Yes. It does print money out of thin air. It also creates money that does not even exist yet in the form of interest. (job security)

The money goes to the government with a T-Bill as collateral. A T-bill is always gonna be good as long as the government can tax.

The other path for the money is through the primary dealers. Money center and investment banks. They print the money and can accept ANYTHING as collateral from a the banks at any valuation. This is why they don't want to be audited. The banks can't tax, but they can foreclose, repo, etc.