Yaoguai

Translated as strange creatures or unusual demons. Supernatural creatures and mutant monsters who come in all shapes, sizes, forms, and origins. A quasi-species as they can be humanoid, animal-like, to even be animated vegetables or eerie fog - all possessing uncanny properties that would inspire fear and discomfort. They all possess a variety of superhuman abilities and mystical powers, making them more ugly, terrifying, or magically become attractive and seductive.
Some Yaoguai are harmless, at most pranksters and gremlins, but there are many of them who are hostile to humans, devour their flesh and bones as sustenance, or control their mind to become their thrall and servants. They also are capable of sucking up souls of living beings, be it animal or human, in order to enrich their own life force to increase their power and as an aggressive form of cultivation.
They possess various kind of magical powers of illusion, shapeshifting, invisibility, and so on to the point where it is difficult for the City Guards to vanquish them. One method to ward off evil Yaoguai are Religious Temples or splashing Black Dog blood around the house. It is possible for a Demoted God to become a Yaoguai, where they've lost their way and hope and let their negativity consume them to lose their divinity.
Yauguai often reside alone or in tribes within in the mountains, forests, hidden locations outside of the city, or even in abandoned temples that lost their religious protection. They are capable of posing as humans to hide amongst them, even take on jobs to support themselves or sneak on unaware prey to sustain their life force.