Flourine is an even more reactive element . Try finding that outside of a compound.
My father was in his chemistry class when the professor was caught it a paradox. She first claimed there is no universal solvent. A few minutes later, discussion of hydrofluoric acid as a means of dissolving metallic gold was raised. She said it was very difficult to handle because it can dissolve anything. My dad raised his hand. His question? Doesn't that make it a universal solvent? The prof was flustered and couldn't find a reasonable explanation of the paradox.
In practice, you need a mix of hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid to successfully dissolve gold. In the electron microscopy lab, I used a gold nitrate stain on my rat liver "silver sections". Clearly, the metallic gold had to be dissolved to create a nitrate salt.