The beliefs of many small religions were actually vague and insubstantial, centered on gods people had invented or mortals they had simply deified.
Seventh Master and I believed in Daoism, but did Daoism have immortals?
We believed immortals existed. If we did not, we would be denying our own faith.
But had we ever seen a real immortal?
We had not.
Then had the Daoist priests throughout the dynasties ever seen them?
According to some ancient Daoist texts, historical records, and unofficial histories, many Daoist priests had.
But people could lie. They could exaggerate what they had seen and heard, or embellish it.
Even if they really had seen genuine immortals, I personally thought those immortals might not have been what we understood immortals to be.
If immortals as we understood them really existed in this world, we had Pangu, who had created heaven and earth, Fuxi and Nüwa, and the Jade Emperor.
The West also had its gods, its pantheons, and Adam and Eve.
So which side's gods had actually created heaven and earth?
Which side's gods had created humanity?
And which side's gods governed the laws and order of heaven and earth?
Following that reasoning, one side's gods would inevitably have to be disproved. One side's gods had to have been invented.
Suppose I rejected the Western account of gods for the moment and firmly believed that only our country had immortals, and that our immortals had created everything.
But if that were really the case, if our immortals were so omnipotent, why did Westerners not believe in them? Why was their faith not Daoism? Why did they not worship the Old Man of the Moon and the God of Wealth?
Why did Westerners not report to the Netherworld after they died?
From this, I could infer that