The difference between Buddhist figures and mythological figures

Buddhist figures mainly refer to figures who actually existed in history when the religion was founded. For example, Tang Monk, Tathagata, Guanyin, etc. in "Journey to the West". Mythological characters refer to fictional characters in religious mythology. For example. Golden Summit Immortal, Lingji Bodhisattva, Maitreya, etc., as well as Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie. However, there is always a cultural phenomenon in Buddhism, that is, Buddhist figures must be deified. For example, Tathagata (Sakyamuni) was originally a religious figure in ancient India, but with the development of Buddhism, he was deified as the omnipotent Lord of "beyond the three realms, the vast universe, the three thousand worlds, the past and the future".