Following the first people belonging to the sects locked up in the capital city of the Sky Empire running away, it did not take long before more people began trying to run away without caring about the disciples and elders who had to remain in the capital city and would be punished.
In the end, close to half of the Domain Lord Realm Experts from these sects ended up escaping over the next few weeks, causing the Soul Ascension Realm Experts to jump in and ensure that the rest of them had no chance to run away. Killing one of the escaping Domain Lord Realm Experts as an example to the rest.
The main reason why they didn't do this sooner being that it would inevitably cause the morale of the rest of the Domain Lord Realm Experts to drop if they knew that they were not allowed to leave the capital city and might end up dead if they tried.
Xu Bao not having the best of luck...