Inside the Su Family stronghold.
Faced with Zhou Daoyi's second inquiry, Su Renmei finally gave a reply.
He glanced at Su Yuzhen, who stood at his side with bowed head and lowered eyes, then turned to Zhou Daoyi with a slight smile, "I've specially invited Taoist Friend Zhou today, not for anything else, but because the Su Family wishes to enter into a marriage alliance with the Zhou Family!"
Zhou Daoyi's expression froze, and his eyes suddenly filled with astonishment.
He had never expected that Su Renmei invited him for this reason.
After being stunned for quite a while, a gleam of insight flashed in his eyes, and he promptly shifted his gaze to the demure Su Yuzhen, as if he had realized something.
Immediately, Zhou Daoyi's face turned grave, and he looked at Su Renmei seriously, "Taoist Friend Su means to arrange a marriage for Miss Su? Could it be that Miss Su has taken a fancy to our Zhengchun and wishes to marry into the Zhou Family?"
"Taoist Friend Zhou is indeed astute, getting to the heart of the matter with just a hint."
Su Renmei nodded with a smile, responding, "Indeed, my niece Yuzhen admires Nephew Zhou and intends to become Dao companions with him!"
After he finished speaking, he shook his head slightly, "However, they will merely be Dao companions, and Yuzhen will still belong to the Su Family."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Daoyi immediately waved his hand, "No, I do not agree to this marriage!"
"Why? Although Yuzhen will still be part of the Su Family after becoming Dao companions, as long as they enter that relationship, whether the Zhou Family needs to send someone to join the Moon Wheel Sect or ask the Su Family for any assistance in the future, Yuzhen can lend a hand!"
Su Renmei frowned, puzzled by the sudden change in Zhou Daoyi's expression and tone.
Facing his puzzled question, Zhou Daoyi calmly said, "Taoist Friend Su, the Zhou Family, for the time being, has no need for what you've mentioned. Moreover, Zhengchun is the Clan Leader of our Zhou Family. I would never sacrifice his personal happiness or Cultivation Level to gain the benefits you speak of."
He was no fool; upon hearing Su Renmei's words, he had already roughly guessed the Su Family's intentions.
After all, in the Cultivation World, the matter of seeking a dual cultivation partner, although rare, wasn't exactly secret.
Zhou Chun had never met Su Yuzhen before, so there was absolutely no previous affection on her part.
As for love at first sight, Zhou Daoyi had not noticed any signs of affection in Su Yuzhen's gaze towards Zhou Chun in the days before.
Therefore, he did not hesitate to refuse this sudden stroke of "good fortune" on Zhou Chun's behalf, without even asking for Zhou Chun's own opinion.
"Taoist Friend Zhou might have misunderstood; it's not as you imagine!"
Su Renmei shook his head earnestly, saying with conviction, "I admit that this marriage is only to help Yuzhen overcome a defect in her Cultivation Technique, not because she has taken a liking to Nephew Zhou. But it's definitely not as dishonorable as Taoist Friend Zhou described!"
"I can guarantee that if Nephew Zhou engages in dual cultivation with Yuzhen, it will certainly not cause him any harm to his own Cultivation Level!"
As he spoke, seeing Zhou Daoyi still looking unconvinced, he revealed a deeper reason.
It turns out that the Cultivation Technique Su Yuzhen practiced, The Mysterious Art of the Plain Girl, is extremely profound, certainly on par with the Golden Cauldron Profound Art, both being top-tier techniques passed down from ancient times.
But cultivating this technique comes with significant drawbacks. The first is that after breaking through to the Purple Mansion Phase, one would encounter an emotional tribulation that could possibly destroy their cultivation.
To minimize the impact of the emotional tribulation, it is best to first cultivate with a man, and ideally, it should be a Cultivator of the same realm whose Mana attributes could nourish her own.
After such cultivation, once the female Cultivator opens her Purple Mansion, even if the emotional tribulation occurs, she is easily drawn by the attraction to her Dao companion due to the Cultivation Technique, keeping the damage from the tribulation to a minimum.
Su Yuzhen's own Spirit Root Aptitude is biased towards water, being dual-attribute Spirit Root Aptitude of water and metal.
According to the theory of the Five Elements, the most suitable man for her to cultivate with would be a Cultivator who practices a pure Metal Element Cultivation Method.
The purer and stronger the Metal Element Cultivation Method practiced, the more robust and dominant the Golden Qi, the greater the nourishment during dual cultivation, making it easier to attract her affection and fulfill the emotional tribulation with her Dao companion.
Zhou Chun's practice of the Golden Cauldron Profound Art is undoubtedly a very pure and top-tier Metal Element Cultivation Method, making him the most suitable partner the Su Family could find for Su Yuzhen to cultivate with.
Especially because the Zhou Family's influence is neither strong nor weak, just within the range that the Su Family can control.
At the same time, Zhou Chun's own Cultivation Level is just a minor realm below that of Su Yuzhen, so he would not dominate the dual cultivation process and harm her practice.
In fact, as early as the "Hundred Clans Conference," the Su Family had begun to take note of Zhou Chun.
However, the matter was temporarily shelved due to preparations for battle thereafter.
But the Su Family had never relaxed their collection and probing of information about the Zhou Family and Zhou Chun personally.
For Cultivators, choosing a Dao companion is undeniably a very important matter, especially in special cases like Su Yuzhen's, where the Dao companion's personal character is even more crucial.
Zhou Chun's character could undoubtedly withstand any test.
In Su Renmei's view, he was absolutely the most suitable match for Su Yuzhen.
Therefore, when Zhou Daoyi refused, he became even more anxious than Su Yuzhen herself.