The priests naturally wouldn't speak ill of Ji Xiang when he asked to borrow books. On the contrary, they were very happy to lend their scriptures and classics for Ji Xiang to view and read.
This wasn't out of generosity, but rather a strategy for survival in a foreign land: using other countries' religions to package themselves and establish a firmer footing was a way of life. In the beginning, when the priests came to the Middle Kingdom of the Ming Dynasty, they still used Buddhist monastic identities, claiming to be monks from India.
Initially, they also wore the clothes of Buddhist ascetics. This way, ordinary people would mistake them for common monks and not harbor hostility. Of course, to integrate with the local culture, they didn't preach openly at first, maintaining a very low profile. After all, their first priority was to gain the favor of the locals as much as possible.
However, on the land of the Ming Dynasty, the status of religion was not as lofty as in the West. If they wanted to preach using the prestige of Buddhism, they would have to see if Buddhism agreed.
The fake foreigners wanted to impersonate bald asses. The Buddhist followers were generally easygoing, but they weren't blind. These foreign devils openly competing for incense and offerings – how could this be tolerated?
In short, due to many issues, Catholic priests eventually changed into Confucian attire. Confucianism, for these Westerners, was not overly exclusionary.
Therefore, the priests believed that whether other sects would be tolerated or suppressed in the future was a matter for later. At least for now, they, the Catholic missionaries and priests in the Ming Dynasty, still considered themselves harmless little lambs.
The current emperor favored Taoism. If they wanted to branch out and vigorously develop their doctrines and preach in a competitive place like Shuntian, they had to establish good relations with Taoism.
"The site of the Eastern Peak Temple was approved by the Son of Heaven for the construction of a church, and this is all thanks to the North Pole True Person. We have long known your great name. Matteo Ricci has informed us that you may view the books of the Lord in the church at your leisure."
An old priest spoke fluent Chinese, conversing with Ji Xiang and expressing his goodwill.
But Ji Xiang knew exactly what they were thinking. Seeing their enthusiasm, though some among them were sincere, like Matteo Ricci, and the gratitude of the old priest before him was genuine, there were some among the priests behind him who harbored ill intentions.
After all, people are different. The missionaries came to the East not for tourism, but with a so-called "sacred mission."
If they didn't package themselves as lambs from the start, other religions wouldn't accept them. As for when they would shed their sheepskin and become hungry wolves, that would depend on when their doctrines could develop to influence the course of the world.
After borrowing the books, Ji Xiang did not leave the Catholic church. He found a corner inside the church and sat down to read. This caused the priests to whisper amongst themselves. They walked out of the church and immediately began to discuss.
Some believed that although Ji Xiang was a heretic, he seemed to have great interest in Catholicism.
Even more believed this was a rare "good opportunity."
"The North Pole True Person, in our Holy Church, would this be considered a Pope or a Bishop?"
"A Bishop, likely a Cardinal."
In Christianity, the Pope is the highest authority, the "White Pope." The next level down is the Cardinal, also known as the Red Pope.
In the eyes of the priests, Ji Xiang represented the Wudang Mountain of Taoism. As for Taoism, officially, the highest recognized leader should be the Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain, which was currently the case.
As for the various factions within Taoism, including the other Quanzhen School, in the priests' eyes, it was no different from the distinction between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. However, one thing puzzled them: with the Zhengyi School gaining such prominence, why did they not suppress the other Quanzhen School?
Why was this the case? It was truly incomprehensible. Were heretics not more hateful than infidels?
At least in Buddhism, there were disputes between the Three Vehicles, and differences between Esoteric Buddhism and the Eight Schools of Han Buddhism. But Taoism seemed like a group of lazy fish, guarding their own mountains and ignoring the outside world.
How could such a religion have been passed down for thousands of years?
"Taoism currently lacks high aggressiveness. Although they say they had disputes with Buddhism in the past, that was a long time ago. If we can draw this black-robed Taoist, who is comparable to a Cardinal, into our Catholic camp, or even convert him to Catholicism, then..."
"My Christian law, the way of the Lord, can flourish in the Ming Kingdom and spread throughout the land."
The priest's tone was excited, and the other priests' eyes gleamed.
To draw a prominent figure from one religion directly into another sect was an astonishing achievement. Similarly, if such a thing were successful, it would mean that Catholicism possessed great superiority and that they themselves were on the right path.
This was like Qin Huari in ancient China's Spring and Autumn period defecting from Confucianism to become the second-in-command of Mohism. Directly betraying one's doctrines and theories to accept another's would be a great blow to one sect and have extraordinary significance for another.
"Indeed, if this matter is successful, the Pope will also be satisfied with the outcome. Our missionary work will not be overly criticized. The massacre of missionaries by Toyotomi Hideyoshi was not long ago, and our acceptance in the Far East is still very low. We traveled thousands of miles, and we can't just die in this small church without accomplishing anything."
The old priest also spoke, his words revealing a longing for achievement, of course, before his death.
Ji Xiang, sitting in the corner, had already heard all their words.
"Believing in the Lord? My methods indeed have unique aspects, but what we excel at is making the best use of things and cultural integration. Although your things are very good, in the next second, they will be mine."
"Just like Matteo Ricci's books back then..."
Ji Xiang glanced at some photocopies beside him. Although he preferred to read original texts, these missionaries naturally couldn't bring too many original scriptures from St. Paul's College in Macau. After all, that was the main base. What if the originals were burned or fell into water? These were all painstakingly transported from the West.
However, these Western scriptures had an advantage that Eastern scriptures lacked: even photocopies contained faith.
This was something he had discovered when he first met Matteo Ricci.
For Western missionaries, it was normal for photocopies to gather faith, but for the East, this was a strange phenomenon.
"Photocopies lack the author's effort and spirit, yet they absorb the faith of the masses through widespread preaching and condense it."
One book, two books.
Ji Xiang only briefly perused them, but the contents were already etched in his mind. With Ji Xiang's current cultivation, thousands of thoughts could operate in an instant. Reading every word on a few books was not a problem at all.
On his fingers, white smoke continued to swirl.
While absorbing the faith and magical arts within, Ji Xiang also set aside the books he had already utilized. Some were not completely absorbed, as he was about to "sacrifice" them!
"Instead of believing in the Lord, it's better to comprehend all his methods and create a new technique of the Lord myself!"
"The True Meaning of the Three Religions, refine for me!"
The first fusion of external religious techniques was theoretically impossible because the True Meaning of the Three Religions could only smelt classics within the Three Religions, including unorthodox paths derived from the Three Religions like the White Lotus Society, and the resulting techniques were limited to within the Three Religions.
Christianity and the Lord were purely external religions, without any trace of the Three Religions.
However, because Ji Xiang had cultivated the Jade Pure Hidden Book, he had an additional option – the Heavenly Demon Technique.
...
Outside the church, the old priest suddenly shivered, looking around strangely.
"Strange, I just felt the power of the 'devil'? Are there heretics preaching in this distant Eastern land?"