Upon hearing this question, a hint of approval flashed in Sprout's eyes, and a smile appeared on his lips: "Your observation and perspective are always very special. You always manage to ask the most crucial and easily overlooked core questions."

She gathered her thoughts and patiently explained: "The mimicry behavior of the devil's web has a clear trigger mechanism. When it senses a threat in its surroundings, needs to avoid risks, or is hungry and needs to lure prey closer, it will actively activate its morphological mimicry, changing the color of its branches and leaves and its growth pattern."

"Its mimicry range is very wide. It can shrink its size and weaken its presence, disguising itself as various common green plants such as ivy on walls and ordinary vines in the wild."

Sprout continued to add key points, "But of all the mimicry forms, the one that mimics the Christmas cactus has the fastest switching speed, the fewest flaws, and the best camouflage effect, making it its most commonly used hunting camouflage form."

She then revealed a secret connection that few people knew: "The reason why such perfect mimicry can be achieved is that the two are from the same lineage and belong to the same magical plant family."

“Homologous plants?” Puni’s pupils dilated slightly, and a clear look of surprise appeared on his face. He quickly sorted out the connection between the two in his mind, and then tentatively offered his understanding, “Professor, is their relationship similar to that of wild gray wolves and domestic dogs? They are of the same origin and species, but have developed completely different habits and forms through evolution?”

"This analogy is very apt, which shows how sharp your thinking is," Sprout praised generously. "You can understand the origin of the two entirely by following this logic."

Following Puni's train of thought, she slowly recounted the ancient history of magical plant evolution, filling in the gaps in the knowledge of origins not covered in class: "In the ancient times when the magic system was not yet perfected, the Devil's Web was a highly dangerous magical plant with great deterrent power. Wizards at that time who wanted to explore the heart of the rainforest or the secret realm of the swamp had to travel in groups and cover each other, otherwise they would be easily attacked and strangled by the Devil's Web and perish under its vines."

"As the magic system of the wizarding clan continued to improve, various spells to restrain dark plants were created one by one, and the survival advantage and threat level of the devil's web gradually decreased. Later, wizards who were skilled in herbal improvement and magical taming captured and tamed the devil's web in its docile state, solidified its harmless form through magical means, and after many generations of cultivation and improvement, the docile, easy-to-care-for, and highly ornamental Christmas cactus was finally born."

Puni looked down at the neatly written notes in his hand, sorting out the logic by comparing the knowledge points on them. His brows furrowed slightly: "Professor, according to this evolutionary logic, the wild Devil's Net came first, and then the artificially improved Christmas cactus came later. The timeline is completely reversed. So why can the Devil's Net accurately replicate the appearance of the Christmas cactus?"

“It’s not that the devil’s web imitates the Christmas cactus, quite the opposite.” Sprout clearly corrected his misconception and explained confidently, “All the physical characteristics, leaf shapes, and growth postures of the Christmas cactus are themselves one of the stable mimicry forms of the devil’s web.”

"In the absence of hunting, external threats, and a stable environment, wild devil's cactus will spontaneously exhibit a gentle, verdant appearance with gracefully spreading branches and leaves, making it highly ornamental," she added with a smile. "It was precisely because of this docile and beautiful original form that ancient wizards used magic to permanently solidify it, cultivating it into the popular horticultural magical plant we know today. It must be said that the Christmas cactus is indeed very pleasing and cute."

Upon hearing this, Puni smiled with relief, and the doubts in his heart were suddenly cleared up.

He suddenly realized that Professor Sprout and Hagrid, who was in charge of raising magical creatures, had very similar traits.

Both of them held the utmost tenderness and affection for life nurtured by magic. Regardless of whether a plant was dangerous or not, or whether a beast was fierce or docile, they could see its inherent qualities and genuinely respected and loved every kind of magical life.

To ensure that Puni fully grasps the principles of mimicry and witnesses the complete form-changing process firsthand, Sprout casually pulls out a folded wand from his pocket, his expression returning to seriousness: "Even after domestication and improvement, the dangerous nature of the wild devil's web has never changed. Since you are so curious about its mimicry mechanism, I will demonstrate a complete form-disguise process for you right here and now."

Puni immediately closed the notebook and carefully put it into his bag: "Thank you for your help, Professor!"

"It is my duty to answer students' academic questions." Sprout waved his hand gently, leading Puni back five meters to a pre-cleared safe area to eliminate any unexpected risks.

After confirming that the site was safe, she raised her hand and opened the black special cultivation box that had sealed the Devil's Net, allowing the dark green vines to be fully exposed to the air.

"The mimicry activation of the Devil Web requires a stable, humid, and threat-free environment as a trigger condition."

Sprout explained while raising his hand to cast a spell.

A light blue, transparent magical field instantly formed, steadily enveloping the entire cultivation box and completely isolating the plants inside from the outside environment.

