It could be clearly seen that under Ao Qing's salvation, those vengeful ghosts and spirits actually showed a carefree expression one by one. Then, they turned into rays of light and dissipated. Obviously, they had been liberated.
"Congratulations!
You have liberated 152 vengeful ghosts and spirits!
You have gained 5,000 merit points! "
"Congratulations!
You have liberated 224 vengeful ghosts and spirits!
You have gained 6,248 merit points! "
"Congratulations!
You have liberated 312 vengeful ghosts and spirits!
You have gained 7,152 merit points! "
…
The continuous notifications of his merit points skyrocketing rang in his ears. The already huge merit halo behind Ao Qing faintly grew even bigger.
The number of vengeful ghosts and spirits imprisoned in the 18 levels of hell was simply too many. It was so many that it made one's scalp tingle. However, under Ao Qing's salvation, these vengeful ghosts and spirits all showed happy expressions, as if something was suddenly released. At the same time, it also made Ao Qing's merit points rapidly increase.
The more he liberated these vengeful ghosts and spirits, the more Ao Qing was filled with respect for Buddhism, especially for those eminent monks in history.
At first, he thought that Buddhism was something that deceived people. However, the ones who deceived people were the believers who preached, not Buddhism itself. Especially as his study of Buddhism deepened, his respect for Buddhism deepened.
Of course, Ao Qing was also a cultivator of the Profound Gate Dao Technique. Similarly, he also commanded respect from others. It was just that the two of them both had their flaws and essences.
While liberating these vengeful ghosts and spirits, Ao Qing also improved his cultivation level in Buddhism and Taoism.
What was liberating?!
In Buddha's view, everyone was born to wander in the sea of bitterness and experience the suffering of life.
The role of Buddhism was to liberate people. With oneself as the body and the bridge of the sea of bitterness, it allowed people to reach the other side and escape the sea of bitterness, surpassing life and death.
The vengeful ghosts and spirits in this hell, especially in the 18 levels of hell, were even more tormented by the sea of bitterness. They urgently needed someone to liberate them from the sea of bitterness and surpass life and death.
Of course, those who'd committed great mistakes in the Mortal Dimension and never repented from the beginning until the end didn't have the qualifications to be forgiven.
Back then, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva made a great vow that he would not become a Buddha until hell was empty. In fact, he wanted to use his own body to build a bridge over the sea of bitterness and help all living beings escape from the sea of bitterness.
The more he thought about it, the more Ao Qing felt a powerful force pouring into his body, causing his understanding of the Martial Dao to reach a whole new level …
Ao Qing faintly felt that he had grasped this brand new realm, but at the same time, he had not grasped it. In short, it felt very strange.
But it had to be said that this feeling made Ao Qing faintly feel that he had touched the threshold of the Heavenly Dao …
That's right …
The threshold of the Heavenly Dao!
Actually, the most powerful person in this world wasn't the Saints, nor were it the Gods and Immortals of the Mythological World. It was Hongjun who had transformed into the Heavenly Dao.
Under the laws of the Heavenly Dao, no one could escape the punishment of the power of the Heavenly Dao. Even if Ao Qing went against the heavens and created a lot of achievements, it would still be difficult for him to escape the shackles of the Heavenly Dao.
And only when he stepped into the realm of the Heavenly Dao could he truly transcend external objects and control everything.
Now that he had vaguely touched the threshold of the Heavenly Dao, this meant that he had the possibility of becoming the Heavenly Dao in the future.
Don't underestimate this possibility. One had to know that as the senior Three Pure Ones who had experienced countless eras of cultivation, they had never touched the threshold of the Heavenly Dao at all!
One could imagine how difficult it was to reach the threshold of the Heavenly Dao.
But soon, Ao Qing forcibly concealed the sharpness that he had vaguely touched the threshold of the Heavenly Dao and forcefully restrained it.
Ao Qing was still afraid of the Heavenly Dao Hongjun. Before he rose to power, he would definitely not reveal the slightest bit of sharpness that could threaten the Heavenly Dao.
Back then, didn't Tōhoku Taichi and Di Jun, who had conquered thousands of races, established proud achievements, unified the entire Demon Race, suppressed countless Immortals, and established the Ancient Celestial Court, not Hongjun, because everyone only recognized Taiyi and Di Jun, but not the Heavenly Dao Hongjun? Didn't that cause the Heavenly Dao Hongjun to be jealous and ultimately lead to trouble?!
Therefore, Ao Qing knew very well when to reveal his sharpness and when not to.
Ao Qing closed his eyes and didn't know how long he had been doing this for. When he opened his eyes again, the eighteen layers of hell in front of him no longer had the boundless scene of purgatory. Instead, it was replaced by surging immortal mist, a blue sky, and white clouds. It was like a paradise on earth.
As for the resentful ghosts and vengeful spirits who were suffering torture in hell, at this moment, they turned into streaks of white light and disappeared, escaping into the Six Paths of Reincarnation.
"Is this the true appearance of the eighteen layers of hell?!"
Ao Qing sighed slightly. Just now, he had obtained a total of 200,000 merit points, and the Merit Halo had risen from three to four stories high.
At this moment, Ao Qing opened the attributes of the Merit Halo and saw the following words:
Merit Halo (Six Layers):
This is a holy halo that only Wushang Tao Ancestors, Buddha Ancestors, and Merit Cultivators have. The larger the halo, the more merit and strength. When the Merit Halo reaches the seventh layer, the owner of the Merit Halo will step into the Realm of Boundless Merit, greatly increasing the owner's strength.
Under the protection of this Merit Halo, the owner of the Merit Halo's attack speed will increase by 328%, movement speed will increase by 268%, comprehension speed will increase by 452%, and suppression power will increase by 361%.
Just by looking at the power of the Merit Halo, one could tell how terrifying and abnormal the increase in the various stats was. Just these numbers alone made one clearly feel the terrifying effect of the Merit Halo.
Ao Qing tried to move a little and clearly felt that his speed was indeed much faster. His other attributes were also greatly improved. It seemed that his redemption of all living beings was not in vain.
Soon, Ao Qing arrived at the seventeenth layer of hell. Imitating what he had done just now, he began to redeem. Suddenly, a strong golden Buddha's light spread out in all directions with him as the center!
Today, Ao Qing was also going to do it. If hell was not empty, he would not become a Buddha. He would imitate Ksitigarbha Venerable!
Just as Ao Qing was accumulating his merit and increasing his strength again, Kamehameha, the Kunpeng Patriarch, and the Ten Great Sacred Beasts were not idle either. They were all in close combat with the resentful ghosts and vengeful spirits in hell to train their strength.
In particular, the Ten Great Sacred Beasts challenged several powerful resentful ghosts and vengeful spirits in one breath. Between life and death, they trained their strength and improved their combat strength.
It could be said that for the entire Sea Realm, everyone had undergone a demonic trial in the eighteenth layer of hell, providing their own meager strength for the Sea Realm!