Lore

As the legend goes, the end of every celestial eon is a day of great importance to the Realm of the Deities. It marks the definitive moment when the Deities celebrate the rare manifestation of the Eight Holy Artifacts.

Upon their appearance, the Holy Artifacts will be conferred upon eight Deities. Each of these chosen ones must first prove themselves the distinction of having the most remarkable heroism, valor and compassion in the Deity Realm. With the aid of these Holy Artifacts, they can seek to attain enlightenment and subsequently be bestowed with the highest and most sought-after title in the heavenly realm -- the God of Sword.

An ancient myth has it that when the Eight Holy Artifacts are pieced together with the Holy Scrolls they carry, the key to the Stone of Divinity will be unveiled, and the Eight Deities will receive blessings and enchantments most sacred and revered throughout the land.
The Realm of the Deities consists of 13 Heavens, each ruled by a Deity. The Deity Mahisha, who controls the power of evil, rules the 12th Heaven. With hopes of becoming the God of Sword, Mahisha is said to have plotted and schemed against the other Deities. Nonetheless, his despicable plans backfired. Not only did Mahisha lose his placing, but he was ranked last among the other Deities.

Feeling outraged and humiliated, Mahisha severed all ties with the Realm of the Deities. Proclaiming himself as the Demon Emperor, he developed a school of diabolical arts and sent waves of hostile denizens to the other Heavens to seize all eight Holy Artifacts and ultimately destroy the other Deities.

Mahisha's vengeful ambition heralded the Celestial Age of Chaos. The 12th Heaven was transformed into a dark and sinister place -- the unearthly breeding ground of Mahisha's Demon Realm. To exact revenge, Mahisha gathered troops of demons, monsters and spirits to blaspheme the Realm of the Deities. And the eternal battle between good and evil, gods and demons, began.

In the 2000th year of the Celestial Century, the Realm of the Deities bestowed the Eight Holy Artifacts upon the Eight Deities and passed a supreme order for them to harvest a Land of Tranquility in the east, called Shappur. Upon receiving the sacred instruction, the Eight Deities came together, extracted parts of their celestial flesh and blood and fused the artifacts together. When the resulting artifact is slotted within the Stone of Divinity, it emitted radiant, golden light, a sign of it being imparted with incredible power. The Stone of Divinity was then brought into Shappur,

The mortals, in gratitude of the Deities that gave birth to the mystical land, built eight Heavenly Shrines in honor of them. Once the shrines were erected, the Stone was placed in the safekeeping of the Deities as a defense against the forces of Evil. Thus, Shappur prospered greatly and entered a Golden Age.

But in the 3000th Celestial Century, nearly a millennium later, the mortal inhabitants of Shappur led very pampered lives. They became condescending after many centuries of peaceful living, carefree lifestyles, and frequent indulgence in merry-making, drinking and other worldly pleasures.

While the new generation of mortals were oblivious of demonic thread, Mahisha's malevolent offsprings still possessed the burning desire to obtain the Stone of Divinity, which would undoubtedly be harnessed for its great powers. All this while, the Demons had been observing the gradual degradation and corruption of the mortals from their realm. Noticing that the Deities' protection over the mortals had weakened over time, the Demon Emperor led great numbers of his elite troops storming into Shappur.

After 800 years of ferocious fighting and merciless killing, rivers of the land were tainted with blood of heroes, heroines, gods and demons. Despite unsurmountable effort, the last stronghold belonging to the Deities and mortals finally fell. Before the souls of the Deities were transmuted into Eight Celestial Gems, they shattered the Stone of Divinity with one last blow to prevent the Demons from obtaining it. Pieces of the Stone scattered throughout the lands.

Since then, Shappur was split into three chaotic realms and five continents. Thus, the Land of Tranquility was lost forever. Word has it that the only way to conquer evil is to locate the Eight Holy Artifacts and recover the Stone of Divinity in the presence of the Eight Deities...

**Original:**

傳說中每千萬劫才出現一次的神界八神器，是神界諸神最關注的大事，因為神器出現後，必須立即傳給其中八位最具武、德兼備的天神藉以修成正果，修成正果的天神就被稱為「劍神」，是諸神們視為至高無上的修鍊境界。不但如此，傳聞只有八位天神手上的天書結合八樣神器，才能開啟神界之石的奧秘，得到月光寶盒的祝福。
神界原有十三位天神分別鎮守於十三天，其中掌管天外天第十二天「欲魔天」是諸神之中負責掌管邪惡力量的天神。

為了能夠爭取這千載難逢的機會，也因為這至高無上的神器代表著天神們所能追求的最高榮譽與力量，欲魔天苦等千劫一心想要成為「劍神」，沒有想到自己非但未被授記八神器，而且還是諸神之中排名最後……

欲魔天盛怒之下，發誓自此與神界斷絕關係並且打算強奪八神器消滅諸神。從此，欲魔天成為一代天魔，並且掀起了神魔紛亂的開端。

從此欲魔天掌管之天外天自外於神界，墮入魔道。為了向諸神復仇，欲魔天率領魔眾侵攻神界，神界與魔界展開永無休止的正邪之戰……

神界世紀2000年，神界諸神以八種神器授記八天神，並令於東方創造天空淨土，名為娑婆。八天神各取自身血肉與神器融為神界之石，賜以神通，神界之石於是進入娑婆，分取木、火、土、金、水五行而生天人之形。

天人為感謝眾神創造神洲，建立八座神殿來奉祀天神，這就是娑婆神界中的八天神殿。神殿建立以後，神界之石為八天神所守護，來防止魔眾奪取。娑婆神界繁榮昌盛，進入黃金時期。

神界世紀3000年，娑婆神界千年之後，天人行歡作樂，終日沈迷墮落，不知神界之石遭魔界垂涎已久。

天外天魔界十二天魔見天人墮落日久，已經逐漸不受到八天神力所護念，乃號召魔界八部眾侵攻神州意圖立刻奪取神界之石。

神界與魔眾血戰八百餘年之後，八天神殿血流成河，諸神雖然全力抵抗群魔，但最後終於焚城自盡，魂魄化為八顆天珠散落到各處，神界之石也碎裂失散。從此娑婆神界天崩地落，一分為五，化為惡濁的三界五洲大陸，連同神界淨地，一併消失在大陸之中……