Feng Xu and Mo Qing froze for a moment, then immediately grew solemn, filled with reverence.
The Four Sages Immortal Venerables were not only the forefathers of the Nine Netherworlds Continent, but also its guardian deities.
As cultivators of the Nine Netherworlds Continent, this was their first time meeting Black Tortoise, and boundless respect naturally welled up in their hearts.
"Thank you for saving us, Senior Black Tortoise."
Lin Mo also grew solemn and cupped his hands in salute.
Yet the instant Black Tortoise saw him, his pupils abruptly contracted, and his expression changed in shock.
"You... you are..."
Lin Mo asked in confusion, "Senior Black Tortoise, do you know me?"
Feng Xu and Mo Qing also looked astonished.
Fellow Daoist Lin indeed possessed formidable divine abilities and could be called a heavenly prodigy of his generation, but he was still only a cultivator from a lower plane, and so young at that.
Black Tortoise had ascended to the Immortal Realm, a middle plane, alongside the other three Immortal Venerables ten thousand years ago. How could he know Lin Mo?
"My apologies... perhaps my eyes deceived me."
Black Tortoise composed himself and smiled. "Young friend Lin, your appearance and bearing greatly resemble an old acquaintance of mine."
"However, that old acquaintance perished three thousand cycles of reincarnation ago. Naturally, he could not possibly appear in a lower plane."
Lin Mo scratched his head, utterly bewildered.
What a coincidence!
As one of the current rulers of the Immortal Realm, Black Tortoise ranked among the strongest even across the middle planes.
Any old acquaintance of his must also have been an outstanding heavenly prodigy who had led an entire era.
To share such a striking resemblance with a figure of that stature, in both appearance and bearing, was something of an honor.