Since iOS 14, it's possible to reply to a specific message in an iMessage conversation. 

Just long-press on the desired message, then tap on "Reply" and write your reply. 

That's it! 

Your reply will appear at the bottom of the conversation with a link to the message you replied to. 

And here will be a blue "1 reply" link underneath the message you replied to. 

Just tap on it to see the reply. 

It only works with iMessage (blue bubbles) not SMS (green bubbles). 

Here's a quick demo:

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