As I made my way through the wide area from the east Izumo Rest Area to Oonaobi Shrine, I saw a strange youkai I'd never seen before being fought by a level 81 character. Unfortunately, I was only able to catch the very end of the fight and only glimpse its name, so at the time, I wouldn't have been able to provide many details about it. However, I did see that it was large. It was even bigger than the Yagyou-san in the area.
When I asked the player who had defeated it what it was, they simply said "world boss". They left soon after before I could find out more about it. Later on, in looking through the Youkai List, I was able to find the youkai I'm confident was it: the Look-Up Nyuudou, a youkai native to the areas around Sekigahara and Echigo.
What does all of this mean? Has anyone encountered this before, or had a similar experience? The player called it a "world boss," rather than a "bug" or "glitch". That sounds like it's not only intentional, but a normal part of the game. Does the game spawn higher-level youkai in lower-level areas to function as bosses, and if so, where and how often do they happen? Or was this something else entirely?
Please share your thoughts, theories, and experiences below.