The force field quickly created a cool, damp, and warm sealed environment, perfectly replicating the tranquil atmosphere of a rainforest swamp.

In a suitable environment, the taut vines of the Devil's Web gradually relax, the thick branches sway gently, and the restless magic is completely calmed.

Under the continuous nourishment of the magical field, its deep, dark green leaves gradually lost their heavy hue, becoming clearer and more transparent, and the shape of the leaves also became more graceful and refined.

In just a few breaths, the originally ferocious and menacing vines completely transformed into a vibrant, gentle, and harmless Christmas cactus. Its shape, color, and swaying posture were exactly the same as the sample in the classroom, without the slightest flaw.

Immediately afterwards, Sprout raised his hand again and pressed down on his wand, casting a second solidification spell.

Chapter 120 Christmas Claw Orchid

At this moment, Sprout was completely replicating the entire process of the Devil's Web mimicry in the greenhouse. Puni activated his Holy Light throughout the process, staring intently at the magical plant in the box, taking in every change in magical power. Under the influence of the Holy Light, he clearly grasped the core principle of the Devil's Web mimicry.

The magical veins on the surface and inside of the plant begin to shrink and recombine in an orderly manner. The sharp magical traces that were originally angular and extremely aggressive gradually soften and polish, and the lines become gentle and smooth. The entire magical structure is continuously fine-tuned, gradually conforming to the original magical arrangement of the Christmas cactus, and finally completing a full-scale replication, completely disguising itself as a harmless plant from the root of the magic.

Witnessing this complete magical transformation process firsthand, Puni's many accumulated doubts were all resolved, and his understanding of transformation magic and magical reconstruction instantly reached a new level, gaining far more than he had learned in regular classroom settings.

He dared not delay for a moment, immediately lowered his head and opened his notebook, gripped the quill pen and quickly wrote, the pen tip gliding rapidly across the paper, precisely outlining the structure of the magic circuit he observed with his naked eye, from the original and dangerous devil network to the neat patterns of the mimicked Christmas cactus, every node and every trajectory was recorded in detail.

Standing to the side, Sprout glanced down at his notebook. The paper was covered with neat, precise lines and patterns, the composition was orderly and highly systematic. However, these abstract patterns, which deviated from conventional herbal illustrations, were completely beyond her comprehension, making it impossible for her to identify the specific content.

However, she did not delve into it. This has always been the case in the magical world. Every wizard's perception, understanding, and representation of magic are unique. Many things rooted in personal magical insights cannot be empathized with or interpreted by others. This is a perfectly normal phenomenon.

Puni quickly finished writing, closed the quill, and with a slightly shy expression, turned to Sprout and softly requested, "Professor, could you please restore the Devil's Web to its original form? I would like to observe its mimicry changes once more to complete the record."

“Of course, no problem.” Sprout readily agreed to his request.

As soon as she finished speaking, she took out another clean parchment and used magic to transform it into a small prey. She tentatively approached the stable, mimicry-like devil's net. The disguise, which had lost the support of environmental magic, instantly collapsed, and dark green vines suddenly burst forth, tearing and wrapping around the parchment. In a short while, they completely shredded it, restoring it to its ferocious original state.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to review the observations, Puni reopened his notebook and, comparing it with the new visual images, corrected the minor errors on the drawings one by one. He carefully marked the differences in the magical trajectory and the patterns of node changes before and after the Devil's Web was simulated, and fully supplemented the different details of the two observations, making the recorded content more complete and accurate.

Having thoroughly grasped the patterns of change, Puni raised his wand, autonomously mobilized his internal magic, and cast a spell adapted to the environment. A pale blue, low-temperature magic field instantly enveloped the incubation box, and a cold, humid magical environment quickly took shape. The restless demonic net in the box calmed down again, the color of the branches and leaves gradually brightened, and the magic circuits were reorganized, achieving a second perfect mimicry.

While maintaining the spell's effect, Puni raised his hand to continue refining the note pattern, marking each of the dynamically changing key points.

Watching his smooth, effortless spellcasting movements, Sprout's eyes were full of surprise: "You've actually mastered this spell? I thought you only had a dabbling in it."

Puni nodded slightly and replied truthfully, "This is what Professor Flitwick taught me privately. It's a special spell for processing potion materials, and I've been practicing it consistently."

Sprout suddenly slapped his forehead, then smiled with relief: "I had forgotten about that. You go to Professor Flitwick's every week for private lessons, so it's perfectly normal for you to learn these kinds of advanced auxiliary spells."

Looking at the composed and serious young man in front of her, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "This spell requires extremely high precision in controlling the magic power, and the margin for error is very low. Many senior students find it difficult to master. How long did it take you to completely stabilize the casting rhythm?"

“Well, it took about two whole days,” Puni said softly, with a hint of self-doubt. “I always felt that the progress was too slow. After I finished my training, Professor Flitwick didn’t look very happy. He must have been very dissatisfied with my performance.”