Chapter 57 A Good Wolf Cannot Withstand a Herd of Pigs

The bodies of all living creatures undergo aberrations, which can be called "monsters."
Such aberrations do not necessarily alter their forms into grotesque shapes—even simply growing larger falls under this category.
When beasts experience aberrations, they are known as "beast monsters."
Plants are named according to their species; for instance, when trees undergo aberrations, they are called "tree monsters."
Aquatic creatures that mutate become "water monsters."
That legendary colossal octopus of the ocean is thus a type of "sea monster."
If a living creature does not undergo aberration but instead gains intelligence through chance or destiny, it is called a "spirit" or "sprite."
If beast monsters awaken intelligence, they become "spirit monsters," usually possessing greater combat prowess than sprites.
Once a creature becomes a spirit, it can, by instinct or instruction, absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the essence of sun and moon, and cultivate its own powers and path. When it can take on human form, it is known as a "demon."
Sprites that transform become "demon sprites," while spirit monsters that transform are "demon monsters."
There is no doubt that demon monsters are naturally stronger than demon sprites.
The stage of demon beasts lies between spirit and demon; they have awakened intelligence and possess some cultivation, yet have not reached the level of transformation. Thus, they are called "demon beasts."
Both sprites and spirit monsters at this stage belong to the category of demon beasts.
The little fox’s battle form could also be considered a kind of aberration, and since she has awakened intelligence and attained cultivation, she falls under the domain of "spirit monsters," not ordinary sprites.
If she manages to transform into human form in the future, she would be a demon monster—namely, a fox demon or demon fox, rather than a weak and ordinary fox sprite.
...
Li Yunfei noticed the terrain rising steadily. After passing through a patch of forest and reaching a mountain peak, the scene before him opened up dramatically.
But when he saw what lay ahead, his eyes widened in shock, his face full of awe.
"Honghong, I finally understand why the Shennongjia Forest is plagued by wild boars," Li Yunfei said in a daze to the little fox beside him.
"Ee..."
The little fox’s cry echoed his astonishment.
Here, several mountains converged, three sides forming sheer cliffs, with only one gentle slope. The land in the middle dipped downward, creating a valley.
This valley, barely a hectare in size, was unexpectedly devoid of trees, covered instead by low grass.

From the mountain, looking down the slope, wild boars covered the landscape—black, mottled, white, brown. A rough estimate suggested there were several thousand.
Their average size was much greater than those at the outskirts of the forest; none had shoulder heights below one and a half meters, and most measured three or four meters in length.
At the center of the herd, some boars were almost as large as the beast monsters from the dungeon.
Their shoulders were over two meters high, bodies five or six meters long—all aberrant wild boar monsters.
According to system rules, these wild boar monsters would be rated between level 15 and 18.
Most astonishing to Li Yunfei was the wild boar king leading the herd.
It was a white wild boar; Li Yunfei was certain it had moved beyond "monster" to "spirit monster," and had reached the level of demon beast.
Its shoulders stood around four meters high, its body seven or eight meters long—slightly smaller than the dungeon monsters.
Yet, despite being less massive, its combat strength was formidable; even ten level-22 boss wild boar kings would be no match for it.
At this moment, the wild boar herd, led by the white boar king, formed a semicircle, blocking the slope tightly and besieging a group of bizarre beasts.
These beasts, for reasons unknown, had driven themselves into a dead end.
With cliffs on three sides and the only exit blocked by boars, destruction was inevitable.
The white boar king confronted the strange beasts without resorting to any tricks, simply lowering its head and charging forward, tossing and goring left and right.
Li Yunfei saw clearly: even when the strange beasts were nearly ten feet away, they were mysteriously flung into the air, their guts spilled and bodies torn asunder.
Moved by the sight, Li Yunfei formed a hand seal and recited: "The Supreme Elder splits into three pure forms, the Celestial Treasure Lord anchors three souls, Heaven and Earth unite with three flames, grant me magical eyes to see the hidden, hasten by decree."
Once his magical eyes opened, his vision was flooded with green.
Demonic energy of a dark green hue surged throughout the valley, emanating from both the wild boar herd and the strange beasts.
The closer to the center, the denser the demonic aura; nearer the periphery, it thinned.
The white boar king was enveloped by a transparent, colossal wild boar figure, as if it wore phantom armor.
When the king lifted its head, the phantom did likewise; its illusory tusks struck enemies and inflicted real harm.
Li Yunfei gained sudden insight—the phantom surrounding the white boar king was clearly a manifestation of its demonic power, much like the tearing weapons he possessed.
Indeed, the tearing weapons’ abilities were rooted in the wild boar demon’s innate skills.
As for the strange beasts crushed by the boar herd, they had slender legs, thick and long tails, gray fur with patches of white on their bellies.
Their overall appearance resembled forest wolves, but peculiarly, their heads were those of donkeys, and their cries matched as well.

The largest among them, from two yards away, stood upright and swung its claws at the white boar king, sending out waves of claw-shaped energy.
Yet, these assaults merely caused minor ripples in the king’s phantom body, unable to break through.
"Eeee-aw... eee-aw eee-aw..."
The biggest beast let out a series of donkey brays, which might have been comical, but Li Yunfei could not laugh—for in those cries, he heard endless grief and rage.
As he searched his memory, suddenly recalling what these creatures were, he exclaimed, "This is... a donkey-headed wolf?"
While researching animals of Shennongjia, he had come across this once-existing creature, though he hadn’t paid much attention at the time.
The strange beasts were indeed donkey-headed wolves.
Also known as "Shagong," they appeared between seven and seven and a half million years ago during the Pliocene. Today, their fossils reside in the national animal museum.
Legend holds they went extinct around three million years ago.
Between the 1960s and 1980s, villagers living near Shennongjia claimed to have seen donkey-headed wolves, but these reports were never verified and lacked evidence.
Li Yunfei never dreamed he would encounter so many living specimens deep within Shennongjia.
It now seemed those who claimed sightings might not have been fabricating for fame, as outsiders suspected.
If zoologists learned there were living donkey-headed wolves, they would surely be beside themselves with excitement.
Here, their numbers exceeded a thousand, but against the boar hordes, they were woefully outmatched.
Though sizeable, they were still smaller overall than the wild boars.
Donkey-headed wolves were swift and agile, with sharp teeth and claws, like assassins.
If they fought boars one-on-one or ambushed them, no number of boars would be safe from slaughter.
But when boars formed a massed charge, it was akin to assassins clashing head-on with heavy cavalry—inevitably, they became victims of massacre.
Wild boars were larger, and when charging as a group, even the fiercest and fastest donkey-headed wolves had no chance, forced to retreat step by step.
Once a donkey-headed wolf fell, it was instantly trampled into pulp by the boar herd.
This was the classic case of a mighty tiger unable to withstand a pack of wolves, and even the wolves unable to withstand a herd of boars.